I thought this one would amuse some people.
Do you realise we all have these super hyper dangerous plants growing
in amongst out garden flowers. We must all be terrified. ARGH! Danger
Danger Danger
;-)


South Wales Evening post.
GRASS VERGE FLOWERS ARE DRUG POPPIES


09 July 2003



Opium poppies are growing in the grass verges in Burry Port. Visitors
to the area have been remarking on the pretty poppies which line the
roads.

The Mayor of Burry Port Clive Howells even allowed some people to help
themselves when they asked if they could take some of the poppy heads.

He had no idea they were anything other than nice flowers.

But council officers are now urgently removing the poppies after
receiving expert advice about their true nature.

The alarming discovery was made by Carmarthenshire county recorder and
president of the Botanical Society of Great Britain Richard Pryce.

Mr Pryce said last night: "I have advised the county's countryside
officers Elwyn Hughes and Rosie Carmichael that they are harbouring in
their vergespapaver somniferum which is restricted in some countries
because it is used for making addictive narcotic drugs."

The poppies run alongside Sea View Terrace and flank the link road to
Baccia that runs behind Club Bach.

A county council spokesman said: "We are taking urgent action to
remove them. We are as shocked at

Oddly enough the garden plots in our nursery are full of them too.

I have not sown any seed and we are out in the countryside so I suspect the
birds. They do look nice though.


www.arghamvillage.co.uk





Neil Jones wrote in message
om...
I thought this one would amuse some people.
Do you realise we all have these super hyper dangerous plants growing
in amongst out garden flowers. We must all be terrified. ARGH! Danger
Danger Danger
;-)


South Wales Evening post.
GRASS VERGE FLOWERS ARE DRUG POPPIES


09 July 2003



Opium poppies are growing in the grass verges in Burry Port. Visitors
to the area have been remarking on the pretty poppies which line the
roads.

The Mayor of Burry Port Clive Howells even allowed some people to help
themselves when they asked if they could take some of the poppy heads.

He had no idea they were anything other than nice flowers.

But council officers are now urgently removing the poppies after
receiving expert advice about their true nature.

The alarming discovery was made by Carmarthenshire county recorder and
president of the Botanical Society of Great Britain Richard Pryce.

Mr Pryce said last night: "I have advised the county's countryside
officers Elwyn Hughes and Rosie Carmichael that they are harbouring in
their vergespapaver somniferum which is restricted in some countries
because it is used for making addictive narcotic drugs."

The poppies run alongside Sea View Terrace and flank the link road to
Baccia that runs behind Club Bach.

A county council spokesman said: "We are taking urgent action to
remove them. We are as shocked at

In article ,
Neil Jones wrote:

The alarming discovery was made by Carmarthenshire county recorder and
president of the Botanical Society of Great Britain Richard Pryce.

Mr Pryce said last night: "I have advised the county's countryside
officers Elwyn Hughes and Rosie Carmichael that they are harbouring in
their vergespapaver somniferum which is restricted in some countries
because it is used for making addictive narcotic drugs."

My suspicion is that Mr Pryce has a somewhat cynical sense of humour,
and there was probably some bureaucratic nonsense that led up to
that statement. Such as a circular demanding that all council
officials report sightings of politically undesirable plants.

That statement is absolutely true but a bureaucrat with no
knowledge of pharmacological botany and probably little sense of
humour would almost certainly misread it. As seems to have happened.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

No-one official should be worried about Papaver Somniferum.

It is far too cold in our climate for any significant level of opiates to be
produced. You have to go to the Mediterranian and further south before the
levels become worth harvesting for opiates.

In more northerly climates this poppy is traditionally grown as a crop for
seed. Again no opiates in the seed. It is because of its use as a food crop
that it is not an offence to cultivate it. But it still remains an offence
(I believe) to possess opium straw (!) whether or not these contain opiates
(daft isn't it) so lets hope no-one digs too deep in my compost heap.

Long may it remain as a garden and vergeside plant. It is pretty and non
invasive. Unlike the horrible and dangerous giant hogweed which is growing
up everywhere. Councils should do something about that and stop fantasising
about papaver somniferum.

regards
Don

Neil Jones wrote:

I thought this one would amuse some people.
Do you realise we all have these super hyper dangerous plants growing
in amongst out garden flowers. We must all be terrified. ARGH! Danger
Danger Danger
;-)


South Wales Evening post.
GRASS VERGE FLOWERS ARE DRUG POPPIES


A county council spokesman said: "We are taking urgent action to
remove them. We are as shocked at


Not to mention the deadly nightshade, and their equally dangerous
relatives potatoes;-)

LOL Typical council reaction in that they must be seen to 'DO
SOMETHING' in the public eye so they can take a gold star;-))

//
Jim

"Don" wrote in message
...
It is far too cold in our climate for any significant level of opiates
to be
produced. You have to go to the Mediterranian and further south before the
levels become worth harvesting for opiates.

Damn!
How come they don't grow when you want them to? I sowed 2 packets of seeds
(for decorative purposes only) as I thought they looked pretty on the
packet. only 6 have come up out of about 2000!

Pickle wrote:

"Don" wrote in message
...
It is far too cold in our climate for any significant level of opiates
to be
produced. You have to go to the Mediterranian and further south before the
levels become worth harvesting for opiates.

Damn!
How come they don't grow when you want them to? I sowed 2 packets of seeds
(for decorative purposes only) as I thought they looked pretty on the
packet. only 6 have come up out of about 2000!

When did you sow them? They need frost to break dormancy, and like to
gorw on cultivated ground. Best sown in the autumn (when poppies the
seedheads ripen naturally) for growing the next year.
//
Jim

"Jim W" wrote in message
news:1fxxts3.9ecin51hwcmwaN%00senetnospamtodayta@m acunlimited.net...
When did you sow them? They need frost to break dormancy, and like to
gorw on cultivated ground. Best sown in the autumn (when poppies the
seedheads ripen naturally) for growing the next year.
//
Jim

Oh right, thanks. I sowed them in spring. Perhaps they will come up next
year if I dig over where I planted them.

"Jim W" wrote in message
news:1fxxts3.9ecin51hwcmwaN%00senetnospamtodayta@m acunlimited.net...
When did you sow them? They need frost to break dormancy, and like to
gorw on cultivated ground. Best sown in the autumn (when poppies the
seedheads ripen naturally) for growing the next year.
//
Jim

Oh right, thanks. I sowed them in spring. Perhaps they will come up next
year if I dig over where I planted them.

"Jim W" wrote in message
news:1fxxts3.9ecin51hwcmwaN%00senetnospamtodayta@m acunlimited.net...
When did you sow them? They need frost to break dormancy, and like to
gorw on cultivated ground. Best sown in the autumn (when poppies the
seedheads ripen naturally) for growing the next year.
//
Jim

Oh right, thanks. I sowed them in spring. Perhaps they will come up next
year if I dig over where I planted them.

snip
They need frost to break dormancy, and like to
gorw on cultivated ground. Best sown in the autumn (when poppies the
seedheads ripen naturally) for growing the next year.

Snip

Oh right, thanks. I sowed them in spring. Perhaps they will come up next
year if I dig over where I planted them.


I believe they can remain dormant for up to fifty years so you might have a
long wait!

Ron

Ron wrote:

snip
They need frost to break dormancy, and like to
gorw on cultivated ground. Best sown in the autumn (when poppies the
seedheads ripen naturally) for growing the next year.

Snip

Oh right, thanks. I sowed them in spring. Perhaps they will come up next
year if I dig over where I planted them.


I believe they can remain dormant for up to fifty years so you might have a
long wait!

But it might be worth it. We had several tons of soil removed from our
garden to a nearby field (soil level had been raised in the past, we
wanted to get back to the original). That was one summer; the owners of
the field spread the soil over an area of several 10s of square metres.
The next summer the soil was covered, absolutely covered, with a
magnificent display of opium poppies... the pink shaggy ones I detest,
the pale pink/white singles I like, and the shaggy maroon ones I
absolutely adore. It was a fabulous sight all through the season, and
the birds loved the seeds.

regards
sarah

--
Waist deep, neck deep
We'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damned fools keep yelling to push on

Ron wrote:

They need frost to break dormancy, and like to
gorw on cultivated ground. Best sown in the autumn (when poppies the
seedheads ripen naturally) for growing the next year.

Snip

Oh right, thanks. I sowed them in spring. Perhaps they will come up next
year if I dig over where I planted them.


I believe they can remain dormant for up to fifty years so you might have a
long wait!

Ron

They *CAN* they rarely ever do.. At least not all of them. They do
also, IIRC need a little light to germinate, hence the dormancy thing.
EG they lie buried for up to 50 years but dormancy is broken when they
are brought to the surface.
//
Jim

"amanda wrote in message Oddly enough the garden plots in our nursery are
full of them too.

I have not sown any seed and we are out in the countryside so I suspect
the
birds. They do look nice though.


((snip))

Some years ago someone, who obviously wanted to brighten up the place,
broadcast seed of said poppy along a freshly dug side of the M3 between the
M25 and Sunbury.
Next year there was a wonderful display of poppies for some days until one
morning on the radio I heard "delays town bound on the M3 due to the inside
lane being closed due to the Council spraying the beautiful flowers all you
drivers have been admiring because they are..... opium poppies!!!, a driver
reported it to the police who say they cannot understand where they have
come from." Horror, horror......

Waste of public money if ever I heard it and an admission of ignorance buy
all involved in the Council/Police/Media......and of course, that fool of a
driver who presumably must have been a gardener.

--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.

Ron wrote:

They need frost to break dormancy, and like to
gorw on cultivated ground. Best sown in the autumn (when poppies the
seedheads ripen naturally) for growing the next year.

Snip

Oh right, thanks. I sowed them in spring. Perhaps they will come up next
year if I dig over where I planted them.


I believe they can remain dormant for up to fifty years so you might have a
long wait!

Ron

They *CAN* they rarely ever do.. At least not all of them. They do
also, IIRC need a little light to germinate, hence the dormancy thing.
EG they lie buried for up to 50 years but dormancy is broken when they
are brought to the surface.
//
Jim