Out of a fuzzy bud like this…..
pops a red flower like this.
They’re poppies of course and it is round about now that they are in bloom.
Just like apples and cherries and lemons the fruit of the poppy develops (in the part of the plant behind where the petals were) after the flower has been visited by a bee – or by a wasp or a butterfly - or by pretty much any insect; and yes, even a ladybird would do the trick.
Then the petals drop off…..
and the part behind the flower gets fat…..
as the seeds develop inside.
And I just happen to have a supply of these fat little seed boxes - our garden might not grow much in the way of fancy stuff, but we have a healthy crop of poppies each year. Not to mention clover and buttercups and daisies…..
Take a look - here are two of last year’s seed boxes.
Now look closer still. Can you see the ‘lid’ of the seed box? Just underneath it there are lots of little holes.
If you give the seed box a little shake (just like shaking pepper from a pepper pot!) out will come the seeds. There’ll probably be HUNDREDS of them!
Have a go!
And now, here’s another seed container. This is the fruit of an avocado tree.
Can you see that hole? That’s where the seed was. Unlike poppies, avocados only have one seed inside each fruit. One huge seed.
And if we take good care of it…..
perhaps we’ll even get a new tree to grow!
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