Country diary: A profusion of poppies on Chesil Beach

Cogden Beach, Dorset: It's not easy to survive in this pea-size gravel, but some species are in their summer bestAlong the drift line on Cogden Beach, where lark song from the meadows meets wave-thunder from the sea, there grows a profusion of plants adapted to coastal conditions.From June to September, the yellow-horned poppies are in bloom, their large golden-yellow flowers flapping thin as butterfly wings in the salted breeze. The species gets its name from the slim, elongated curving pods, some almost the length of a forearm. Continue reading...