Re: "Roger's Pick – The Matilija poppy" [Home & Garden, Village News, 5/19/11]

The photo of the Matilija Poppy in the May 19, 2011 issue of the Village News resembles an angel with a halo, alighting on a treetop. How poetic is that?

I’d like to publicly thank Roger Boddaert for honoring this beautiful, quirky, sensitive, native flower with this informative article. I am happy to know now the correct pronunciation (ma-TIL-a-ha) and the noble source of the name. For the last several years, I had been mispronouncing the name, thinking it was Spanish.

It’s hard for me to believe that at one time, before I even referred to them as “fried egg plants.” I actually thought they were homely flowers. But before long I started feeling rather fond of them, and not long after that I learned their real name. I found myself enjoying their odd beauty, tried to grow them (unsuccessfully), and then settled for looking forward to their appearance every spring and appreciating their loveliness when they come in. This spring, in particular (maybe because of the odd weather this year), the Matilijas I’ve spotted throughout Fallbrook and Vista are just spectacular, and then I see them in the Village News on May 19!

Patricia Casey