Every year Poppies come to grow in my garden, just like that, there are so many of them that sometimes I just have to pull up some. They grow strong and produce beautiful double pink flowers and large seed capsules with plenty of seeds. Not sure if I can use the seeds for consumption so I have not done so to date. I do like watching them as they grow, and they make such a lovely display. This year they took over a whole raised bed which had some cabbage growing in it, they totally took over. I was not unhappy about that.
One of the flower heads, but already on the way out showing the seed capsule in the middle. I never realised how many different Poppy varieties there are, only being familiar with the Flanders Poppies, the beautiful red ones that create such a lovely sight in either a meadow or even in a painting, I am thinking of Claude Monet’s Poppy field, or Van Gogh’s many different uses of Poppies. I’ve seen them also in Naxos growing abundantly in the May meadows, lovely.
The seed heads are just a lovely used in a winter dried flower display, or I like to see them just growing and ripen in the garden. I know that the seeds are used in baking but I have not used my own seeds for that yet as I am not sure if they are the right kind. No doubt some day I will apply myself and find out. As for now, I will continue to have beautiful Poppies every year, and I keep getting a good supply of seeds to share out to friends.
I brought some seeds for this kind of poppy to New Zealand from Bath, where they were growing on my uncle’s grave (he was a Pathfinder pilot who died in WWII). I didn’t realise it was illegal to import seeds, was just happy when these poppies bloomed. I also didn’t realise that the seed heads are used for their resin, to get high, and over the years many of them were stolen, by people who were meticulous about not disturbing nearby plants. So over the years I had fewer and fewer of these and now none at all, so I’m thrilled to see these and be reminded of their beauty. Thank you!
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That’s nice to hear Marian, I love these Poppies too, their colour is so beautiful. Wish I could send you seeds as I have many, but alas it is against the law, and apart from that I am too conscious about not spreading possible pests or so. Hope you can come across them again in NZ. I did not realise about the resin, I thought that they came from a different Poppy. Regards to you.
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I love poppy’s so much and have in my garden a place for wild flowers to
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That is lovely!
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