Poppies…

The easiest garden plant?

Poppies come in a colour and variety to suit any situation. Their flowers are soft and beautiful. They have a long flowering period. When they are done flowering their seed pods are as striking as the flowers and can be used in the house as decorations. They are the easiest plant in the world to save seed from - and lots of it, and if you don’t get round to saving seed they’ll self-seed next year for you anyway.

There are so many varieties though that it can be easy to get confused so we’ve highlighted a few of the differences:

Common Poppy Papaver rhoeas - this is also known as the corn or field poppy. Comes in a wide range of colours ranging from the common red poppy to whites, purples and even grey. These are annuals but will readily self-seed. They will flower in late spring to early summer and grow up to 60cm in height. Seed heads are small.

Oriental Poppy Papaver orientalis - will form a clump with bristly stems. Extremely flamboyant flowers. Colours tend to be shades of orange, red, pink or purple. Can grow up to 100cm. This is a perennial poppy so will come back each year. You can also propagate this poppy through root cuttings or save seed to get new colours. Seed heads are medium sized and flat on the top.

Opium Poppy Papaver somniferum - this is a tall annual which can grow up to 120cm. Tends to be in shades of purple, pink, red and white. Very striking blue/silver stems. Really large seed heads which look incredible dried. Very easy to save seed.

Welsh Poppy Papaver cambricum - lovely little poppy found in the wild all over the UK. Great for damp shady spots. Flowers from May to September and grows up to 30cm in height. Will self-seed into any nook and cranny and helps to soften edges and paths. Tiny, thin little seed heads.

Californian Poppy Eschscholzia californican - another small but incredibly beautiful poppy. Tends to come in shades of orange, yellow and cream. Annual flower which will grow to 30cm. Easy to collect seed. Very long seed pods.