Poppy Fascination

I've loved poppies since spying the rare Himalayan blue poppy at a botanical garden in New England many years ago while on vacation. I had a postcard purchased at the gift shop there pinned to my bulletin board at work along with photos from other gardens so that my Manhattan office could look pretty!

Poppies never grew well for me on Long Island and the blue poppy only grows in cold climates, but the first year I cultivated the flower garden next to the driveway here in Virginia, I bought a cheap package of 20 cent poppy flower seeds from Wal Mart and sprinkled them on a little bit of hillside next to the foxglove. I forgot all about them until weeks later, a nodding pink-red flower with delicate, fluttering paper-thin petals and attractive foliage peeked out from the shelter of some Echinacea that dominated the bed. I ran to my plant encyclopedia to look it up and was surprised to learn that it was my poppies, all grown up and blooming! Since then, I have added poppies to the garden each year.  I have two varieties of exquisite large red and pink poppies started from seeds under the plant lights in the basement. These will go into the rose bed, which is rapidly becoming the "whatever roses live" bed, to supplement the straggly dying roses. And of course, I've got my 20 cent Wal Mart seeds again.

Poppies fascinate me because they have been cultivated since antiquity. I'm still reading that book about the Gardens of Ancient Egypt and poppies played a significant role in their culture. They grew them as ornamental flowers outside of their templates, and some were found in the tombs of the dead.  They are listed among flowers used to make bouquets for worship too.

The Romans used poppies in their funeral rites as well as the Egyptians. I can't help but think of Flanders Field - and the use of poppies in modern times to symbolize the fallen heroes of our time.  I always give as much as I can to the veterans selling poppies outside of the stores in November and hang the paper poppies in my car.  I say a little prayer of gratitude for freedom and for our military when I see the poppy.

One little flower holds so much significance, doesn't it? Flowers tend to do that, along with trees, shrubs and other plants. I suppose it's because so many flowers have a lengthy history of cultivation and enjoyment. Poppies are one such flower.

Will you grow poppies this year?