Look! Poppies in Full Force

A while back, in my post about the public garden next door, I remarked that the flat of poppies I'd planted were just on the verge of blooming. I had picked out a few unusual varieties without really knowing how the blooms would look. Well, by now the garden is just overflowing with these crazy beauties. In general I'm really a perennial girl, but as annuals go, poppies are wonderful for several reasons...

• Each plant will produce dozens of flowers, and they'll keep on blooming through mid-summer (at least).

• They're perfect for cutting and arranging in bouquets (if a bit short-lived).

• Once the petals have dropped, the seed pod itself is a gorgeous sculptural element in your garden.

• Poppies grow quickly, and the foliage can get a bit messy, but it is a gorgeous silvery color—perfect as a contrast with darker leaves or black grass.

Click through the photos to see the different varieties I ended up with... they range from a red-and-white stripe (reminds me of a circus tent) to an explosion of deep, dark petals that almost looks like a peony.

(Images: Susie Nadler for Apartment Therapy)

Comments (7)

soooo beautiful! love the varieties you have! i had a wildflower mix last summer that had poppies in it and loved them so much, but the ones i planted (or maybe it's the terribly hot summer in alabama) caused them all to die within a day of their bloom. any suggestions for longevity?

posted by xjacklynx on June 17th 2009 at 2:16pm
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Some tips on how to make poppies last as cut flowers: http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/05/poppy-season/

posted by ChrisToronto on June 17th 2009 at 2:45pm
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poppies are my favorite flower. These are gorgeous.

posted by mlleErica on June 17th 2009 at 2:57pm
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Stunning! I love poppies - its great to see the little fuzzy top start to come off and then suddenly, a huge bloom pops out! Those are really nice ones you got.

posted by mmepatty on June 17th 2009 at 4:44pm
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These are absolutely gorgeous!
I had never considered using them as an annual...or seen them sold in that way, for that matter. Must be a regional thing.
I love poppies as a perennial, but in my climate, pretty much only the basic orange ones grow. Absolutely amazing when they're in bloom, but it's for such a short time that I'm always wishing someone would invent some that bloom longer/later.

posted by splatgirl on June 17th 2009 at 5:49pm
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@xjacklynx, unfortunately poppies just don't last very long in a bouquet. The tips from ChrisToronto's link are helpful (thanks, Chris!), and you can also try scoring the stems... with a sharp knife, score a line two or three inches long along the end of the poppy stem before you put it in water. That might buy you some time too.

- Susie

posted by susiekn on June 17th 2009 at 7:56pm
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Oh, wait, you were asking about how to make the blooms last longer in the garden! Well I don't really have any good advice there. I'm afraid it's just the nature of the beast. Anyone else?

- Susie

posted by susiekn on June 17th 2009 at 7:58pm
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