A Generosity of Poppies

The poppies were stunning this year. I can’t say the same for the rest of the garden but we won’t get into that!

I sowed these seeds same way I always do: broadcast in winter on soil that was prepared the autumn before. I did sow them mixed with sand in some areas to disperse the seed a little better. But in other areas, I just went nuts and threw them willy nilly. I paid for my hubris the following spring by having to spend hours thinning. So, take my advice and use a dispersing medium (dried coffee grounds also works well.)

I grew my usual Lauren’s Grape, which must be 6th or 7th generation by now, and a mix of others.

They were popping up everywhere: in the hollyhocks, around the picket fences, in the pea gravel courtyard, along the rockery and tucked in the gallica roses.

They were probably the biggest source of pollen for our honey bees for several weeks. I loved watching them coming and going from the hives laden down with ivory-hued pollen pants.

Poppies are so generous with their number of flowers, their rich pollen followed by all those thousands of seeds. In fact, if I could nominate a collective noun for this flower it would be “generosity.” A generosity of poppies is so fitting, isn’t it?

I can’t imagine my garden without these lovely flowers. Fortunately I’ve saved enough seeds where I won’t have to! Did you grow poppies this year? Which are your favorites?