How can I grow poppies in my garden?

Poppies are the quintessential field flower. Native to the Middle East, they are, at once, beautiful but also fragile and ephemeral. Yet they never cease to provide a breathtaking landscape when they bloom in their thousands. In flowerbeds, in beds, in meadows or on their own, poppies will bring colour to your garden.

How to sow poppies

Whether you want to grow it in part of your garden or in your vegetable patch, the poppy is a plant that does not take well to transplanting. You will need to sow it in the ground. Sowing can start in April, depending on the region. The soil must have started to warm up. You'll need to work the soil well and make sure there are no weeds. Poppies like well-drained soil so if your soil is stony, there will be no worries, however if your soil is clay, think about lightening it to optimise your chances of success.

Your garden is ready, you can start broadcasting the poppy seeds. Be careful, they are tiny, so it may be a good idea to mix them with sand to distribute the seeds evenly. All you need to do next is lightly rake the seeds to cover them. Keep your substrate cool until the seeds have emerged. Choose a nice spot in full sun, so you can enjoy these magnificent colours.

If you have successfully sown your poppies, you can, if you wish, collect the seeds for next year. They only flower for one day. The capsules at the end of the stem contain the precious seeds. You'll need to wait for the capsule to dry out and then simply cut it straight off to prevent the seeds escaping. If you don't want to harvest the seeds, you can leave them to dry on the spot and they will resow themselves.

The poppy, a multitude of colours

Red is the best-known colour of the poppy. But, if you want other colours, there are a multitude of cultivars that offer magnificent colours. For example, you can find flowers in orange, pink, parma...Some have double petals. So you'll have plenty of choice for your planting. Planting poppies will attract lots of bumblebees and bees to your garden. It's a great way to get insects to pollinate the vegetables in your garden. Although it has no nectar, it has a large quantity of pollen. A little information: the pollen from this flower is black.

A little extra for the poppy (Papaver rhoeas): all its aerial parts can be eaten. So you can eat its petals in salads as well as the capsule containing the seeds. It will add a slight nutty flavour. The corolla of the flower can also be used to make syrups. The plant's leaves can be eaten, but only when they are young, i.e. before the flower stalk has grown. The poppy is a plant to have at home, it can only brighten up your garden.