PLANTS
GARDENING AUSTRALIA SEPTEMBER 2019 21
PHOTO
GAP PHOTOS/NOVA PHOTO GRAPHIK
poppy love
O
ver the years, poppies have
had special significanceforme.
The red flower associatedwith
Anzac Day and Remembrance
Day is the Flanders poppy (Papaverrhoeas),
which flourished in Europe’s devastated
battlefields during the First WorldWar,
inspiring soldier and poet John McCraeto
write, “We shall not sleep, thoughpoppies
grow in Flanders fields”.
A story I filmed for Gardening Australia
about the people who knitted and crocheted
the 62,000 red poppies displayedatthe
Australian War Memorial in Canberra,to
commemorate the 100th anniversaryofthe
end of the war, was one of my favourites.
A couple of years earlier, they handcrafted
300,000 red poppies for a tributegarden
at London’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
This huge outdoor carpet of poppieswas
an extraordinary sight – a great memorial
to those who have served in all wars,
with a wonderful community connection
to our shared history.
If you want to grow the real thing,the
Flanders poppy is an annual wildflower
in Northern Europe, so in Australiait’s
suited to the cooler southern areas.
My mum’s garden in Mildura, Victoria,
was famous for its poppies, whichgrew
among her roses and perennials. They
were spectacular opium, or breadseed,
poppies (P. somniferum). These aretaller
plants with blue-grey foliage and flowers
resembling giant, full-blown, multipetalled
roses, mainly in soft pinks. She didn’tplantthemherself,buttheseedsinthe
soilprovedveryviable,sotheywould
popupyearafteryear.Theygrewwell
inhergarden,preferringpoor,drysoils
tooverlyrich,dampground.
TheseedsofP.somniferumarea
familiaringredientinbiscuits,breads,
rollsandcakes.Althoughyoucanbuy
commerciallyproducedseedsforcooking,
todayitisillegaltogrowthispoppyin
yourgardeninAustralia.Itscultivationis
subjecttostrictgovernmentcontrol,asthe
seedpodalsoyieldsanalkaloid-containing
latexthatisusedbythepharmaceutical
industrytoproducenarcotics.Australiais
amajorproducer,withTasmania’shighly
regulatedopiumpoppyfieldscontributing
abouthalfoftheworld’slegalopiates.POPPIESTOGROW
There’sabigfamilyofpoppiestochoose
fromforthehomegarden.Oneofthe
mostvibrantandvigorousoftheseisthe
orientalpoppy(P.orientale),aherbaceous
perennialthatflowersinearlyspringand
alwaysattractscompliments.Ithasmany
cultivars,withbloomsavailableindark
crimson-red,scarlet,mauve,salmon-pink,
orange,orwhitewithadarkcentre,and
petalsarrangedinsingle,semi-double
ordoubleconfigurations.Thesepoppies
comefromWestAsiaandlikeacold,
frostyclimate.Theplantsdiebackafter
flowering,thenreappearinautumn,when
theyneedtoreceivegoodmoisturewhile
preparingfortheirspringshow.TheIcelandpoppy(P.nudicaule)isa
charmingbeddingplantthatisgrownin
potsorgardensinwinterforflowering
inspring.Theflowers’crepeypetalsin
gorgeouscolours–orange,salmonor
yellow–areadelight,andmaketerrific
cutflowers.Thisannualisgrownfrom
seedorseedlings.Plantinasunnyspot
inwell-drainedsoilthathashadmanure
dugintoit,makingitrichandfriable.Water
theplantsjustenoughtokeepthemmoist.
Likemostfloweringannuals,theygrow
betterwithregularfeeding,sogivethem
anapplicationofliquidfertiliseronceevery
threeweeksorso.Collectseedswhen
theseedcapsulesstarttodryandgo
astrawcolour,andstoretheminan
envelopeforsowingnextautumn.
Closelyrelatedtothepoppiesofthe
PapavergenusisthebeautifulHimalayan
bluepoppy(Meconopsisbetonicifolia),
anexquisite,highlydesirableplantthat’s
notoriouslydifficulttogrowinAustralia.As
itscommonnamesuggests,thislegendary
perennialneedsacold,moistwinterand
amildsummerwithmostlycoolnights.
Youstandachanceofgrowingitifyou
liveinTasmaniaorthehighlandareasof
Australia’smainland,ifyoukeepitmoist.
Butdespitebeingaperennial,it’slikely
tolastonlyafewyears.It’soneofthose
plantsthathasalwaysdelightedmeon
tripstogardensinEngland,whereit
flourishesinherbaceousborders.
AnativeoftheUK,theWelshpoppy
(M.cambrica)alsolovesthecoldbutIt’s easy to sow the seeds of a lifelong love affair
with these exquisite blooms that announce
spring has sprung, says JANE EDMANSON