Papaver rhoeas Parelmoer

This selection of Papaver rhoeas Parelmoer brings together some of the most romantic forms that can be found in field poppies. These flowers, generally single, sometimes semi-double, colour their crumpled petals with smoky and pastel shades, with infinite delicacy. From white to pearl gray and silver blue, from peach to smoky pink and light red, the colours blend and merge at random, composing a delightful watercolour scene. These annual poppies are undemanding plants which grow and self-seed quietly in the sun. They tolerate poor and even heavy, limestone and degraded soil. Their sowing is foolproof.

The field poppy, also known as corn poppy or simply poppy, is an annual plant of the Papaveraceae family, native to Asia Minor. 'Parelmoer' is a mixture of plants derived from this adorable weed, or more precisely from the 'Shirley Poppy' beloved by our English friends. We owe the wonderful selections offered in seed catalogues today to the English painter and plant enthusiast Cedric Morris (1889-1982), who used to roam the countryside of Sussex in search of the prettiest poppies that had escaped from gardens. These fast-growing plants reach a height of 60 to 65 cm (24 to 26in) in flower in one season, with a width of 30 cm (12in). With a fragile appearance, like their thin, rough and sparsely branched stems, these plants form clumps of alternate leaves, cut into narrow and toothed lobes, whose full power is revealed when they inevitably emerge from freshly disturbed soil, from seeds that are sometimes very old. When the stem is broken, it releases a white, milky sap. The summer flowering extends from June to August, depending on the climate and the sowing date. The open cup-shaped flowers have one or sometimes several rows of silky, slightly crumpled petals, solid or bicoloured with lighter edges, in various, always very refined tones. The centre is provided with numerous stamens with black-blue anthers. The flowers give way to fruits that are capsules containing a large number of seeds that will be dispersed by the wind.

At ease in wild, monastic and unmaintained gardens, poppies allow you to quickly and effortlessly create seas of flowers moving in their simplicity, in perfect harmony with the summer light. Although not very long-lasting in bouquets, poppy flowers have a great charm in flowerbeds in the company of irises, large daisies, big peonies, or the shifting foliage of grasses. This annual plant, like cosmos, is unmatched for filling embankments around new constructions, or empty spaces between annuals or large late-flowering perennials such as sunflowers that take over in full sun. If you still want to make bouquets with its flowers, you will need to cauterize the stems where they have been cut, thus preventing the flowers from wilting during the day.