Papaver rhoeas

<strong>Annual poppies are</strong> undoubtedly among <strong>our easiest wild plants to use</strong>. Hardy, they require only minimal maintenance. <strong>Growing quickly, they produce a dazzling floral display</strong> for a season. <strong>Their rounded corollas with silky, crumpled petals can showcase all colours and shapes</strong>. After flowering, <strong>their decorative fruits will scatter countless seeds</strong> in the wind. Mischievous and unpredictable, <strong>they then invade the most unlikely corners of the garden.</strong> Whether they are cornflowers, garden poppies, or California poppies, <strong>they thrive in the sun and in well-drained, even poor soil</strong>. Very hardy, they can withstand temperatures down to -25°C depending on the variety and are not very demanding. [caption id="attachment_46724" align="alignnone" width="1172"]<img class="size-full wp-image-46724" src="https://www.promessedefleurs.com/blogwp/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Pavot-somnifère.jpg" alt="Papaver somniferum" width="1172" height="780" /> Fluffy heart of a opium poppy.[/caption] Annual poppies are valuable for the gardener as <strong>they provide a colourful transition between spring and mid-summer blooms.</strong> They effectively fill seasonal gaps in borders, as well as slightly neglected areas of the garden. <strong>Especially since the choice is vast</strong>: <strong>pink or white cornflowers</strong>, <strong>peony-flowered poppies</strong> for a romantic corner, <strong>poppies with multiple petals</strong> more or less undulating forming plump pom-poms, frayed corollas, bicoloured ones… <strong>Poppies have their place everywhere</strong>: <strong>in natural gardens</strong> or flowering meadows, of course, where they mix amiably with grasses and other annuals, but they also invite themselves into urban or classic gardens, where they cheerfully brighten the space. <strong>Their simple flowers will bring freshness and a natural touch to a contemporary garden</strong> and they will whimsically occupy slopes or open spaces in the garden.