• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Home Garden Companion

Home Garden Companion

Ilona's Garden Journal

  • Plant Library On The Journal
    • All Season Garden Color
    • Sitemap
  • Garden chores
    • Essential Garden Tools For Beginners
    • Garden Tips and Advice
  • Ilona’s Garden Home
    • Old House Blog
    • Garden Librarian
  • Ilona’s Garden Flavor Shop
  • Privacy Policy

Shirley Poppies, Papaver rhoeas

11.06.09 | Ilona Erwin | No Comments


These are flowers to illustrate fairy tales, and so easy that a child can grow them successfully.

In fact, once you plant them, they may just grow on their own happily ever after.

They are one of my favorite reseeding annuals.

How These Poppies Look

The petals of the Shirley poppy are described as tissue paper or tissue silk, and for such a sturdy plant everything about them seems impossibly delicate. From the fairy-winged flowers to the wire thin stems rising from a basal nest of mid-green hairy leaves, they flutter and wave in the wind.

Sometimes the petals sparkle with raindrops clinging to their translucent surface.

Nothing is prettier than a horde of these poppies gathered in spaces throughout the garden arrayed in their best gowns of sparkling, luscious colors for a dance in June.

They are somewhat ephemeral, though. Liking cooler temperatures, they tend to melt during the hottest part of the summer. But that isn’t surprising for something that seems so delicate in appearance.

Shirley poppies have a wide variety of colors in their hybridized selections. My favorites are the pastels, with lavenders, pale rose, white, and pinks, often picotéed around the edge of the petals with rose red or in soft bicolors.

The Shirley poppy color selections can range in color from cool whites, pinks, rose, and lavenders to cheerful yellow, orange, and scarlet, and can be doubles.

A Few Interesting Facts

Originally the Shirley poppy, Papaver rhoeas, was found in corn fields of Europe, the one made famous in Flanders and worn on Memorial Day.

In Flanders Fields….
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
~Written by John McCrae~

Shirley poppies are perfect additions to a Cottage Garden. They can be used as cut flowers if you singe the cut stem with a flame to seal it.

Growing Poppies From Seed

To plant Shirley poppies, simply sow lightly and thinly on top of the soil. Press into the ground to make good contact. They benefit from freezing, which is why it is recommended that you plant them in the fall, but that is not necessary.Poppies need sunshine, but other than that are happy to tuck themselves in many places in the garden. They don’t like to be transplanted, but I have experimented with moving a few that were “weeded out” – so I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Poppies are mildly poisonous, having alkaloids in all parts of the plant. Never had a problem with any of my animals or kids trying any out. It is the Opium poppy, not papaver rhoeas, that is grown for medicine, narcotics, and poppyseeds for food use. That is a different variety than the Shirley poppy.

Resources For Shirley Poppy Seeds

I had originally planted one collection called “Fairy Wings” which I had ordered through Thompson & Morgan, no longer available; “Angel Choir” is probably the closest choice. I notice Swallowtail Seeds has a mix looking similar to “Angel Choir”.

Heirloom Shirley Poppies From Botanical Interest

Resource for Cottage and Cutting Garden Seeds

Tags: Shirley+poppies, summer blooms

Share this:

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

← Previous Post
Endless Summer Hydrangea
Next Post →
Diatoms

About Ilona Erwin

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

DISCLOSURE: I may be an affiliate for products that I recommend. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Thank you, in advance for your support! Privacy Policy

Primary Sidebar

Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

Newest Postings Here

  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

Visit for a Spell

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Mission

Finding your way home via the garden path

Books, Tools, Tips

Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Portrait of a Gardener

gardener musings
Musings

What’s Wrong With Today’s Gardening?

Modern gardening
What Is Wrong?

Garden Journal

fine garden journal
Journal, Planner and Log Book
buy quality plants

You might also like

seeds

National Seed Swap Day in January

Garden advice

What Makes a Low Maintenance Garden?

Create A Child’s Garden, Grow Love For Nature

Growing Indoor Flowers In December

I Found Out About “She Sheds” And Coincidentally, About Friends

Newest Postings Here

  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

Books, Tools, Tips

Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Standouts

10 Useful Gardening Tips For Spring

Do You Grow Herbs? 10 Reasons To Love Them

10 Cool Season Annual Flowers To Plant

Standouts

August Gardening: Ten Suggestions

What are your ten top choices for perennial plantings?

ilonagarden

With village lights With village lights
Christmas decor #christmasspirit🎄 Christmas decor #christmasspirit🎄
Instagram post 17935013548845771 Instagram post 17935013548845771
Instagram post 17981374354427684 Instagram post 17981374354427684
Instagram post 17865517706595888 Instagram post 17865517706595888
Gift of flowers by my bedside Gift of flowers by my bedside
#mockorange #juneflowers #ohio #mockorange #juneflowers #ohio
Instagram post 18224713828022497 Instagram post 18224713828022497
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Join Me

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · Your Site Name

Hazel Theme by Code + Coconut