The opium poppy is a hardy annual that grows to about 1.2m with large, coarse, toothed, silvery green foliage and tall flowering stems bearing four-petalled flowers that may be white, pink, lavender or red, followed by a globose capsule with an operculum that opens to scatter the ripe seed. The wall of the green capsule oozes bitter white latex when wounded. Opium cultivation is strictly controlled in many countries and is the source of some our most important painkillers, morphine and codeine, but also of dangerously addictive heroin.

All varieties require a well drained soil and sunny position. To sow seeds evenly during spring, mix them with dry sand. You need to weed regularly. Harvest and dry the petals immediately after the flowers fully open. Collect seed from ripe capsules and dry them.
Poppy seeds are not narcotic and are widely used for their flavour and crunchy texture. They are popular in baked goods, such as breads, cakes, pastries, muffins and bagels. In India the seeds are ground and used to thicken sauces. The seeds also feature in Jewish and German cooking.
information sourced from The Complete Book of Herbs
Recipes with poppy seeds: cream cheese pastry, crayfish curry with poppy seeds
What I blogged:
- one year ago – curry plant
- two years ago – pasta with shallot, sausage and cherry tomatoes
I love poppy seeds.
🙂 Mandy
strangely, they are not my favourite 🙂
Another goo post, Tandy.I love poppyseed muffins, but not when the seeds get stuck in my teeth. 🙂 Have a lovely weekend.
I have not tried making muffins with poppy seeds in them 🙂
I absolutely love poppy seeds as well though the plant itself has so many diffferent qualities 😀
Cheers
CCU
I love the flowers, which grow wild in my garden 🙂
Simple yet pretty photo!
Poppies are so beautiful! 🙂
O love poppie’s a lot! So colourful & we see them a lot in our countryside, in the wild!
I love poppy seeds. They have a flavour all their own.
They do, but sometimes they can be a bit overpowering 🙂
This brought back memories of the first house Dave and I lived in after we got married.. the backyard was filled with wild poppies!! Just like these! xx
We have wild poppies in our driveway – I just wish they would cover the lawn 🙂
Poppies are a real favourite, just beautiful and just what I needed to see on a rainy day Tandy!
I love how fragile they are 🙂
I love poppies and was sad to miss them in the fields this year, such a lovely sight!
they are!
I love poppies…their delicate petals are so beautiful and vibrant.
that is the best way to describe them 🙂
Poppies are one of my favourite flowers – adore their gorgeous colours. Pete won’t let me grow them! 🙂
Ours grow wild, so maybe you can pretend they just arrived?