Showcase - Iceland Poppy

I'm not really a flower guy, unless you can eat them, but I don't snub my nose at pretty flowers that grow with a minimum of fuss. Iceland poppies fit that bill here at zone 4-5. Some do survive the winter, but they are biennials, meaning they live two years at most. However, they propagate themselves through seeding.

We started by planting mostly red poppies, with a smattering of white and orange. It seems the latter two do best here; we no longer have any red ones. Over the years, poppies have popped up all over the yard through their seeds blowing around. They tend to gather at the eastern end of the yard; the direction the wind tends to blow.

The white ones are particularly interesting because they remind me of eggs. The individual blooms don't last more than a couple days, but if the plant is healthy, it will send up flower stalks continuously all summer long.

Once the flower disappears and the bulb dries up, you can open it up and harvest the seeds. Or you can let Mother Nature do it. They grow quite well in rock mulch as well as in wood mulch as you see in the next photo.

The orange poppies are quite brilliant, more so than my crappy camera can capture. Here you can also see the flower buds dangling on the stalks, waiting for their moment to explode.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that all parts of the plant are considered poisonous. Luckily the dog has shown no interest in them.

So next time you're walking through the nursery and see some Iceland Poppies, or seeds for same, give them a try. They require little watering or attention, spread themselves readily without being a nuisance, and are quite pretty to look at.