‘Falling in Love’ Poppy Seeds

The exquisite red Flanders poppy that symbolized the fallen soldiers of World War I can now be yours in a bright, large-flowered mixture of semi- and fully doubles. All shades of red—carmine, crimson, scarlet, rose—plus coral, pink, and white combine in solid and bicolored form to create the most cheerful and attention-getting cut flowers ever. And they’re so easy to grow—just sow ‘Falling in Love’ Poppy Seeds directly into the soil in spring or fall and wait for the blooms.

This Dutch introduction offers rich, watercolor shades hard to find elsewhere in the garden. Cupped and rounded, the 3-inch blooms look like silk, and arise very heavily on plants 9 to 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Cut all you like—these blooms were made for displaying.

Adaptable to many climates, all that ‘Falling in Love’ Poppy really needs is full sun and well-drained soil, even if it’s on the dry side. A fine choice for containers as well as the garden, ‘Falling in Love’ Poppy is untroubled by most pests and diseases, and puts up with rough weather beautifully. The blooms begin in midsummer and continue into fall in most areas. Spectacular.

2014 is the hundredth anniversary of the beginning of World War I, in which so many soldiers perished in the trenches and fields of France. To honor them, for many years Remembrance Day (November 11) included red paper poppies worn in the buttonhole. Today, red paper poppies are still used in some charity events, and they remain the eternal symbol of the dead from the Great War. Here is part of the poem inspired by the sight of wild red poppies growing in Flanders, France, near the end of the First World War: