Poppies - How to brighten up waste ground

The poppy world thrives on impoverished ground especially where it is stoney and free draining. Poppies also like as much sun as possible, especially afternoon sun! There are hundreds of varieties to choose from and now is the time to look around to see which ones you like.
The two main variety of poppies are the annual and perennial types. The annual varieties once left to flower and seed will begin to colonise all sorts of crevices, brightening up the area during spring and summer.

A good example of an annual poppy is the Papaver Iceland series (nudicaule type) with its brightly coloured flower heads generally orange and yellow in colour.

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The other main group of poppies, the perennials, are fairly short lived in the spot in which they grow or are planted but as time goes by, and if left to seed after flowering, will colonise into further plants elsewhere in the locality with comparable ground and light conditions. The perennial poppy is the Papaver orientale type of which there are many; from black and white ones through pinks oranges reds yellows and purples. A lovely example is the Papaver Turkenlouis which is pictured below.

The main difference in the way they colonise is that the perennials establish much larger flowers and leaves with hairy stems in clump formation, whereas the annuals tend to remain small but are more widely dispersed often not in the original location.
It will therefore depend upon the look you wish to achieve as to which type you would choose, for example the wild flower look will suit the annual poppy but a more planned planting scheme will require the perennial varieties.

If you want to include perennial poppies in an ordinary herbaceous border, so long as it is in full sun, you can incorporate a lot of horticultural grit mixed with the soil in the desired area to create the well drained conditions the poppy thrives on. However if the ground is very wet then it would be better to introduce some additional soil above the existing soil to create a mound , and this soil should be combined with grit for better results

Some of the larger varieties produce the most stunning flower heads which can be as much as 6 inches in diameter and can make a wonderful focal point during late spring and early summer.

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