July and Poppies

from The Poppy

Summer set lip to earth's bosom bare,

And left the flushed print in a poppy there:

Like a yawn of fire from the grass it came,

And the fanning wind puffed it to flapping flame. 

Francis Thompson (1859-1907)

We we were out and about a few weeks ago and on our way to Cambridge Botanical Gardens so we could take some pictures of the plants there when we happened to pass a beautiful field full of poppies near Harston in South Cambridge. Luckily we had the cameras with us and we felt compelled to stop and take some pictures as the field looked so stunning. We also had a lot of ornamental poppies out in the garden too, which seemed to peak at their best as we reached July this year, a bit later than usual and they looked simply beautiful. When we were in the Lake District in June we came across the most stunning blue oriental poppies at Dalemain, a historic House on the outskirts of Ullswater and at the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge there was beautiful array of Californian poppies. So we seem to have acquired quite a collection of 'poppy' pictures this year that I wanted to share.  Enjoy the poppies!

Stop the car!

Even more stunning the nearer we got!

Californian poppies at Cambridge Botanical Gardens

Himalayan poppies at Dalemain

The poppy is a flowering plant; some are ornamental grown for their colourful flowers; some varieties are used as food; other varieties produce opium which has been used since ancient times to create analgesic, medicinal and recreational drugs. Following the 1st World War which took place in the poppy fields of Flanders, red poppies have become the symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during war time. 

Ornamental poppy in the garden

Petals are crumpled whilst in the bud

Love the frilled petals just opened out