Papaver orientale 'Beauty of Livermere'

'Beauty of Livermere' is a large flower, 4 to 6 inches across, with crepe-paper like petals of pure, radiant scarlet-red surrounding a huge, dramatic dark purple to black center. The blooms arise on tall, slender, very strong stems, reaching 30 inches high in the sunny garden. They last for several weeks, and after they pass, the plant goes dormant for summer. A fine plant for cool-summer climates, it tends to bloom earlier and for a shorter duration farther south.

Named for a village in Suffolk, England, 'Beauty of Livermere' is floriferous and very dependable, often self-seeding where it is content. It needs nothing beyond very good soil drainage and plenty of sunshine to flower season after season, with gray-green foliage on plants reaching just 18 to 24 inches wide. Best dotted rather than massed (because when they go dormant, they leave a gap in the garden display), Oriental Poppies are absolutely spectacular cut-flowers.

The great red poppy came to prominence in 1920 as the symbol of the fallen soldiers of World War I, sparked by the hugely popular poem "In Flanders Field," which begins: "In Flanders field, the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row." For many years November 11 (Remembrance Day in the UK and Canada; Veterans' Day in the USA) was marked by the wearing of a paper poppy on the lapel. In recent years the red poppy has been expanded into the symbol of many war-related charities in the United Kingdom, and is displayed prominently for several weeks beginning in late October. It has been joined by the white poppy as a symbol of pacifism, so if you would like to grow both, consider 'Royal Wedding' as a companion to 'Beauty of Livermere'! Zones 3-7.