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shape. Although it is an old variety (1906) its beauty hasn't been eclipsed. Height 1m.Papaver 'Mrs Perry'This slightly washed-out poppy bears the name of the 20th-century artist, who scoured East Anglia in the late 1930s, looking for pale versions

there are seedheads of annual poppies. There are still some in flower but they are very late - usually because they have sown themselves somewhere a little shadier or generally less conducive to enthusiastic growth.Left untroubled, the ripened and fading carcasses

.The flower stems are strong and tall, up to 1.2m (4ft), and each supports a single magnificent bloom, blood red and boldly imprinted at the base of each petal with a jet-black splodge. The stamens, arranged in a broad circle around the dark, central knob

've formed a good root system.Established oriental poppySharp knifeMulti-cell traySeed compostHorticultural gritSeptember - March20 minutes to take the cuttingsLift a clump of the oriental poppy that you want to take cuttings from or just scrape away the soil

Beech leaves are among the slowest deciduous foliage to break down, making them perfect for Christmas decorations. Combine them with elegant poppy seed heads and spray with silver paint to show off their intricate structure and add sparkle to your

of seed and scatter thinly along the drill or you will waste seed and spend more time thinning out.Use a trowel or your fingers to cover seeds with 0.5cm of soil. Label the rows and water using a watering can with a rose attachment.Thin seedlings out once

.Every year at Gardeners’ World Live I see the ladybird poppy (Papaver commutatum), and wish I had it. I never see it at any flower shows or public gardens, or even growing in people’s own gardens – but there it is, without fail flowering its socks off

of yellow verbascum that has somehow sown itself into a drystone wall and (in the distance) the bristling white plumes belonging to Persicaria polymorpha.Round the corner, the Baptisia australis is spectacular and first opium poppies (Papaver somniferum

In a large pot, mix together a rich purple osteospermum with zesty yellow and orange bidens, lantana, portulaca and California poppies for the perfect summer cocktail.springJune - August 40 minutesOsteospermum 'Malindi'Lantana camaraCalifornia poppy

Are you snowed under with seed catalogues? It seems that even before the summer stutters to an end we have to start thinking about next year.I don't usually grow much in the way of annuals in my garden (apart from dahlias and poppies, of course