In Christianity, the poppy symbolizes not only the blood of Christ, but his resurrection and ascent to Heaven.
Did you know that many scholars believe that Peter was talking about poppies when he said, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” Peter 1:24.
In early wars, Poppies often grew in battle-scarred fields. The bullets were thought to have churned up the soil, releasing long-dormant seeds to grow. In World War 1, battle surgeon, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, was moved after he saw Flander’s Field in Belgium (site of more than 87,000 Allied deaths) covered in blooming red poppies. He wrote the poem Flander’s Field, and the red poppy has been worn on lapels on Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day in remembrance of fallen soldiers ever since.
Besides remembrance, poppies also symbolize hope and regeneration. The resilient poppy often grows in challenging locations and in depleted soil. They provide so much brightness and beauty in otherwise bleak surroundings.
Poppies are funny things. They bloom so beautifully and then quickly drop their petals. Not to worry though, the seed pods that follow are lovely in their own right.
PC: Ann Kirsten
My daughter was the first one in our family to grow poppies in her garden. She exchanged seed pods with friends and bought some fancy seeds from catalogues. As a result, she has some beautiful varieties in her yard.
PC: Ann Kirsten
She shared some pink poppy seeds with me, and I scattered them in my garden. They blessed my yard with so much beauty last summer.
PC: Ann Kirsten
After the petals drop, leave the pods alone until they dry and turn brown. Each pod will gift you with hundreds of seeds to share and grow again. I like to put the dried heads upside down into a bag and shake them. You will have more seeds than you know what to do with!
PC: Ann Kirsten
Do you then get rid of the dried pods?
No, that’s when the real fun begins. Last year, I gathered my sister, daughter and granddaughter and we had a poppy craft day.
Gather some craft paints, brushes, and pens and you’re set to go.
We painted faces on some of the poppies.
PC: Ann Kirsten
We painted some of them with metallic craft paint.
PC: Ann Kirsten
And, my sister liked the look of the bare pods.
PC: Ann Kirsten
Place them in a dry vase and they’ll last forever.
And all those seeds I harvested? I simply threw them on top of the dirt and they’re now popping up everywhere.
PC: Ann Kirsten
Consider growing some poppies in your yard in remembrance of the sacrifices of the many soldiers who died for our freedom and for our Savior who died for our sins.
Note: Not all poppy seeds are alike. Do not ingest homegrown poppy seeds.
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