“In Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses row on row, that mark our place.” The beloved words of the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae in 1915, tugs at our hearts today. The horrors of battle, and losing a dear friend at the second battle of Ypres, prompted the heartfelt words in John where probably no words could otherwise be found to describe all the terrible things that he saw and felt in war.
Not only did the poem move the world then, as it does now over one hundred years later, but it began a movement that recognized the poppy as a symbol of remembrance for soldiers who lost their lives in war. We are still called to wear the poppy for Remembrance Day, a tribute to the 9 million soldiers who died in WW1, the 20 million who died in WW2, and the many, many more who have died in other conflicts since then. Among the dead in WW1 was our great-uncle Clifford who died at Vimy Ridge at the ripe old age of 18. Too young, too soon, like so many of those dear souls who fought and died for us.
The fields of poppies described in the poem came to life through death. The poppy seeds from papaver rhoeas can stay dormant in soil for a long time before germinating when conditions are right. During the war, the soils around Flanders, France became a mess of rubble during fighting, and this rubble was rich in lime, which brought the uprooted seeds to germination. Imagine the vast spaces filled with red poppies waving in the now quiet breeze. Over time, as the lime was absorbed, the flowers became sparser. But for that brief space of time, where so many died, the earth became red with not only the blood of the fallen, but with the stunning reminder of new life in the poppies.
These poppies are part of the large poppy family that contains dozens of cousins. The poppy was domesticated thousands of years ago, and has many varieties, most of which are used as beautiful ornamental plants.
If we had any poppy seeds right now, we could actually plant them, because they will do fine going through a freeze before spring growth. But if we get our poppy seeds in the spring, we can plant them in the early spring, about a month before the last frost.
We should rake the soil, and break up any lumps, because the seeds are very fine. Next, we sprinkle them on the ground, barely covering them. They like full sun, and truly look beautiful with the sun shining through their delicate petals as they wave in the breeze. But because they are quite delicate, they would like a sheltered area.
Poppies will also seed themselves if their seed heads are allowed to mature. In our bee garden this year, we had many poppies that surprised us by coming up all on their own; including one especially lovely plant had bright red petals with a white rim, very striking!
Poppies are an easy to grow plant, and bring a carefree, breezy pop of color and movement to our gardens. Let’s mark them down on our list of plants for next spring!
Visit the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society at www.yorktonhort.ca and see what’s new. Still no live meetings planned; but see the list of gardening sessions available online with Lyndon Penner from the U of S.
And getting back to the symbolic poppies we are wearing today: let us pause for a quiet moment to remember the fallen who gave their lives for our freedom. We take so much for granted; we are so blessed to live in our beautiful country. Let’s remember them all today.
Thank you to our friends at Yorkton This Week. Have a great week, everyone.
