Landscape (UK)

A bold yet frAgile beAuty

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The deeply cupped, satiny flowers of Papaver orientale ‘Mrs Perry’ unfurl gracefully from large buds on thick stems, rising towards the sun from verdant green foliage. Appearing from late spring, the rumpled petals bloom in a soft salmon-pink, with a dab of deep purple at the base, swirling around a black or blue stamen. A deciduous perennial, the oriental poppy has been grown in the garden since the 18th century, blooming in shades of orange and red until nurseryman Amos Perry plucked a pink seedling from his flower bed in 1906, naming it after his first wife. It does well in bright sunlight or dappled shade and in rich, well-drained soil. As the flower fades, it can be pinched or cut at its stem to allow new shoots to emerge and possibly a second flush of summer blooms.

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