The common name of this flower, „poppy“ comes from Anglo-Saxon word, popig, meaning sleep. Apparently, the seeds were used to make a sleep-inducing drink. I did some research, and only one species of poppy, Papaver Somniferum, contains opium (morphine). The seeds of this species can be sold legally in the US and are available on various web sites. Growing plants from these seeds, however, is highly illegal.

The poppies in my yard are not opium poppies.

On the one hand, I would like it to start getting warm, but on the other hand, the poppies just started blooming and they just don‘t tolerate the heat well. I stepped out in the yard the other day and saw the salmon pink petals drop off of one flower. But this was the first time I saw a de-petaled poppy with the entire center intact, because the black anthers drop off almost immediately after the petals do. So I ran in to get my camera to capture this rare sight. Therefore, there is a double bonus in the archive today: a photo of the flower bud, and a photo of the entire poppy center without petals.