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| Flanders field poppy, Papaver rhoeas, in bloom. (Photo courtesy of A. Cuellar) |
The old flower boxes outside the Mamie D. Lee Community Garden are full of red poppies - Flanders field poppies - blooming just in time for Memorial Day. There are many ways to remember and honor those who have died while serving our country - some lay wreaths or place flags at gravesites. Some have parades. I grow poppies, the flower that has symbolized the horror of war and its enormous cost in human lives for 100 years.
During World War I, the poppies grew abundantly where the soil was disturbed by shelling, fighting, and newly dug graves. The blossoms must have been incredible, for they have been described in verse and are used in remembrance ceremonies around the world.
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you, from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you, from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,
In Flanders fields.
These flowers are annuals, also known as common field poppies or corn poppies. The botanical name is Papaver rhoeas. The poppies will self sow; that is, the plants will grow wherever the seeds fall and the conditions are good. Somehow, the poppies know to bloom in time for Memorial Day.
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