Botanical Poppy (botanical style)

The field poppy, Papaver rhoeas, is an annual of cultivated ground. Its seed can lie dormant in the soil for years and germinates when the earth is disturbed, which is why poppies flowered across the churned fields of the Western Front. The papery petals unfold from a hairy bud, last a day or two, then fall to leave a capsule that shakes out seed through small pores like a pepper pot. It's been Britain's flower of remembrance since 1921.

Poppies don't like being moved, so sow them where they're to flower, scattering seed thinly on raked bare soil in autumn or from March to April. Thin the seedlings so they're not crowded, and they'll flower from June into August. Leave some seed heads to ripen and they'll self-sow for next year, or cut them for drying. Perennial oriental poppies are different: cut their foliage back hard after they flower in early summer and fresh leaves soon return.

A red poppy flower, a seed head and a bud sit together on curving stems against a cream ground. Bud, bloom and capsule follow one another in a matter of days, so placing all three in one picture shows the poppy's short life in a single glance, the way botanical drawings have often done.