I’ve had opium poppy in my garden for many years. The flowers come in a wide range of colours and this is THE plant I’ve had most requests for seed of over the years!
I’ve had an opium album on Facebook for some years, adding to it each year. Have a look: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.barstow.7/media_set?set=a.10151070063435860.483080.655215859&type=3
I grow them as edimentals for the seed which I used on bread etc. in winter. I’ve never eaten the flowers nor the young leaves, both of which are claimed to be edible on this blog: http://rawedibleplants.blogspot.no/…/opium-poppy…
The leaves of Papaver rhoeas are very popular in the Mediterranean countries..
Here’s a nice post on Emma the Gardeners blog on UK commercially grown opium poppies:
http://emmacooper.org/blog/a-field-of-dreams
These are the varieties I’ve sown in the garden over the years, but they cross and some varieties disappear after a few years.
“Racek” ; “Russian Giant”; “Black Peony”; “Applegreen”
“Hungarian Bread Seed”, “Swansdown” “Drama Queen”;
“Lauren’s Grape”; “Queens”; “Black Cloud”; “Hutterite Bread Seed”; “White”; “Ali’s Pink”; “Flemish Antique”; “Przemko”; “Tasmanian”; “White Persian”; “Applegreen”; “Cherry Glowe”; “Danish Flag”; “Double”; “Black Beauty”; “Chedglow Variegated”; “Clown Face”; “Danebrog Lace”; “Clown Face”; “Danish Flag”; “Double Red””; “Flemish Antique”; “Pink Peoniflorum”; “Single Lavender”;”Single White”; “White Peoniflorum”; “Almost Black”; “Frosted Salmon”
I’ve had a couple of opium poppies in the garden this year, self-seeded remnants from the previous garden :) They are very welcome and I will sow some more to join them this year! There hasn’t been a commercial crop growing this year, as far as I have seen. I’m still having a hard time convincing my mum they’re also the ‘bad’ kind of poppy ;)
:) You will soon become totally addicted, just like me :)