Poppies, Beautiful Poppies    

My all-time favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz.  When Dorothy and her gang ran through the poppy field towards the Emerald City, and that catchy tune accompanied their jaunt – I was captured – by Poppies, beautiful Poppies.
The lovely little orange California poppy, Eschscholzia californica, is a perennial poppy that grows well here in Central Texas and the entire plant can be used as a sedative. This poppy does contain flavone glycocides but is not considered narcotic.  The California poppy can be made into a tincture and used to relieve pain, as a sedative for insomnia, to help with anxiety and excitability, (useful for ADHD), to allay diarrhea and to inhibit the cough reflex.

Many herbalists agree that California poppy, known as “nightcap” in the United States, can be used safely and gently as a sedative for sleeplessness, stress and tension and is often used for children. It blends well with other sedative herbs like Passionflower, Passiflora incarnata, Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis and Valerian, Valeriana officinalis.  Remember when using an herb for the first time to use just a little to test for any allergic or negative reactions.  The tiny seeds of California Poppy can be planted in November for a gorgeous early spring bloom. You can also, brew a sedative tea from the poppy seeds but I like to use the entire plant and make a tincture from the flowers, leaves and roots.  An effective tincture used by both adults and children: http://www.ezherbs.net/tinctures.html#poppy0

If you ever get an opportunity to visit the high desert areas of Southern California in the early springtime, you will be delighted to see hills full of bright orange flowers. When I lived in Southern California I would load up the kids in the car and visit these wildflowers every year.  The hillsides are now known as the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. How lucky we are to be able to grow them in our gardens in Texas?

Other Poppies that grow well here and are a beautiful addition to our spring gardens are red oriental poppies, Papaver orientale and my favorite, pom, pom or “Dorothy Poppies”, Papaver somniferum arriving in my garden as a gift from my dear friend and gardening mentor, Dorothy.

The red poppies seem to be the most prolific growers here. The Dorothy poppy is a full double or triple petal, a gorgeous rosy pink and the most incredible, sweet, luscious flower. The Oriental poppies including the red, white, lavender and pink all contain a number of alkaloids with sedative and hypnotic properties. The latex, which exudes from the stem, is a narcotic and should be avoided.

 

Even though the rain still awaits us, the cooler weather has inspired me to plant my fall vegetables, gather my wildflower seeds and bulbs best planted in the fall and pray for a wet winter with the promise of a delightful, abundant spring.  With just our one rain a couple of weeks ago, I have numerous bluebonnet seeds emerging and getting ready to grow throughout the winter. 

Many Green Blessings to all, Ellen