Why am I personally SO in love with Poppies?
- I love the vibrant colors. Lets just face it... they are pretty flowers!
- I love the way that the sun shines through the single petals on the flower.
- I love how strong and hearty they are when planted, They thrive almost anywhere...able to grow in adverse conditions... creating vibrant beauty. I also and respect their fragility and how delicate they are.. A personal symbol to me of Delicate strength and the ability to thrive in adverse conditions.
- They inspire me... in my life, work...creativity!
- They have deep international symbolism... meaning something different for each country. I'm deeply patriotic and love their patriotic symbolism.
- They help me remember.. reflect... on those who sacrificed for me.
General Facts...
- Poppies are a hearty growing flower that can be found all over the world. Notoriously easy to grow... having varieties to work in almost every climate zone.
- While easy to grow, Poppies do not transplant well. The love staying at home in their initial soil.
- They range the entire spectrum of the color chart and have over 120 species. You will find Blue, Plum, White& lilac among the surprising colors.
- They can be dated back to being cultivated as early as 5000 BC, Have been found in Egyptian tombs
- The Poppy is the international symbol for Armistice Day, also known as Poppy Day & Veteran's Day depending on your country. Here is some information from World Culture Net giving a overview. I remember coming out of the grocery store as a child and seeing people selling little paper poppies... I think it was to support the veterans.
- Poppies grow naturally all over Europe and during the wars that were fought there many soldiers were buried in those fields covered with red poppies. John McCraewrote a now famous poem depicting the symbolism in a poem titled In Flander's Fields...
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- In Flanders' Fields
- 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.
- 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
- In Flanders' fields
- Poppies are said to be Claude Monet's favorite flower.
- Poppies are found in Greek mythology.
