Red poppies a symbol of remembrance
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| Red poppies, here blooming in a midtown garden, are the perfect flowers for a Memorial Day bouquet. (Photo: Debbie Arrington) |
By Debbie Arrington
Wherever they bloom, these flowers are living memorials to fallen soldiers.
In the century since World War I, these red poppies have scattered across the globe, a symbol of remembrance and tribute. This month, they're blooming in Sacramento gardens, too. They're a perfect choice for a Memorial Day bouquet.
Few flowers have such a powerful connotation as Flanders poppies, as they're now nicknamed worldwide. Known in Europe as field poppy or common poppy, Papaver rheas filled battlefields in Belgium, France and Turkey.
In their native lands, these wildflowers tend to grow abundantly on the edges of agricultural fields. The seed can lay dormant in the soil for many years. But when plowed to the surface, they quickly sprout and bloom.
That's what happened on the battlefields near Flanders in Belgium as well as northern France and Gallipoli in Turkey. Fighting disturbed the ground and brought millions of seeds to the surface. Amid the trenches and incredible carnage, the poppies started blooming.
The sight of these vibrant red poppies surrounding the graves of fellow soldiers in April 1915 inspired Lt. Col. John McCrae, a Canadian physician, to write "In Flanders Fields." It begins:
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.
McCrae died of pneumonia in France in 1918 before the war was over. By then, his words had already become the most famous poem of World War I and immortalized Flanders poppies forever.
As for growing the poppies, scatter the seed in the fall or early spring for blooms by Memorial Day. Once established, this annual will freely reseed itself year after year, keeping its symbolism alive for generations to come.
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