According to Ferry-Morse, the largest home gardening seed packet company in the U.S., flower seed sales in 2021 grew faster than sales of vegetable seeds. It seems that after a year of isolation and anxiety, people began embracing the ritual of growing plants for beauty’s sake. But the obvious reason? Seeds give you so much more for your money.

Springtime brings with it millions of ready-to-plant beauties. But sometimes starting plants from seed is best. There are thousands more varieties available in seed form than can be found fully grown at the local nursery. And in the case of poppies and Cosmos, they acclimate better to conditions if direct sown in the garden.

Poppies

Our dog, Poppy, died in March. The Jack Russell/Yorkie mix was named for her habit of popping over a fence just to be with us. We decided to make it the year of the Poppy. I had already purchased several varieties, as I did each year because they’re one of my favorite flowers.

The Poppy tribe is extensive, and I’ve just scratched the surface with three members—two in the Eurasian Papaver (puh-PAY-ver) genus, and another from the western U.S. Papaver somniferum (som-NIFF-err-um) is also known as the Opium poppy, but its seeds are used in food as well. It offers an extensive variety of flower colors and shapes, from white to red; from picotee to double forms. It easily self-sows in most climates.

The blood red Remembrance Day Poppy from the First World War was a member of Papaver  rhoeas (P. ROH-ee-as), a species that has been hybridized to include ethereal shades of white, purple and pink.

While California poppy resembles other poppies, it’s actually in the genus Eschscholzia californica (es-SHOLT-zee-ah kal-ih-FOR-nik-ah). It’s native to western U.S., but is also easy to grow.

The easiest way to sow the tiny seeds is by mixing them with sandbox sand to help distribute them more easily. Scratch them in lightly with a cultivator, and then gently water in. I planted the seeds as it was starting to rain, saving the last task to nature. Like our Poppy, the plants are popping up in unexpected places, defying my plans and charming me with their resilience.