Poppy Hungarian Blue

A poppy of real distinction — and one of the most useful plants in the garden. Hungarian Blue is the definitive breadseed poppy: tall, elegant stems topped with large, single, bowl-shaped flowers in a rich violet-purple, set against silver-blue glaucous foliage that is beautiful from the moment it emerges.

But this is a plant that gives twice. Once the petals fall, it produces large, decorative seed pods — architectural in the border through autumn, beautiful in dried arrangements, and yielding a bountiful harvest of slate-blue edible seeds that are the standard for European baking. An ultra-hardy self-seeder that, once established, will return year after year.

• Papaver somniferum 'Hungarian Blue' — Very Hardy Annual (H7)
• Height: 90–120cm | Flowers: June–August
• Approximately 500 seeds per packet — sow direct, do not cover
• Full sun; prefers lean, well-drained soil
• Thin to 30cm apart for the largest pods
• Edible seeds — excellent for baking
• RHS Plants for Pollinators listed

Note: all plant parts except the seeds are toxic if ingested.

Grow it with Ammi majus for a combination that looks as good in a vase as it does in the border.