Poppy Ladybird

The field poppy, reimagined. Ladybird takes the simple charm of Papaver rhoeas and adds something unforgettable — four huge jet-black blotches at the base of vivid scarlet-red petals, giving each flower its famous ladybird appearance and a graphic intensity that stops you in your tracks.

Unlike the tall, spindly wild poppy, this RHS Award of Garden Merit variety forms a neat, bushy mound of about 45cm that becomes smothered in blooms from early summer — a spectacular low ribbon of colour for the front of a sunny border or a gravel garden. Listed on the RHS Plants for Pollinators.

• Papaver commutatum 'Ladybird' — RHS Award of Garden Merit, Very Hardy Annual (H7)
• Height: 40–50cm | Flowers: June–August
• Approximately 700 seeds per packet — sow direct, do not cover
• Full sun; prefers lean, well-drained or poor soil
• Thin to 20–30cm apart for the best bushy habit
• RHS Plants for Pollinators listed

Grow it at the front of a border with Ammi majus behind — the contrast of scarlet and white lace is quietly perfect.