I had a (somewhat dramatic) gap year from Ojai in 2017 and landed in Ashland, Oregon. There was a small deer-enclosed garden space above our house, and i immediately established a kitchen garden. Numerous delightful volunteers showed up throughout the growing seasons, including these poppy flowers that i saved seed for posterity (save seed every day). From the photos i colloquially named it "Salmon." Eight years later i was digging through our planting stock for grow-outs and came across the seed envelope. Poppy seeds have a remarkably long viability if stored correctly, so i had no doubt they would germinate, but was still surprised by their vigor. This is definitely Papaver somniferum , although less "salmon" than i initially thought (proper backlighting notwithstanding). Reminiscent of a cross between Cherry Glow and Danish Flag. The foliage is more jagged than the other somniferum strains we've grown. The pods produce black seeds. I'm calling it Hillcrest 17. Captain's prerogative 😝…
-quin
