POPPIES AND WAR

It is almost a week since Remembrance Day so I was taken aback to be asked “Why do poppies represent the end of the war when they flower in summer and the end of the war was technically winter?” Why, indeed? Poppies are not indigenous to South Africa, although a number of gardeners sow the traditional red poppy seeds in the hope that they will bloom at this time of the year. In my own garden self-sown Opium Poppies (Papaver somniferm) begin to bloom a few days before the annual Remembrance Day parade.

We must all be familiar with that moving poem In Flanders Field by John McCrae that begins with the words:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place …

Seasons notwithstanding, the crimson poppy has become associated with the armistice – largely due, it is widely acknowledged, to the popularity of McCrae’s poem. As Corn Poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are pioneer plants, they were among the first plants to colonise the churned up battle fields – surely providing a wondrous sight in contrast to the destruction wrought on the landscape by war. The sale of artificial poppies have benefited war orphans, ex-service men and women and their families over the years.

Artificial poppies are more robust than real ones, which easily wilt and fall to pieces when cut.

The artificial ones for wreaths can be fairly elaborate.

While the ones generally worn on one’s left or right shoulder come in a standard form and are made from a combination of paper and plastic – this one has been pinned to a piper’s kilt for practical reasons.

These poppies have come to symbolise hope and gratitude.

Interesting information can be found at:

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-we-wear-poppies-on-remembrance-day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/15492228

 

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