Poppy seed heads growing in my garden will make lovely dried flowers

I love the Oriental poppies in my June garden. I never planted them, they must have seeded themselves in from somewhere. Sometimes I pull them up if they germinate somewhere inconvenient – but usually I don’t have the heart.

poppy seed heads flower bud

papaver seed head inside flower

I love the way the seed heads can be seen growing inside the flower.

Turning my poppy seed heads into dried flowers

The choice between the two methods below depends on how tidy you like your garden!

1. Hang the green flowers up to dry

As far as I’m concerned, these are free dried flowers! I pick the seed heads and hang them up to dry in my kitchen. I have tied the stems with an elastic band so that as they shrink they won’t fall out. They should be dry in about two weeks.

poppy seed heads dried flower

2. Allow the flowers to dry naturally in situ

I left the flowers in the image below to dry naturally, and they seem so much more robust than the ones I dried inside.

dessiccated flowers poppy seed heads

So I would recommend leaving your seed heads to dry outside if you can, but if you like a tidy garden or can’t wait until the end of summer, bring them in.

Growing flowers to dry from seed

How you can dry flowers at home

Drying nigella flowers growing in my garden

Dahlias as dried flowers and petals

If you can’t grow your own poppies for floristry, why not buy poppy pods from my shop