On a visit to Longwood Gardens in May, I was able to photograph a couple of varieties of Oriental Poppies (papavar orientale).

The first oriental poppy I photographed had very intense red petals that seem to have fringing at the edges. The center of the blossoms and seeds were a very dark purple.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

The other type of Oriental Poppies I photographed were a lovely orange poppy named Midnight. I really like the variations in shades of orange in the petals.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Poppies only seem to bloom for a short time in the DC area – but they certainly do put on a show while they are in bloom.