Spike Island poppy with native black Irish honeybee
I received so many messages about my purple poppies after sharing a recent garden photograph that I thought I’d tell you the story behind them. If you haven’t seen them, they are large, single-flowered poppies, light pinkish purple with a darker purple or mauve blotch at the base of each petal. At the centre is a pale green ovary with its distinctive star-shaped stigma, encircled by crisp white anthers dusted with ivory pollen. Simple yet spectacularly intricate, and absolutely adored by many of our native bees.
Finding a poppy among the ruins
I came across this poppy over 15 years ago, when we went exploring the then deserted prison island of Spike Island in the middle of Cork Harbour.
Few places in Ireland have a history quite like Spike Island, also known as Ireland’s Alcatraz. Originally built as a military fortress in the late 1700s to defend Cork Harbour, it became a convict prison during the Great Famine in 1847. Thousands of men passed through its gates during the Great Famine, many awaiting transportation to Australia aboard prison ships. The convict prison closed in 1883. In the years that followed, the island became home to a small but thriving fishing community, with cottages, vegetable gardens and orchards.
In the mid-1980s, that community was forced to leave when the prison reopened. This time as a high-security prison housing some of Ireland’s most dangerous offenders. When it finally closed for good in 2004, the island fell silent and was left to nature.
When I visited, it felt like stepping onto a ghost island. The islanders were gone, their fishing cottages eerily deserted. Weathered by wind and salty sea air, they were slowly being reclaimed by nature. Driftwood gathered along the shoreline, while the remnants of the untended cottage gardens quietly carried on flowering. The old prison stood boarded up, still topped with coils of barbed wire and slowly falling into decay, while brambles covered the old paths and wildflowers sprang from cracks in the concrete.
This is where I found my poppy. So delicate and beautiful against the island’s turbulent history and quiet dereliction.
A story that stayed with me
That day, while we were fishing just off Spike Island, we met a fisherman in a small boat. He told us that he had grown up in one of the island’s cottages before the residents had to leave when the government decided to reopen the prison in the 1980s. His story stayed with me long after that day on the island. Perhaps because I too grew up in a small fishing village on an island.
He told us about island life. How the island had been home to a thriving, close-knit fishing community, self-sufficient with vegetable gardens, orchards and flower-filled cottage gardens. He also told us how hard it had been for his mother to leave the island, her cottage and her beloved garden behind. I’ve often wondered whether this poppy could be a survivor from that old garden. Quietly reseeding itself long after its owners had gone to live on the mainland.
From Spike Island to my garden
When I set eyes on the poppy, it was love at first sight. I brought a couple of seed heads home. I scattered them in my garden that day, and the Spike Island poppy has been growing in my garden ever since.
This was several years before I became a beekeeper. Little did I know that these poppies would one day become one of my bees’ favourite flowers. I had only just started creating my own cottage garden and had very little money to spend, so I had a habit of collecting plants and seeds wherever I went. Apparently this is a trait I share with a lot of other plant enthusiasts, so I’m in good company!
As for Spike, the island has since been turned into a popular visitor attraction and museum, welcoming visitors and offering tours and stories of its eerie past. Spike Island – Discover Ireland’s Historic Island. It is wonderful to see the island brought back to life. All while the descendants of those old cottage garden flowers continue to bloom elsewhere.
Purple Spike Island poppy and borage growing in the garden
Why bees love these poppies
The flowers of annual poppies like this one often only last for a day or two. Because it produces fresh flowers each day, the bees are always eager to get to the flowers first thing in the morning. They want first dibs on the abundant pollen!
Honeybees are often out foraging a bit later in the day than bumblebees. But in my garden, when these poppies are in bloom, I often see honeybees hovering above the flowers at 6.00 in the morning, waiting for the first flowers to open. Later in the day, when the pollen has been depleted, there isn’t a single bee on them, they forage on the star shaped blue flowers of the nearby borage instead. It is a reminder of just how quickly bees learn where the best food sources are. And how efficiently they exploit them.
Single-flowered poppies like these are particularly valuable because the pollen is easily accessible to bees. Unlike heavily double-flowered varieties, where the stamens are often hidden beneath layers of petals, these open flowers provide an abundant source of pollen for our bees in early summer.
Nature’s original salt and pepper shaker
I love watching the seed heads as they ripen. At first the top is closed, but as soon as the seeds are fully ripe, it lifts to reveal little holes through which the seeds are scattered as the stems bend in the wind. It is such a clever construction. The kids call it the original salt and pepper shaker! And it’s not too far-fetched to think that the idea could have come from the poppy.
It is an ingenious way of dispersing seed. As the dry stems sway in the wind, thousands of tiny seeds are gently shaken through the openings beneath the cap. Scattering seeds around the parent plant ready to germinate when conditions are right.
Spike Island Poppy ripe seed head with pale green seed capsule in the background
Annual poppies
The Spike Island poppy is an annual poppy, which means it only lasts for one season. There are other poppies which are biennial and perennial, which means they last two years or longer. Annual varieties are often prolific seed producers. Because annual poppies complete their life cycle in a single season, producing thousands of seeds is their strategy for surviving from one year to the next.
Another annual poppy that was once a familiar sight in cornfields throughout the country is the traditional red corn poppy. However, modern farming practices, herbicide use and improved seed cleaning, which removes wildflower seeds from cereal crops before sowing, have made it much less common. Today it is mainly found in unsprayed roadside verges, field margins and wildflower meadows. Like other annual poppies, it relies on disturbed ground and fresh seed to maintain its place in the landscape.
If you want to introduce the traditional red poppy in your garden, you’ll find it in our Bee & Butterfly, Meadow and Wildflower seed mixes. If you’d like to grow it on its own, we also stock the traditional red poppy seed. They make a colourful addition to any cottage garden, just like the Spike Island poppy.
Growing annual poppies
Poppies grow best in soil that is not too rich, in full sun. They need little to no care and will self-seed very happily. Flowering is usually 2–3 months after sowing in the spring. In the wild, they will naturally drop their seeds between late summer and mid-autumn. Some will be devoured by birds and other animals, while others will lie dormant until conditions are right, flowering the following spring or early summer.
Annual poppies dislike having their roots disturbed, so they are best sown directly where you want them to flower. The tiny seeds need light to germinate. They should be sown close to the surface, so press them gently onto the soil or cover them with only the lightest dusting of soil. Resist the temptation to feed them too much, as rich soil often produces lots of leafy growth but fewer flowers. Once established, they are remarkably easy plants, often returning year after year by self-seeding naturally.
Would you like to grow the Spike Island poppy?
It looks like we’re getting a great crop of seeds from our Spike Island poppies this year. The warm, dry weather has allowed the seed heads to swell and the seeds to ripen. They are just about ready to harvest, and we should have some excess seeds for sale later in the year. If you would like to be the first to hear when they become available, you can join the waiting list.
Every summer, when these poppies flower, I’m reminded of that day on Spike Island. Whether they are descendants of an old cottage garden or a chance survivor, I’m very glad I picked up those seed heads all those years ago. And it seems my bees are too…
Hanna Bäckmo
Hanna Bäckmo is an award-winning beekeeper, entrepreneur, hobby gardener and internationally published writer. Originally from a small island in Sweden, she now lives in East Cork with her son, two dogs, a flock of rescue chickens and lots of bees. Hanna is the founder of Hanna’s Bees, producing a unique range of natural and sustainable honey, propolis, and beeswax products sold in Ireland’s leading Gift & Artisan food stores and select US outlets. With 70 colonies of Native Irish honeybees, she is a passionate bee-advocate and educator and is an Ambassador for the Native Irish Honeybee.
Curious about the world of bees and honey? Join our newsletter to learn something new each week.
This homemade apple syrup is not only sweet and sticky but also a fantastic way to make the most of your apple bounty and using up any windfalls and slightly imperfect apples you might have lying around. It is a great way to minimize food waste…
As spring blooms with the cheerful Daffodil, we’re drawn to its sunny presence. But did you know its botanical name Narcissus name comes from a Greek myth: A story of immense beauty and unrequited love with a tragic ending? And though the flowers are so pretty and happy, why do we rarely see bees and other pollinators on them? Let’s find out why many of these beautiful blooms don’t attract bees…
The Spike Island poppy – From an abandoned prison island to my cottage garden
I received so many messages about my purple poppies after sharing a recent garden photograph that I thought I’d tell you the story behind them. If you haven’t seen them, they are large, single-flowered poppies, light pinkish purple with a darker purple or mauve blotch at the base of each petal. At the centre is a pale green ovary with its distinctive star-shaped stigma, encircled by crisp white anthers dusted with ivory pollen. Simple yet spectacularly intricate, and absolutely adored by many of our native bees.
Finding a poppy among the ruins
I came across this poppy over 15 years ago, when we went exploring the then deserted prison island of Spike Island in the middle of Cork Harbour.
Few places in Ireland have a history quite like Spike Island, also known as Ireland’s Alcatraz. Originally built as a military fortress in the late 1700s to defend Cork Harbour, it became a convict prison during the Great Famine in 1847. Thousands of men passed through its gates during the Great Famine, many awaiting transportation to Australia aboard prison ships. The convict prison closed in 1883. In the years that followed, the island became home to a small but thriving fishing community, with cottages, vegetable gardens and orchards.
In the mid-1980s, that community was forced to leave when the prison reopened. This time as a high-security prison housing some of Ireland’s most dangerous offenders. When it finally closed for good in 2004, the island fell silent and was left to nature.
When I visited, it felt like stepping onto a ghost island. The islanders were gone, their fishing cottages eerily deserted. Weathered by wind and salty sea air, they were slowly being reclaimed by nature. Driftwood gathered along the shoreline, while the remnants of the untended cottage gardens quietly carried on flowering. The old prison stood boarded up, still topped with coils of barbed wire and slowly falling into decay, while brambles covered the old paths and wildflowers sprang from cracks in the concrete.
This is where I found my poppy. So delicate and beautiful against the island’s turbulent history and quiet dereliction.
A story that stayed with me
That day, while we were fishing just off Spike Island, we met a fisherman in a small boat. He told us that he had grown up in one of the island’s cottages before the residents had to leave when the government decided to reopen the prison in the 1980s. His story stayed with me long after that day on the island. Perhaps because I too grew up in a small fishing village on an island.
He told us about island life. How the island had been home to a thriving, close-knit fishing community, self-sufficient with vegetable gardens, orchards and flower-filled cottage gardens. He also told us how hard it had been for his mother to leave the island, her cottage and her beloved garden behind. I’ve often wondered whether this poppy could be a survivor from that old garden. Quietly reseeding itself long after its owners had gone to live on the mainland.
From Spike Island to my garden
When I set eyes on the poppy, it was love at first sight. I brought a couple of seed heads home. I scattered them in my garden that day, and the Spike Island poppy has been growing in my garden ever since.
This was several years before I became a beekeeper. Little did I know that these poppies would one day become one of my bees’ favourite flowers. I had only just started creating my own cottage garden and had very little money to spend, so I had a habit of collecting plants and seeds wherever I went. Apparently this is a trait I share with a lot of other plant enthusiasts, so I’m in good company!
As for Spike, the island has since been turned into a popular visitor attraction and museum, welcoming visitors and offering tours and stories of its eerie past. Spike Island – Discover Ireland’s Historic Island. It is wonderful to see the island brought back to life. All while the descendants of those old cottage garden flowers continue to bloom elsewhere.
Why bees love these poppies
The flowers of annual poppies like this one often only last for a day or two. Because it produces fresh flowers each day, the bees are always eager to get to the flowers first thing in the morning. They want first dibs on the abundant pollen!
Honeybees are often out foraging a bit later in the day than bumblebees. But in my garden, when these poppies are in bloom, I often see honeybees hovering above the flowers at 6.00 in the morning, waiting for the first flowers to open. Later in the day, when the pollen has been depleted, there isn’t a single bee on them, they forage on the star shaped blue flowers of the nearby borage instead. It is a reminder of just how quickly bees learn where the best food sources are. And how efficiently they exploit them.
Single-flowered poppies like these are particularly valuable because the pollen is easily accessible to bees. Unlike heavily double-flowered varieties, where the stamens are often hidden beneath layers of petals, these open flowers provide an abundant source of pollen for our bees in early summer.
Nature’s original salt and pepper shaker
I love watching the seed heads as they ripen. At first the top is closed, but as soon as the seeds are fully ripe, it lifts to reveal little holes through which the seeds are scattered as the stems bend in the wind. It is such a clever construction. The kids call it the original salt and pepper shaker! And it’s not too far-fetched to think that the idea could have come from the poppy.
It is an ingenious way of dispersing seed. As the dry stems sway in the wind, thousands of tiny seeds are gently shaken through the openings beneath the cap. Scattering seeds around the parent plant ready to germinate when conditions are right.
Annual poppies
The Spike Island poppy is an annual poppy, which means it only lasts for one season. There are other poppies which are biennial and perennial, which means they last two years or longer. Annual varieties are often prolific seed producers. Because annual poppies complete their life cycle in a single season, producing thousands of seeds is their strategy for surviving from one year to the next.
Another annual poppy that was once a familiar sight in cornfields throughout the country is the traditional red corn poppy. However, modern farming practices, herbicide use and improved seed cleaning, which removes wildflower seeds from cereal crops before sowing, have made it much less common. Today it is mainly found in unsprayed roadside verges, field margins and wildflower meadows. Like other annual poppies, it relies on disturbed ground and fresh seed to maintain its place in the landscape.
If you want to introduce the traditional red poppy in your garden, you’ll find it in our Bee & Butterfly, Meadow and Wildflower seed mixes. If you’d like to grow it on its own, we also stock the traditional red poppy seed. They make a colourful addition to any cottage garden, just like the Spike Island poppy.
Growing annual poppies
Poppies grow best in soil that is not too rich, in full sun. They need little to no care and will self-seed very happily. Flowering is usually 2–3 months after sowing in the spring. In the wild, they will naturally drop their seeds between late summer and mid-autumn. Some will be devoured by birds and other animals, while others will lie dormant until conditions are right, flowering the following spring or early summer.
Annual poppies dislike having their roots disturbed, so they are best sown directly where you want them to flower. The tiny seeds need light to germinate. They should be sown close to the surface, so press them gently onto the soil or cover them with only the lightest dusting of soil. Resist the temptation to feed them too much, as rich soil often produces lots of leafy growth but fewer flowers. Once established, they are remarkably easy plants, often returning year after year by self-seeding naturally.
Would you like to grow the Spike Island poppy?
It looks like we’re getting a great crop of seeds from our Spike Island poppies this year. The warm, dry weather has allowed the seed heads to swell and the seeds to ripen. They are just about ready to harvest, and we should have some excess seeds for sale later in the year. If you would like to be the first to hear when they become available, you can join the waiting list.
Every summer, when these poppies flower, I’m reminded of that day on Spike Island. Whether they are descendants of an old cottage garden or a chance survivor, I’m very glad I picked up those seed heads all those years ago. And it seems my bees are too…
Hanna Bäckmo
Curious about the world of bees and honey? Join our newsletter to learn something new each week.
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