Papaver rhoeas ‘Double Shirley’

The Double Shirley poppies are so pretty.  Flowering in early summer, the double flowers with ruffled petals on slender stems, in shades of white, pink, orange and red.  They flutter and sway in the breeze, and are the very essence of summer.  No two flowers are the same.  I particular like the pale white ones, subtly edged in pink or red. The flowers are often likened to tissue paper, but they are actually much finer than that. The buds open to reveal crumpled, folded petals, which quickly attract furious activity from bees and butterflies.