The humble poppy… with so many stories! It was very interesting to witness the process of the signing for this plant for the deaf community as immediately we could see how the same plant can mean so many different things to different cultures. Different poppies have different symbolism attached to them – while in some cultures they are representative of remembrance, hope and peace, in others they are connected to love and for others they are linked to childhood games.

Poppies are not only red! There are many different colours of poppy flowers which can be found growing in the wild. Several species have also been cultivated as garden ornamentals due to their striking and bright flowers. These flowers typically have one large flower per stem and are great pollinator plants but quite short-lived. In Malta there are at least 6 species of poppies of different colours ranging from the most common red to orange to bright yellow and purple.