California poppy, Eschscholzia californica, is not a true poppy but a native plant to my region and the state flower of California. As an East-coast transplant, I was not familiar with this plant until moving to California and I still haven’t gotten over its beauty. I love the simple, bright orange flowers contrasting with the blue-green feathery leaves. They look delicate yet require no attention from me and are drought-tolerant. Every night the flower closes and in the morning I can go out with my cup of coffee and sit there and watch the flower open up as the sun burns off the clouds. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.

In December I got California poppy seeds from my town library. I scattered them in a pot outside and let it be. I only got a pinch worth of seeds, but it was enough. In February they started to germinate and they seem to be at their peak bloom right now.