California Poppy Day: The Golden Bloom of the West

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), the state flower of California.

Poppy Day April 6, 2010 Every year since 2010, April 6 is California Poppy Day celebrating the California State Flower. Back in 1903, the botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon created legislation to make the golden poppy (Eschscholzia californica) the state flower of California. The botanical name Eschscholzia comes from a last name. In 1817, a Russian…

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April 6, 2021 The ‘Plant for Peace, Johann Zinn, California Poppy Day, North With the Spring, Happy Orchid by Sara Rittershausen, and the Florida botanist Alvan Chapman

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community Curated News The ‘Plant for Peace’ Is a Common Herb Often Overlooked for Treating Stress | Well + Good | Saanya Ali Botanical History 1759 The anniversary…

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Celebrating the California State Flower on Poppy Day

Eschscholzia californica

“In 1817, when the Rurik ended up in the San Francisco Bay area, the ship’s botanist Adelbert von Chamisso (“Sha-ME-So”) discovered the California poppy, which he named Eschscholzia californica after his friend Johanns Friedrich Von Eschscholz.” Every year since 2010, April 6th is California Poppy Day, celebrating the California State Flower. Poppy Day is celebrated…

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