With spring temperatures rising, vibrant spring wildflowers all around, and green thumbs out in their gardens doing their annual duties, we spotted this Olympia Orange Oriental Poppy in full bloom in a backyard in Leavenworth, WA. A perennial flowering plant native to the Caucasus of northeastern Turkey and northern Iran, it’s a commonly-cultivated and easily attained variety. Once planted, they require no special care and will last for many years. The plant’s huge flowers may be up to 6 inches across on stems up to 4 feet tall! After flowering in early spring, the foliage dies away entirely, a trait that has allowed them to survive the summer droughts of Central Asia. There are over two dozen varieties of oriental poppies that range in color from white to orange to red to plum with some species donning combinations of two or three colors.