Opium!

To tell the truth, I don't think that you could get much opium out of these poppies growing in the UK, but there probably is some. However, I see that opium poppies are being grown near Didcot Power Station to address the shortage of morphine in the NHS, and Didcot is only a few miles from here. (The Daily Mail is not my usual source of verified information, and the story is nearly four years old.)

Anyway, I think that these poppies are rather decorative.

It has to be said that they were not planted where they are growing, and they are really just weeds.

Here's more evidence that they have seeded themselves from elsewhere. But that does not prevent these poppies from providing a pleasant front of the house that is certainly better than the flaking paint behind them!

The real sadness is that such fine flowers last such a short time.