Returned to California Poppy after a difficult first attempt

My first attempt at California Poppy failed — annual weed competition overwhelming slow-establishing flowers got hold of it and I didn't know what I was looking at until it was too late. I left it alone for a year before trying again.

The second attempt, with proper attention to sowing directly into poor soil as rich soil encourages weeds, has been completely different. It's now thriving in a naturalistic border at the edge of a garden and exceptional wildlife value for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies is on full display. seed setting and dispersal in late summer this year was a genuine reward for starting again. If you failed first time, the plant isn't the problem — the conditions probably were.