California Poppy

Eschscholzia Californica (California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight, cup of gold) is a species of flowering plant in the Papaveraceae family, native to the United States and Mexico and now naturalised in the UK. 

It is an ornamental plant flowering in summer, with showy cup-shaped flowers in brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow (occasionally pink). More and more often I am seeing these with a variety of wildflower species in many of the "miniature wildflower meadows" around Hampshire, planted to provide a food source for our butterflies and bee's and help ensure their survival. 

This particular Poppy was photographed outside HMS Collingwood Naval Base in Fareham, Hampshire. Just outside the gate is a small patch of grass with a wildflower planting measuring around 12 mtrs long by 2 mtrs wide. This planting consisted mostly of Antirrhinum's of various colours and Red Poppies, with just a handful of California Poppies making an appearance. These wildflowers are usually quite successful at self seeding if the soil is good, so I expect to see more there next year. 

The original photograph was taken on a very went and windy day, and with water drops on the front of my macro lens focussing was a bit of an issues if I am honest and the resulting photograph was a little bit soft. I did sharpen the image a little and play with the curves to produce the black background and finally applied a couple of filters to produce the contemporary look that I think shows the beauty of this flower to best effect.