Poppies - Anyone Know Why This Happens ?

She's an amazing little dog. Loves people, loves children, is friendly towards other dogs and was very easy to train once I knew how her mind worked.
She was doing exceptionally well in dog agility training classes and was ready to start competitive agility when I had to stop due to my health problems.
That was when I started to train her to bring things to me and to pick up anything I dropped. That was very useful at the time because I'd had a completely prolapsed disc in my lumbar spine which was crushing my sciatic nerve. I had to have surgery to remove the disc.
Because I was unable to do much due to the excruciating pain from the prolapsed disc, having my dog trained to help me was a godsend.
Even now, she bounds across the floor like a puppy when I ask her to bring me something.
If I say to her, "Missy, I need my boots.", she bounces across the room, picks up a boot then bounces back with the boot in her mouth.
She then raises her head to place the boot (or anything else I ask her to bring) into my hand.
Staffies live to please their owner, so put every ounce of enthusiasm into doing what they are asked to do.
She even reminds me when it is time to feed her...or time for her last wee. She comes over and stares at me at exactly the same time every day - 5pm for her dinner and 10pm for her last wee.
Sometimes, she will randomly pick something up and bring it to me. I then have to figure out what it is she wants. She's really funny and has me in stitches laughing at her antics.

She loves coming out to the garden with me too and if I'm doing something like digging compost into a bed, she will jump in and do the digging for me .
I just have to level it out afterwards .
I've added a photo of her bringing me a boot

Re my poppies, I have brought 3 seed pods in as you suggested, to ripen on a sunny windowsill. I selected 3 of the fattest ones from flowers that had been red with black spots.
I have labeled the other pods to say which flowers they belonged to. Hopefully, I'll get some viable seed from the non-standard flowers and they will grow into more pink or red with white flowers next year. Fingers crossed !

 

She's a sweetie CreakyJoints and obviously loves being useful.

Yes, good luck with the poppies.

 

I've just been out to check on my poppies and noticed two flowers that are tiny compared to the rest.
They are at least half of the standard size and the stems are much shorter too. Almost like a dwarf version.
Both flowers are red with black spots. One is the standard deep red and the other is a paler, brighter red. The black spots on each flower don't start from the base of the petals as the standard "Ladybird" flowers do, but instead, they are tiny round dots approx 5mm across and are around 1 to 1.5cm up from the base of each petal.
There's definitely something strange going on
There are plenty of standard "Ladybird" flowers open just now. A big fat bumblebee was visiting my poppies while I was out there just now. Possibly one of the bumblebees who have a nest inside my shed
Oh, a quick check of the seeds still in the packet revealed that there ARE some lighter coloured seeds in there ! The seeds are tiny, but I'll try to pick out the lighter ones and sow them separately from the darker ones .

 

I have found that article I read about Reproductive Biology of British Poppies
This is it - http://archive.bsbi.org.uk/Wats7p55.pdf

Yesterday saw two more pink & white poppies opening, more of the smaller red flowers and what appears to be a bud containing a white flower that is close to opening.

I have taken a few more photos.
Photo 1 - A standard sized "Ladybird" poppy above a very much smaller "dwarf" red flower. I notice that on the smaller flower, the black spot on a standard sized flower is just a broad black line on the "dwarf" flower.
I have also noticed a number of buds which are considerably smaller than those which open to be a standard sized flower. Another possible new type .
(As a guide to the flower size, my hands measure 7 inches from the base of my thumb to the tip of my middle finger).



Photo 2 - This shows the standard sized red flower, drooping forwards due to the rain, above another "dwarf" sized red flower.


Photo 3 - Close up of a pink flower opening.


Photo 4 - A bud close to opening. Clearly showing a red flower inside.


Photo 5 - This shows the whole clump of poppies.You will see the 2 pink flowers to the right,(on your right as you look at the photo), about halfway down. At both the top and bottom of the clump, there is 1 red flower with white outer edges on the petals, and I have circled a bud in the top middle of the clump. Next photo is a close up of that bud.


Photo 6 - Close up of the bud which appears to be a white flower inside