First poppy flower blooms in Altadena, mission accomplished for the Great Poppy Project

On March 2, 1903, the California poppy became the official state flower of our Golden State. On Feb. 23, almost 123 years later, the first-known bloom from the Great Altadena Poppy Project was sighted on Calaveras Street in that burn-ravaged town.

“My property was among the very first ‘poppified’ as a proof-of-concept for the project,” said founder René Amy, who led the scattering of 250,000,000 (yes, six zeroes) poppy seeds beginning in November. He found many plants on his cleared lot...