Valeria Dukelow began saving her mother’s red poppy seeds in Pittsburgh in the 1960s; more than 50 years later, gardeners were still growing the same family flowers

Every family has that one object that cannot be thrown away. It could be a chipped casserole dish, a recipe card with some of the butter rubbed off, or a group chat nobody dares to leave. Imagine that object being real, and blooming in your front yard every spring. That is essentially the story of the 'Chima Family Heirloom', a warm red poppy with ruffled edges.

According to Seed Savers Exchange , an Iowa-based heirloom nonprofit that distributed the seeds in 2017, the plant was brought to life by Valeria Dukelow of Pittsburgh and her mother Sarah Russ Chima. Valeria began cultivating the plant herself in the early 60s, and according to the same source, she saved its seeds, or allowed it to self-sow, at various addresses in Pittsburgh until she passed away in 2018. Additionally, her story prompts the question of what else we might lose when the knowledge and traditions of previous generations are no longer being preserved.