First of all we need to know what sort of poppies you want to grow. Do you have a botanical name for them? There are many, many species and cultivars.

Oh My ! Well, let's start with Shirley Poppies, California Poppies, and Iceland Poppies.

I've tried starting early the first two from seed, and they did pretty well! Though, even if you scatter them in a garden bed (check your area's frost date, of course) and maybe sprinkle a little lightly-textured dirt on top to cover them, they should do fine. This is often why these varieties of poppy seeds come in larger batches: you don't need all of them to germinate to have a good show!

This link will cover Shirley Poppies. Shirley Poppies

This will do California Poppies Eschscholzia californica

Iceland Poppies are recommended for Fall sowing.

I winter sow poppies. There is also a Winter Sowing Forum here that you should check out.

Rodney