Hi Chazza
have always found poppies really easy to grow, you can plant them in pots just a few in each pot, and ideally keep them inside on a window sill until the weather gets warmer and the seedlings get established, then you can pot them on to larger pots and put them outside, remembering to feed and water them of course. I personally just wait until about April and plant them out in the flower beds, where they drop their seeds after flowering and grow again next Summer, hope this helps
Regards M