Thursday, May 20, 2010
2010 Rain on Peonies
Rain sure can put a damper on things. I am so grateful for the rain, though. Everything was drying up around here. The grass was getting so dry. So I am sure the peonies appreciate the rain since I don't usually give them any extra water besides what Mother Nature provides. I have watered them on rare occasions in the summer when they've looked so droopy and desperate. Let's hope they don't get that way this year. Right now however we are dealing with a wet spell... I'm curious to see what affect this rain has on the foliage, since it seems most of the peonies have been disease free in the dry spell. Here's a picture of what were some lovely blooms all turned to mush from a couple days of rain...
Monday, May 17, 2010
2010 Peony Blooms - Week 6
The last week of peony blooms are here. Usually there are about 7 weeks of bloom with peonies. Either I don't have enough of the first week early season bloomers or the hot dry weather shortened the season this year (maybe both). These late season beauties keep the peonies coming for a bit longer. Peony 'Nymphe' and Peony 'Uncle Tom' both bloomed for the first time for me this year. So I am slowing extending my peony bloom season in form and color. Enjoy!
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Monday, May 10, 2010
2010 Peony Blooms - Week 5
There were 41 varieties of peonies that bloomed this week. So it was another stellar week for the peonies. However, they have been suffering due to the dry spell. The blooms are beautiful, but they don't last very long and start to shrivel faster than normal. Here are some beautiful pictures of a few of the varieties that bloomed this week...
Here's a picture of a row of some of my most mature plantings from this week. So many blooms. Aren't they gorgeous?
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Here's a picture of a row of some of my most mature plantings from this week. So many blooms. Aren't they gorgeous?
2010 Happy Mother's Day Peony Bouquets
Happy Mother's Day! I spent the morning cutting flowers for Mother's Day. Aren't the cut flowers in the basket beautiful? I made several arrangements with them, and gave the largest pink arrangement to my mother.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
2010 Peony Blooms - Week 4
There were so many peonies that bloomed this week, 44 varieties in all. Just to compare there were 23 varieties that bloomed in weeks 1-3. So there were almost double the number of peonies blooming this week than the first 3 weeks combined. It seems like the long hot dry spell caused many of the peonies to start blooming this week. These are some of my favorite shots of those peonies...
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