2015 Peony Bloom Data in Peony Database

Last night I was so happy to finally get all of my peony bloom data into a database! Being a programmer has some advantages. I was able to download Postgresql (free database software) earlier this week and get it installed. Then last night I finally decided on the layouts for my database tables to hold the peony data. Then I worked on grooming and exporting my data from Excel into CSV files. Finally I was able to import all of the data into my new databases! What a feeling of accomplishment. :-) Now that I have all of my data stored in a database, I will be able to analyze and query the data easily whenever I like. I also plan to use this data to examine the performance of peony varieties over time and update my Bloom Dates page with average bloom dates for peony varieties. This year, 2015, I will have collected 10 years worth of peony bloom data.
Peony Database

2015 Peony Clipboard Data Entry

It is the middle of winter here, and there's not much going on in the peony garden right now. So it is a good time to get some of the paperwork, data entry, and analysis done that falls by the wayside during the growing season. Another peony season is over, and another one shall soon begin. Another clipboard full of data and notes from last year's growing season awaits its turn to be entered and analyzed. So this is what I'll make use of some of my time today, a day spent locked inside in the warmth and soft glows, away from the cold and bitter winds outside. I've long been dreaming about the day when I would take my tablet into the garden with me to enter my notes right away instead of putting them on paper and them transferring them into my computer. With the price of tablets dropping so quickly perhaps that day will be here soon!
Peony Data Clipboard

2014 Southern Peony Photos

One goal I had this year was to update the photo on the main page with a new peony each month. I kind of almost made that goal. I had to put December's photo in a bit late, but otherwise I made the goal to get out at least 12 new photos this year. I want to keep this goal every year until my Inventory page is mostly complete. Right now there are more peony varieties without photos than there are peony varieties with photos. I'd like to reverse that. :-) This goal has two purposes. I'd like to keep the main page fresh with a new picture on it every month, and the other and most important reason is I'd like to increase the number of peony bloom photos available on my site. Hopefully this will help people in identifying their own peonies (or determining mislabeled peonies) and perhaps also encourage people to find new varieties of peonies they'd like to grow!
December 2014 - Peony 'Yellow Crown'

2014 Intersectional Peonies with 3 Flowers Per Stem

I actually finished cutting back all of my peonies before December this year. That's quite a feat considering some years I am pruning dead foliage well into January! While cutting back my intersectional peonies yesterday, I noticed that two intersectional peony varieties had three flowers per stem. I grow several varieties of intersectional peonies, and so far these are the only two that have had three peony blooms on one stem. This is definitely something that would make one intersectional peony variety better than another. Not only does having three flowers per stem give you more blooms per bush, but it also likely increases the blooms season for the plant. Now that I am thinking about it, the blooms on both Peony 'Garden Treasure' and 'Julia Rose' seemed to last longer than the rest of my intersectional peonies this year. I will have to keep an eye on this trait to see if any of my other intersectional peonies develop this habit as the plants mature! Also Peony 'Garden Treasure' is an American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner from 1996. So if you are looking to add an intersectional peony to your garden, and you're not sure which one to choose, Peony 'Garden Treasure' and Peony 'Julia Rose' may be good selections to consider!

3 Flowers on 1 Stem on Intersectional Peony 'Garden Treasure'	3 Flowers on 1 Stem on Intersectional Peony 'Julia Rose'

2014 Peony Thank You Card

This month I received a card in the mail. It was a thank you card for a peony root I'd given someone. My friend Michele has told me several times about how her neighbor, Glory, was always drooling over another of their neighbor's peonies and how she'd love to have one. I'd wanted to give my friend Michele a peony for a while too. So this fall I took two peony roots over to her house. I let Michele pick which one she'd like from the two peonies I'd brought and told her she could give the other one to her neighbor, Glory. I brought Michele a piece of my favorite white single peony (which had well over a hundred blooms on it at once this year) and a nice big fat double white peony. Michele opted to keep the white single peony. So I helped her plant it near her mailbox (since that is the sunniest part of her yard). She later gave the double white peony to her neighbor. A week or so later, I received this lovely thank you card in the mail. What a nice surprise! It really brings joy to my heart to share my love of peonies with others. I hope the peonies will bloom for many years to come and that they both enjoy the peony plants as much as I have!

Thank You Card for a Peony