2019 White Peonies En Masse in Front of the House

White Peonies, Dianthus, Lamb's Ear in Front of House
Well, I must say that my project 4 years ago, 2015 Move Single White Peonies to Front of House, has been quite successful. I don't quite yet have the solid mass of flowers that Don Smith had amassed, but I do think my peonies are getting larger each year, and I'm sure I'll have another update with even more blooms in future years. The first year I planted these peony divisions, not all of them even bloomed the next spring. So we are steadily seeing growth and progress in these peony plants each year with more and more blooms. I can say that I really enjoy coming home and seeing my house at the end of each day. It is so nice to appreciate being home, and these bright white single peonies are quite the welcoming sight! Welcome home!


White Single Peonies and Lamb's Ear

White Peonies, Dianthus, Lamb's Ear Beside Front Walk

Dianthus and White Peonies

White Peonies, Dianthus, Lamb's Ear on Front Sidewalk

2019 Children in the Peony Garden

Maddox in Peony Seedling Bed
They are just too cute and young and innocent. It makes me so happy to see little ones in the garden, especially when the peonies are blooming. I just can't help but snap photos of them when the flowers are out and open. They are happy to oblige me when I ask them to pose with the peonies, sometimes even asking me to take their picture with the flowers. I can remember when Isabella was shorter than a peony plant, now she's almost taller than me! Maddox found one peony that was taller than him in the peony seedling bed, but this will probably be the last year that he is that small. They grow up so fast! I am trying to enjoy them as much as I can. I know they will only be young once, and I am always thinking about how I will miss them when they are small.


Isabella with Intersectional Peony 'Smith Family Yellow'
It was also nice to have so many kids in the garden this year at Easter. It reminded me of the Easter I used to have when I was a child at my Granny's (great grandmother's) house. All of my cousins would be there along with my brother and me. Granny loved to grow flowers too, and we would always hide some of the brightly colored Easter eggs in her colorful flowers every year (even though she told us not to every year). What better hiding spot for a colorful Easter egg than in a flower bed? :-) We hid the Easter eggs in my flowers this year as well. I usually find the missing Easter eggs that were too well hidden in my garden throughout the year. I've found 3 already this the past week! Oh, to be a child again and hunt Easter eggs in the garden!


Children Hunting Easter Eggs in the Peony Garden

I Found One!

Children Hunting Easter Eggs in the Peony Garden

Children Hunting Easter Eggs in the Peony Garden

2019 Intersectional Peony Blooms Week 4 Mid

The intersectional peonies really came out in force this week. The quick rise in temperatures created quite the show, with many different colors opening this week. Most of these are peonies that have bloomed for me in the past, but it is always nice to see them reliably each year. Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Blessing' is one of the intersectional peonies that bloomed for me for the first time this year, and it was a blessing to meet such a unique flower. Intersectional Peony 'Magical Mystery Tour' is another peony that bloomed for me for the first time, and it was quite a surprise to see how rich the color is upon opening. The blooms fade over time leaving multi-colored blossoms on the plant over time. Peony 'Berry Garcia' actually bloomed for me for the first time last year while I was gone to China. So seeing it for the first time this year, I really fell in love. Something about the complementary pastel color scheme just really excites me. The blooms are like a lovely shade of yellow cream with pink picotee edges, really charming!


Intersectional Peony 'First Arrival'

Intersectional Peony 'Takara' 慈悲 (Treasure) -
'Smith Opus 2'

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Blessing'

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma by the Bay'

Intersectional Peony 'Yumi' 由美 (Possess Beauty) -
'Yellow Doodle Dandy'

Intersectional Peony 'Kopper Kettle'

Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory'

Intersectional Peony 'Morning Lilac'

Intersectional Peony 'Magical Mystery Tour'

Intersectional Peony 'Berry Garcia'

2019 Peony Blooms Week 4 Mid

It was a really nice week for peony blooms this week, and I finally got some sunny time on the weekend to take some gorgeous pics!!! We had several days in the 80s. So our spring weather is disappearing quickly. Let's hope we get a few cool temps back so the peonies don't all melt/wilt on opening! There were several new peonies that opened for me for the first time ever this week. Well, Peony 'Pastelorama' technically bloomed last year, but I was on my China peony trip at the time. So this was the first year I actually got to see it bloom. Peony 'America' is a dependable stand by, and Peony 'Faithful Dream' actually did bloom for the first time ever this year. Peony 'Many Happy Returns' had a hard time with all of the rain this year, making its stems even more wavy/diseased than usual, but it was still able to open a few nice flowers. Peony 'Red Red Rose' bloomed for the first time ever as well, and I was very happy to see how much substance these bright red flowers have. The vivid colors of Peony 'Skylark' and Peony 'Lustrous' are just attention grabbing. Both Peony 'Coral Sunset' and 'Coral 'N Gold' each have their own enchanting shade of coral. Peony 'Zuzu' has been quite floriferous for me so far, and it is interesting to look at some of the shorter pointy petals on the interior of the bloom.


Peony 'Pastelorama'

Peony 'America'

Peony 'Faithful Dream'

Peony 'Many Happy Returns'

Peony 'Red Red Rose'

Peony 'Skylark'

Peony 'Lustrous'

Peony 'Coral Sunset'

Peony 'Coral 'N Gold'

Peony 'Zuzu'

2019 Herbaceous Peony 'Lake o' Silver' Achieves Explosive Growth From 8 to 40 Buds!

Peony 'Lake O Silver' Achieves Explosive Growth
It's hard to believe how fast this Peony 'Lake o' Silver' has grown! It went from 8 buds in 2018 to 40 buds this year in 2019! I first purchased this peony during the 2016 American Peony Society Convention. We went on several tours during the convention, and this peony was one of my 2016 Peony Purchases from Klehm's Song Sparrow Tour. Going from 8 buds to 40 buds is a 400% growth rate!!! I don't think I've ever seen any other peony in my garden grow quite that fast! If you are looking for a peony that will grow well in the South and grow fast, I would definitely check this Peony 'Lake o' Silver' out! I can't wait to see it in full bloom!


Peony 'Lake O Silver' Achieves Explosive Growth

Peony 'Lake O Silver' Achieves Explosive Growth

Peony 'Lake O Silver' Achieves Explosive Growth