Friday, January 3, 2020

2020 Southern Peony Happy New Year!

Southern Peony - Happy New Year!
Well, 2019 was definitely quite a year - a new job for me, a new job for my husband, a new teenager, a new kindergartener, new big girl and big boy beds (queen & twin), an extended visit from the in-laws, a trip to Yellowstone, and so much more. This year has definitely been an adventure and like every year has had its ups and downs, failures and successes, with a range of emotions in between. The most important thing to remember is to keep going! No matter what life brings you, it is always changing, expect the unexpected and look forward to each new day.

I haven't been on here in a while - at first because of time constraints and then because of computer constraints. I'm not sure the first constraint is fixed, but the second one is definitely fixed. My computer now has a new hard drive in it to help store all of my photos (so I can keep on taking them - and sharing them with all of you)! I am very grateful for each and every one of my peony friends and feel lucky to have another year to share in our love of the peony flower and growing it to its fullest potential. May each and every one of you be successful in your peony gardening pursuits this year!!!

Saturday, July 27, 2019

2019 Peonies & Butterflies

I didn't capture a ton of butterfly photos in the peony garden this year, but I did catch a couple. I thought it was fun to research this moth & butterfly to see what their names were. The black and white spotted one is a Mournful Thyris Moth, and the brown one with orange and white markings is a Spotted Skipper Butterfly. It was so nice to have them in the garden too. There were several other butterflies enjoying the peonies, but some of them were too fast for me to get a photo. (If you want to take a closer look at these, just click the photo and a larger version will appear.) If anyone else was able to capture some butterflies on their peonies this year, please share. I'd love to see them! :-)

Peony 'Pastelorama'
Mournful Thyris Moth

Intersectional Peony 'Morning Lilac'
Spotted Skipper Butterfly

Sunday, July 14, 2019

2019 Intersectional Peony Color Combinations

Intersectional Peonies 'Hillary' & 'Canary Brilliants'
I just wanted to share with you a few intersectional peony color combinations I captured during the bloom season this year (and no these are not on the same bush). These shots are on 2 different bushes that are planted next to each other. I don't want to get any of my varieties mixed up. So I always try to mix up the color combinations when planting my intersectional peonies out. Anyway when I saw these combinations in the garden, I just couldn't help but snap a shot of them. Some of them are complementary, some of them are contrasting, but any way you slice it they are all eye catching and gorgeous! I hope you enjoy!

Intersectional Peonies 'Sonoma Apricot' & 'Ballarena de Saval'

Intersectional Peonies 'Hillary' & 'Morning Lilac'

Intersectional Peonies 'Sonoma Apricot' & 'Ballarena de Saval'

Friday, July 12, 2019

2019 Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Blessing' a Tiny Blessing

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Blessing'
I must say I was also impressed with Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Blessing' this year! This was also its first year, and although it didn't match the bloom count on 2019 Intersectional Peony 'Magical Mystery Tour' Has 8 Blooms in First Year!, it actually did pretty well with 6 blooms in its first year. I really like the delicate pattern on the petals, a mixture of a pale pink petal with hot pink streaks! There's also some pretty hot pink flares in the center as well, that are kind of shaped like small rounded flower petals too. This plant seems to have a shorter stature as well (so far), making me think of this peony as a "tiny blessing"!

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Blessing'
First Round of Blooms
The "blessing" in this peony also seems to be another round of blooms. After the first set of blooms had faded, another set quickly began to open, almost coming back to life! I purchased this peony from Adelman Peony Gardens, and I must say I always get very sizable peony roots from them. So I'm sure that had something to do with this plant's wonderful first year performance! This peony's second set of blooms seem to open a bit lighter than the first set of blooms, giving the blooms a more of a peppermint look than the first set.

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Blessing'
From the 2019 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List, it doesn't look like anyone is offering this variety this year, but from the 2018 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List, it looks like both Adelmans and Solaris Farms both offered it for sale last year. So I would keep an eye out for their catalogs next year if you are interested in acquiring one of these petite beauties. It looks like this variety isn't registered with the American Peony Society. Hopefully it will be registered one day, though! It's too cute not to be! :-)

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Blessing'
Second Round of Blooms

Sunday, July 7, 2019

2019 Intersectional Peonies with Color Block Petals

Intersectional Peony 'Kopper Kettle'
with Color Block Petals
I could barely believe this eye-popping bloom on my Peony 'Kopper Kettle' plant this year, and it wasn't the only one. There were actually several blooms on my Intersectional Peony 'Kopper Kettle' with varying degrees of color separation, but this one was by far the most dramatic. Usually my Peony 'Kopper Kettle' is a fun mix of orange, yellow, and coral. This year it was much different. Some of the blooms were the normal color, but several were not. Peony 'Kopper Kettle' was also not the only intersectional peony with color block petals on some of its blooms in my garden this year. Peony 'Singing in the Rain' and Peony 'Lemon Dream' both also have color blocked petals this year. If you don't yet grow any intersectional peonies, this might be another reason to add some to your garden! Enjoy!!