2022 Registered for the American Peony Society Convention!

I can hardly believe it!! Today I registered for the American Peony Society's 2022 Annual Convention! I must say it is like a breath of fresh air to feel like we can try to get back to some sense of normalcy. The covid-19 numbers have been dropping, and I'm sure it won't be gone forever, but at least now we have vaccines to help prevent/reduce infections, medicines designed to treat it, and have learned so much about how to prevent illness. I myself am fully vaccinated, and I am so looking forward to seeing all of my peony friends at the convention! It has been too long!!


American Peony Society Convention Registration
If you feel comfortable and ready to get back to peony conventioning, I hope you'll register too! It will be so nice to break bread and share stories with fellow peony lovers, to feel the collective joy and energy we all generate and receive from this love of our favorite (at least my favorite!) flower!! I am also particularly excited that my Mom has decided to join me at the convention this year. What a treat! I can't wait to see the beautiful fields of peonies at the University of Michigan's Nichols Arboretum and catch up with fellow peony friend, David Michener. I'm sure he's going to be a busy guy this year! Don't forget about all the beautiful blooms in the peony exhibition, and I can't wait to see what is up for auction at this year's convention!!

2022 Seeing Green (Peonies) on St. Patrick's Day!

Peony & Iris
On this St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to reflect not on being lucky or making our own luck, but on gratitude for all the things we have to feel lucky for. There are so many sad events going on all over the world that have a real impact and toll on people, and I do wish for peace for all of those in turmoil. I think with that, the current state of the world should help us all reflect not just on the small things in life that we may sometimes under appreciate, our safety, our freedom, our health, our food and water, our homes (and gardens!)...


Daffodils & Peony 'Flame'

Peony 'Flame'
We should also reflect on how we as small part of the larger human whole can all do our part to be kind to each other on a daily basis, and kind not just to those who look like us or talk like us or dress like us, but kind to everyone, and kind to those especially that are different. For when we push a part of the human whole into the "other", we create unnecessary conflict. It is up to all of us to do our parts to welcome and include and be kind to all humans, because we are all human.


Tree Peony, Hellebores, & Camellias
So I wanted to take a small part of my St. Patrick's Day today to be thankful for even just seeing the slow and steady passage of time through nature, the tiny green growth springing forth from the ground. The renewal and rebirth of life, that faithfully returns, ever hopeful, a reminder of the good in nature that we are all a part of...

2022 Solaris Farms Tree Peony Order Peony 'Angel' Emily & Her Children!

Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' is by far my favorite tree peony (at least so far!!). Unfortunately my Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' got killed 2 springs ago by TruGreen :-(. So now I have to order another one to put in a super protected area. 😊 My Tree Peony 'Angel Choir' was right beside it, and both of them bit the dust. Gosh, gardening can be an expensive hobby! Sometimes you think you only have to buy a plant once and it will be there forever, but that is not always the case!

Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' at Solaris Farms	Tree Peony 'Angel Choir' at Solaris Farms

Besides those two old favorites it looks like there are 2 new tree peonies from Nate Bremer at Solaris Farms that are children of Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' - Tree Peony 'Black Echo' and Tree Peony 'Olympus'. I really couldn't resist! They both look so gorgeous and loaded with blooms. I have spots in my garden picked out for them already! I want to put 'Angel Emily' in a lavender garden near my Intersectional Peony Garden, and I want to put Tree Peony 'Angel Choir' near a garden bench and bird feeder in my back yard. I also have some hot pink and light pink gardens where I'll put the other two new tree peony varieties.

Tree Peony 'Black Echo' at Solaris Farms	Tree Peony 'Olympus' at Solaris Farms

I am thrilled to see how Nate Bremer is carrying on the legacy of Bill Seidl in the hybridizing of tree peonies. It was a rare and unique opportunity to visit Bill's garden in 2016 Peony 'Dreamtime' Pollen from Bill Seidl's Garden before he passed away, and I'm so glad I had the chance. It was very humbling to find out that he even knew who I was! 😊 I can't wait to see how these new progeny of his angel, Tree Peony 'Angel Emily', turn out!! They look so lovely in the photos!!

2022 Peony Shop Holland Offers 47 Herbaceous Hot 100 Peonies

Peony Shop Holland Offers 47 Herbaceous Hot 100 Peonies
There are so many pretty new peony cultivars over at Peony Shop Holland that are on the Southern Peony 2022 Herbaceous Hot 100 Peony Catalog Price Comparison List. The top grower on the list is actually a Dutch grower based in the Netherlands called Peony Shop Holland.

Peony Shop Holland is offering 47 distinct varieties on our Herbaceous Hot 100 list - (the most ever! since I've been compiling my list). I did notice that many of the peonies offered on the Peony Shop Holland list are Roger Anderson / Swenson Gardens hybridized varieties - that I haven't yet seen Swenson Gardens offer for sale (like all of the Peony 'Joyful ...' series peonies). I guess Swenson Gardens had too many new introductions and decided to sell some of them to Peony Shop Holland for propagation.

Peony Shop Holland is mostly wholesale, but I believe they will sell to anyone. However I think the shipping costs to the US can be prohibitive unless you are able to get together a group order. Here is a description of them from their web site: "Our peony nursery is specialized in growing and multiplying exclusive, high quality peony roots and flowers. Peonyshop.com is a family-owned business run by Jeremy and Joshua (brothers). We propagate our peonies the traditional way and don’t use Meristem culture. The peony flowers are mainly sold in the Netherlands. The roots are exported all over the world, mostly to wholesale peony buyers." If you'd like to learn more about Peony Shop Holland, you can also check out our hybridizer interview with Joshua in 2020 Peony Hybridizer Interview - Joshua Scholten.

2022 Peony 'Lembrose' Most Expensive Peony Ever $2,500.00

Peony 'Lembrose' for Sale for $2,500.00 at Swenson Gardens
One shocking piece of news that came out of my work on the 2022 Herbaceous Hot 100 Peony Catalog Price Comparison List was the price tag on a new cultivar, Peony 'Lembrose', the biggest price tag I have ever seen. The only description on this very expensive peony (aside from the stats: 32" tall, 38" wide, double, mid) are, "Need we say more? The apex of new peony cultivars?", which is not much of a description to me. The Swenson Gardens web page does show several photos of the bloom as is progresses and opens, and it is very pretty.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this super expensive price tag. Does it mean that peonies are becoming more valuable? Is that good for the peony world? Does it mean that peonies are becoming more inaccessible to the average gardener? How do you feel about these new higher prices for new peony variety introductions? Would you pay $2,500.00 for one peony root? If you have a comment, please leave your thoughts below in the "Post a Comment" box.