2022 Southern Peony @ Blossom + Bone Flower Arranging Workshop

Southern Peony Flower Workshop Bouquet with Blossom + Bone
I have been pretty busy this past week, not in the garden but at our quarterly All Hands Meeting at work. This time, though, I actually got to do an activity with and learn something about flowers! How cool is that? (especially since software is my day job)? We were given three options for the social activity on the final day of the meeting, and one of the options was a flower arranging class with Blossom + Bone, a local Durham, NC florist. Of course I picked that one, and I made a thing...


Southern Peony Flower Wrapped Workshop Bouquet
We were allowed to choose the flower colors for our bouquets and the greenery. I decided to pick some of the more lavender colors for my bouquet (of course). There were so many pretty flowers to choose from though, there were bright, sunny yellow snapdragons and neon orange poppies that really grabbed your attention. Even though there weren't any peonies to put in our bouquets, I still had a great time thinking about how to best use the greenery, how to fill in dead space in an arrangement, and how to coordinate (or contrast) the colors in your bouquet. It was so much fun, and I can't wait to put my flower arranging skills to good use again at the upcoming APS Convention!


Blossom + Bone Florals
How can you not love a florist that has an intersectional (itoh) peony on the front page of their web site? Blossom + Bone Florals. I had such a great time meeting some of the ladies of Blossom + Bone, and getting to chat with them about their backgrounds. I even got to hang out with a fellow lefty that helped me tie my bouquet with twine. She had previously worked on a flower farm (after graduating college), and it was fun to hear her stories on how to grow some of the trickier types of flowers. I am filled with gratitude for being able to meet some other flower aficianados, spend some fun time with my colleagues, and get to take home an awesome floral bouquet!!

2022 Tree Peony Blooms - Week 3

Sometimes you just want to look at the flowers. This week had several tree peonies blooming and one that just smelled so good - the bright pink one, Tree Peony 'Sahohime'. I just couldn't get enough of its scent. Every time I passed by it, I just had to lean in for another sniff! The purple flares on the Tree Peony Paeonia Rockii always impress me. The bright red color of Tree Peony 'Taiyo' almost calls to you from way across the garden, beckoning to come nearer. And who can resist such a full, bountiful double blooms as that of Tree Peony 'Shimanishiki'?


Tree Peony 'Lavender Grace'

Tree Peony Paeonia Rockii

Tree Peony 'Taiyo' 太陽 (The Sun)

Tree Peony 'Sahohime' 佐保姫 (Princess Saho)

Tree Peony 'Shimanishiki' 島錦 (Island Brocade)

2022 Red Tree Peony Broken!

Red Tree Peony with Broken Branch
I have a sneaking suspicion that the squirrels might have had something to do with this broken branch on my red tree peony. They have been pillaging the sunflowers in my bird feeders, digging up (and eating) lots of crocus bulbs (and muscari bulbs) in my garden this spring, and just being a nuiscance in general. They've even dug up some daffodil bulbs (which they supposedly don't like)!


Red Tree Peony Broken Branch
I know things like this (broken tree peony branches) happen from time to time, but this year this red tree peony looked especially good and was growing so well. It even had 5 blooms on it, which is the most blooms it has ever had! Aside from losing the bloom, which already hurts, it kind of feels like this tree peony is losing 20% of it's growing capabilities for the entire year, as there was quite a bit of tree peony foliage broken off with this branch as well.


Red Tree Peony with Broken Branch
My tree peony garden feels like it really has had a rough time getting started. I started collecting tree peonies last (after herbaceous and intersectional peonies), and the only tree peony that I have that is doing stupendous at the moment is Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'. I have been having a really hard time getting so many tree peonies to take. Many of them will grow for 1-3 years, sometimes more, but many of them will peter out after that or never really grow well, and just get smaller each year until they die. (Some of them have even gotten sprayed with weed killer!) I hope this string of bad luck with tree peonies ends soon!


Red Tree Peony Bloom

2022 Second Tree Peony Bloom(s) of the Season!!

We've had quite the cold spell since the 2022 First Tree Peony Bud of the Season! That tree peony ostii with the first bud was the lone tree peony with blooms for about a week and a half, and it has also been dry with no rain. Yesterday we got a big rain, about an inch and a half, with a warm front, and that really did the trick!! Several other tree peonies and one herbaceous peony all burst into bloom on the same day, April 1st! The extra moisture (and especially the warmer weather) really spurred these peonies into action! I love the whites and lavenders of these very early peonies. It is nice to enjoy these delicate, pastel petal colors in the early peony bloom season. 🙂


Tree Peony 'White Pheonix'

Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'

Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'

Tree Peony Paeonii Rockii Lavender

Peony 'Halcyon'

Tree Peony Paeonii Rockii Lavender

Tree Peony Seedling

2022 Intersectional Peony 'Haleigh's Hallelujah' at Local Nursery!

I couldn't really believe it, at first. An Intersectional Peony I've never seen before, for sale at my local nursery!?! I was actually interested in it, but then I saw the price tag $99, and it scared me off. There was also only 1 of this variety, and it looked at little smaller than the other intersectional peonies they were selling. I also didn't see a bloom bud on it. I believe I kept myself at a distance since the price was so high. So I actually left the nursery - Logan's Garden Shop, and went on shopping to see what else was being offered this spring.


Intersectional Peony 'Haleigh's Hallelujah' at Local Nursery
I actually went to Homewood Nursery to see what they were selling this year. I wasn't actually looking for a peony that day, when I found 2022 Peonies at Local Nurseries - Logan's Garden Shop & Homewood Nursery. I was really looking for anemones, the small, short growing single variety, in hot pink, red, and white. I had just seen them growing in nearby Edenton, NC when we took a weekend trip for our anniversary. Those anemones were so bright, and their colors just popped in the early spring garden, blooming with the snowdrops. Alas, I did not find any anemones, but I kept thinking about the Intersectional Peony, 'Haleigh's Hallelujah'...


Intersectional Peony 'Haleigh's Hallelujah' Plant Tag
I figured that no matter which catalog or grower I ordered this plant from, the price would probably be $50-$100 anyway, 2022 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List (and actually I've never seen it offered before since I've been doing my intersectional peony price list - way back to 2013!) So even if someone did offer it, the price would likely be closer to $100 since it is still rare. Also you'd have to pay a shipping fee to get it to your house (on top of the price of the root). And - it would be a root, this one is a decent sized plant growing in a large 3 gallon pot!


Intersectional Peony 'Haleigh's Hallelujah'
Anyway, I rationalized my way back to Logan's Plant Shop! Ha Ha! 😃 Luckily, the plant was still there and had not been sold (since it was the only one of that variety). Also when I got back to it, I examined it a bit closer, and it did actually have some bloom buds on it. I was thinking earlier that it did not. I think I wouldn't really let myself get close enough to it to really look at it, since the price tag had scared me off! In the end I was able to purchase my very own Intersectional Peony 'Haleigh's Hallelujah', and I'm very glad I did, as it is actually a peony that was hybridized by my friend Don Smith, who I interviewed in 2016 Peony Hybridizer Interview - Don R. Smith. Intersectional Peony 'Haleigh's Hallelujah', was actually named after Don Smith's daughter - Haleigh!

I can't wait to grow it!!