No late spring, early summer perennial has a showier flower than a peony. With its lovely, fragrant blossoms it is an easy to grow staple for a [cottage] garden. This full sun, light shade plant can live up to 100 years or longer!! With soft pinks, creams, white & yellow to deeper rose & scarlet, there is a color choice for everyone. There are double flower & single flower types. Tree peonies are popular & are considered a shrub. I recommend staking early with a hoop found at garden centers for your freestanding specimens. My peonies are along a fence so I stake with an unrolled bunny wire tied to the fence. All the staking quickly becomes well hidden. I cut blooms for vases all during the flowering season. I cut a short stem & float the blooms in some of the pretty, shallow vases/dishes that I never get to use. They make an extraordinary dish garden. Floating blooms in a birdbath is another beautiful touch to your outdoor space. If you are bringing the flowers inside, do an ant check first. Although the flowers do not need the ants to help pop them open (an old-wives tale), they are attracted to the nectar right before they ‘pop’. So shake them gently to removing any lingering pests!
If you are planning to grow some peonies this year, check the link below for planting instructions. The plant will take a few years to get to maximum bloom stage.
PS. Sorry, no recent blogs this week. I had a garage sale of my own with much success!!
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