Friday, June 06, 2008

Peony Début ...

Well, just in time for severe storm season, our Peonies have just begun to bloom! And despite the pounding and flooding we took from that storm last night, they were looking less beaten down than I expected this morning. Fortunately we only had a few open yesterday, so it could have been a lot worse. We do plan, however, to cut quite a few tomorrow, as more severe storms are forecast again tomorrow night and through Sunday. We're keeping our fingers and other appendages crossed in hopes that they won't affect the Dragon Arum (see previous entry) which is hurtling forward to blooming in the next few days.

So, this shot (taken on 5 June) is a preview of more to come ... and though I often feel guilty for cutting them and bringing them inside, this year, I'm not going to worry a bit about it. They are unequaled for infusing the whole house with their delectable fragrance, not to mention their sheer beauty. But as many a midwestern gardener knows, their time is brief and their top heavy blooms so often end up getting knocked to the ground by the heavy rains of late May and early June. Every year we vow to get some of those peony "trainers" or "cages" or whatever they're called ... just to see if they really can prevent the inevitable disappointment of seeing one's gorgeous peonies hitting the ground instead of standing tall and spreading their beauty and fragrance around ....

Just a quick shout out to my blog mentor Olivia (la reine des roses Canadienne) who has finally spoken (and even posted!) from her undisclosed location in the Adriatic Sea, after a sojourn in Old Europe. Here's pinkin' at you, toots!

And a hearty Welcome Back! to Family Man, who's been absent far too long from the blogging scene for various reasons. It's so good to hear from you again FM! I hope your problems with the laptop are only transitory ... we've missed you!

8 comments:

olivia said...

Ooooooooooooohhhhhhh ... what a wonderful photo ... love the pink ruffles! I can just imagine the scent. :D

I'm going to miss my peonies I'm sure. Ah well, it's good to enjoy yours toots!

:)

Larry Kollar said...

Mrs. Fetched stakes her peonies when they get tall & heavy — would that be an option for you, IVG? Just give 'em a little support.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi there Olivia! Hope you're having fun out there on the cruise ... I thought you'd appreciate this shot, due to its pinkiness, hehe.

Last night before the storms moved in we cut probably 30-40 peonies and have them in various vases in the house, which fortunately smells wonderful.

We've been cleaning up a bit in the basement, but are going to have to rent a dumpster and throw probably 75% of what's down there away. I have a fan going constantly down there now and sprayed all over with Lysol today, *sigh.* It's a mess that's going to take a while to clean up!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Howdy FAR! Staking would be impossible for us given the sheer numbers of blooms we get. I was referring to those "cage supports" they sell expressly for peonies. My sister put them in this year and reports hers are doing really well. We were out about town (well, on a Mexican food run) for a while today in between storms and all the peonies we saw are grounded and looking miserable. Glad we brought most of the open blooms in last night!

boran2 said...

That's a cool closeup photo, IVG. I'm looking forward to many more photos.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi B2! You got it, my friend! Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Dragon Arum ... it's already developed the 'red stripe' along the edge of the bloom stalk, so it's just a matter of a few more days before 'Mr. Stinky' unfurls himself in his full glory!

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Do you know the name of your Peony? It looks a lot like mine, which I am trying to ID. I should've cut some of mine to bring in, but I left them & they are now a floppy mess. At least we haven't had any flooding. Sorry about your basement flood - what a mess!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

MMD, as I said in the other (newer) peony post, I really have no clue what it is, alas! I started looking around on various sites earlier to try to ID it, but it got overwhelming ... there are just too many cultivars! If I do find it, I'll make sure to tell you though. :-)