Peonies in the garden sounds so delightful doesn’t it? Peonies are one of my favorite blooms- and they are often on repeat over here during the most wonderful time of spring- Peony season.
This year, the peonies are blooming away beautifully right now and I am mildly obsessed with how pretty those layers of lovely look mingling with the rest of the garden. Today I am sharing a few peeks of how the garden is growing in this year and a bit more about our peonies.
Peonies in the Garden
Can you even with how pretty this basket full of blooms looks? I clipped these in the evening last week and they are blooming away so beautifully – I am pretty much in love. Some of them are new peony plants that we added to the garden this year- but most of them are last years plants finally blooming this season. They were quite late popping up and getting buds due to the crazy weather this winter and spring – but even late – they were not disappointed!
One of the fun things about peonies is that they get a ton of chunky blooms- and the deer don’t usually touch them. That said, we did move the fence this past week to expand the garden and also create a closed off rose garden. While we generally don’t mind sharing some of the blooms with the deer- there has been a very overzealous buck who has literally been wiping out entire plants this year – even inside the fenced areas And even after they have been sprayed daily with repellant. So, because we are working on something special for the garden this summer- it was time to go ahead and move the fence to create more of a buffer.
Blush and Pretty Bolds
We have several varieties of peonies in the garden – some shades of white, blushing beauties and pretty pops of bold pinks- you can read more about the varieties we planted in the Peony Garden in this post HERE
Why I love Peonies in the Garden
I mean… what is not to love? There is so much to love about including these beautiful plants in your garden. If you are in a zone where they grow – I encourage you to plant them in abundance.
- They have beautiful flowers when blooming
- They smell AMAZING.
- They are deer resistant (mostly)
- They grow tall and fill in areas with foliage even when they don’t bloom
- They look wonderful in layers with other English cottage garden blooms
- They come in a plethora of colors, lots of ruffles or more of a tree peony look. (yes, tree peonies are a thing too)
- They are happy flowers. And I would venture to say they make you happy too.
The Dilemma
Do you struggle with cutting blooms in the garden like I do? I love them mingling with other flowers and plants and when I take my coffee out to the garden every morning to sip and enjoy the sunrise – I love wandering through those flower filled paths. But I also love a bouquet of fresh blooms and their intoxicating scent in the house too. It causes a bit of a dilemma I suppose- because, I love definitely both.
But I remind myself that trimming blooms does encourage new blooms on most plants. Peonies bloom just once for the season rather than all summer long unfortunately. So, though you may get a flush of layers of blooms as they open – the best way to get more peony blooms in the garden is to plant varieties that bloom at different times over the season. That said- since they do have a short blooming season to enjoy them- that is even more reason to bring some indoors to enjoy. Besides, sleeping with peonies on the nightstand and enjoying their scent when going to bed and waking up – delightful!
When Should you Plant Peonies
They are a bulb and generally I have been told that planting in the fall is best- though I know some folks who plant in spring. But plan now and order some bulbs for next year. You can also pick up mature plants at garden centers in the spring and transplant them into your garden for same year blooms.
What about Ants
It is a thing- ants love peonies and they will crawl all over the buds. It is said they help to open the blooms by eating the sap on the buds – so if you have peonies growing in the garden – ants are a good thing. After clipping them, just soak the peony head in water to remove any ants that decided to stay longer than they were supposed to. I haven’t had a problem with them to be honest. Once the flowers open, they seem to meander onto the next before I cut the flowers to bring indoors.
One thing is for sure, no matter when you plant them, when the peonies bloom, they will bring a whole lot of happiness.
Happy Friday Everyone’s Favorites.
gerard