2016 APS Gold Medal Winner Peony 'Eliza Lundy'

Peony 'Eliza Lundy'
Photo Courtesy of Countryside Gardens Peony Farm
Well, it's official. The American Peony Society has selected Peony 'Eliza Lundy' to be the 2016 American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner and 2017 Peony of the Year. Laverne from Countryside Gardens Peony Farm gracefully allowed me to display these Peony 'Eliza Lundy' photos since I do not grow this peony myself. I'm also not sure how well this peony would grow here since it is a short variety and short varieties tend to not grow well here. However, from these photos it looks like it grows very well in Minnesota! If you want to add one of these peonies to your collection, it looks like Countryside Gardens Peony Farm is selling this peony for fall delivery! Peony 'Eliza Lundy' is a clear, red double that was hybridized by Krekler and registered in 1976. If you'd like to see the rest of the APS Gold Medal selections, check out the full list of American Peony Society Gold Medal Recipients.

Peony 'Eliza Lundy'
Photo Courtesy of Countryside Gardens Peony Farm

2016 Peony Purchases from Klehm's Song Sparrow Tour

Potted Peonies Purchased on Klehm's Song Sparrow Farm Tour
Wow! My plants from the APS Peony Convention Tour of Song Sparrow arrived this week, and I got them planted today. I purchased three peonies in their $15 potted plant sale - Peony 'Carl G. Klehm', Peony 'Lake o' Silver', and Peony 'Lora Dexheimer'. Two of these peonies had blooms on them when I purchased them. So I know I was getting the correct variety. I really like that. Unfortunately one of them didn't have a bloom on it, but I wanted that one so bad I bought it anyway. It was the last one of that variety that they had, that was potted and on sale for $15. It was Peony 'Carl G. Klehm', which got many votes and several nominations in the American Peony Society Gold Medal voting this year. So I guess Peony 'Carl G. Klehm' must be a pretty good peony to grow. Since it is so small, it might take a while to settle in. Hopefully I'll get some blooms from it eventually! :-)

2016 Peony 'Dreamtime' Pollen from Bill Seidl's Garden

Bill Seidl Showing Off His Peony 'Elizabeth Black'
After the American Peony Society convention, I had the opportunity to visit the garden of Bill Seidl as well as meet him in person. It was a lovely afternoon to tour his garden in a quiet subdivision in Manitowac, WI. The weather was perfect, and the flowers were even better. Bill seemed to be a very knowledgeable gardener, not just in peonies, but all kinds of trees, shrubs, and perennials. He had a story about each plant, and you could tell that each one of them was special to him. He told us the story of Elizabeth Black, an artist that drew portraits of WWII soldiers, for which he named the peony flower he is holding in the photo above, a yet unregistered seedling of his.
Me with Bill Seidl


Bill Seidl Showing Off His Garden to Fellow APS Members
While in the garden a peony stem was given to me on a whim, just before I had to leave for the airport. At first I kept it because it was pretty. What girl doesn't like flowers? ;-) It was Peony 'Dreamtime', a peony cultivar registered by Bill Seidl and Nate Bremer in 2013. I decided later that I would save this peony flower and try to use its pollen for breeding. So Peony 'Dreamtime' made the trip with me through the airport in Wisconsin, where it made everyone who saw it smile! :-) Now the pollen has been dried and put into the freezer for next year. Only time will tell if I'll get any babies from it...
Peony 'Dreamtime' in Bill Seidl's Garden


Peony 'Dreamtime' Pollen Drying