2018 Peony 'Topeka Garnet' Does it Again

Peony 'Topeka Garnet' 2018
Peony 'Topeka Garnet' performed so well in my garden this year, I just couldn't help but share it again. It was just named a Southern Peony Best Performer last year in 2017, and it is very well deserved. This peony has steadily increased in size and blooms every year it has been in my garden. The picture above is what it did in my garden this year, 2018, and the picture below was from last year, 2017. You can see there is a huge difference in both the size and the number of blooms, with unbelievable growth in the last year! There was such a astounding difference in the photos, that I just had to add this year's photo to the Peony 'Topeka Garnet' Southern Peony Best Performer page. This peony went from 3 stems in in 2013, to 7 stems in 2014, to 10 stems in 2015, to 12 stems in 2016, to 15 stems in 2017, to now 22 stems this year in 2018! The number of blooms on it was amazing. I love it when there is more bloom on the bush than there is green, and Peony 'Topeka Garnet' definitely delivered - with 29 gorgeous, red blooms this year!


Peony 'Topeka Garnet' 2017

2018 RHS Colours 200 Peony Varieties' Bloom Colors Categorized

Tree Peony 'Angel Emily'
RHS Dark Pink Violet
I was able to "capture" 28 more peony bloom colors this year, bringing the total number of blooms evaluated for color up to 200. I think it is pretty exciting to be able to capture so many colors of so many unique peonies, and I can't wait to see what colors will appear next year. With so many new and unique bloom colors coming out these days, it is exciting to see how peonies are transforming and expanding their range of colors. I expect to continue to see more in the orange, purple, and yellow ranges as peonies continue to be hybridized and registered.


Tree Peony 'White Phoenix'
RHS White
This year I added 2 new color categories for peony colors I've cataloged, RHS Dark Pink Violet 77B for Tree Peony 'Angel Emily' and RHS Light Yellow Brown 158D for 'Yao's Yellow' ('Yao Huang' 姚黃). Each year, I continue to add new RHS colors and new cultivars to existing RHS Color categories. If you haven't yet seen our Peony Colors page, you should definitely check it out, especially if you really want to purchase a peony of a particular color. This can be useful if you are working on a garden design with contrasting or complementary colors or if you are just simply looking for one of your favorite colors in a peony bloom. You can also try growing early, late, and mid blooming varieties of a particular peony color to keep your favorite color of peony blooms coming all season long!


Tree Peony 'Yao's Yellow' ('Yao Huang' 姚黃)
RHS Light Yellow Brown

2018 American Peony Society Convention Auction

Kop Tretheway's "Everything Peony Collection" Part 3
There were 113 items in the American Peony Society 2018 Annual Auction this year. The item with the highest bid of $240 went to a first edition copy of "The Book of the Peony" by Mrs. Edward (Alice) Harding. I would love to have a copy of this book, and a first edition would be even better, but $240 was a little too high for me. I hope the winning bidder enjoys the book! The lowest price item in the auction was $10 for 2 peony tea towels and some peony fabric. However there were also several peony roots that went for $15 and $20 as well (with shipping included) - which was quite the steal! If you have not yet been to an APS Convention, you are really missing out!


Michel Design Works Glass Peony Tray
Kop Tretheway's "Everything Peony Collection" Part 3
I won three items in the auction this year. Peony 'Allan Rogers' is the first item, which is a white double peony, grown from a seedling from Bill Seidl, but I see now that it is a short plant. Since short plants don't usually grow very well for me, I'm not sure how it is going to do here. So we'll see about that one. The second item is Peony 'KC Red', a rare find that is also a new registration for 2018, a red tree double peony registered by Seidl/Bremer. This tree peony is supposedly very beautiful and very fertile, so hopefully a good plant for breeding. The third item (and my favorite) is a set of peony bath items donated by Kent Tretheway. These items belonged to his late wife, Kop Tretheway - what a nice way to honor her memory. The lot I won was entitled, Kop Tretheway's "Everything Peony Collection" Part 3. It included a Michel Design Works glass peony tray/soap dish, Michel Design Works peony hand creams, and Michel Design Works peony coasters. There was also a bar of Castelbel peony soap. As you can see I am already putting the glass tray to good use - as a jewelry tray, and I love it!