2015 American Peony Society Court of Honor Winners

There were lots of pretty peonies on the 2015 American Peony Society Convention Exhibition's Court of Honor this year. The vases that the Court of Honor Winners were displayed in this year were the prettiest I've ever seen. They looked like cut crystal vases, and reflected the light very nicely, complimenting the gorgeous blooms contained within them. Although the vases were quite beautiful, they did not compare to the Court of Honor peonies. Each one was a sight to be seen. I participated as a judge again this year, judging the professional Class I peony blooms. I entered flowers into the amateur Class II division for the first time this year, and I didn't judge any of those flowers. The APS is very careful to make sure that the judges do not judge their own flowers. Also the last time I judged flowers if one of the judges did have a flower in the class being judged, that judge would abstain from judging that category. I also did not judge the Court of Honor. The judges that decided those flowers were APS Board members who did not enter any flowers into the show.

Peony Seedling 'BJ #1'	Tree Peony 'Boreas'	Tree Peony 'Tamasudare'
Peony 'Pink Double Dandy'	Tree Peony 'Leda'	Tree Peony 'Hephestos'
Peony 'Salmon Dream'	Peony 'Dawn Glow'	Peony 'Scarlet O'Hara'
Peony 'White Frost'	Peony 'Onondaga'	Peony 'Alice Crousse'
Peony 'Angel Cheeks'	Tree Peony 'Kamata Nishiki'

2015 APS Grand Champion Peony - 'Salmon Dream'

The American Peony Society Grand Champion (Best In Show) Peony this year was Peony 'Salmon Dream'. It won the Court of Honor ribbon for the Best Pink/Coral Hybrid. This peony was hybridized by David Reath and registered in 1979. I do grow this peony, and its blooms are very nice, symmetrical and perfectly rounded. However the bush has been very slow growing for me. Each year I keep hoping it will finally settle in and take off, but it hasn't done it yet. Each year I get about 2-3 blooms on the whole plant. Maybe next year it will get larger. We'll see. The Peony 'Salmon Dream' flower that won the 2015 APS Peony Exhibition was huge. I don't think I've ever gotten a bloom that big on my plant. Peony 'Salmon Dream' is also an APS Gold Medal winner from 2008. So we already know it's a great flower. :-)
2015 American Peony Society Grand Champion
Peony 'Salmon Dream'

2015 Peony Blooms Week 5 - Late Mid

Last week in my Peony Blooms Week 4 - Mid there were so many different and exciting colors of peonies in bloom. This week we get back to more lactiflora peonies in bloom with the standard pinks and whites, and less of the herbaceous hybrids with the reds and yellows. This week my peonies really seemed to be winding down with the week 5 blooms really seeming like week 6 blooms. Winter was late here this year, which caused lots of the early peonies to either not bloom because of frozen bud blast or bloom a bit later in concert with peonies that usually bloom after the early peonies. It seems like several of the bloom weeks were merged together this year, perhaps shortening the entire bloom season by about a week. Also we had pretty moisture with constant rain shower up until the last week when it started to be a little drier, with the rain storms a bit farther apart. The reduction in rain affected the blooms a bit, with some of them becoming wilted much sooner.

Peony 'Guidon'	Peony 'Karl Rosenfield'
Peony 'Pink Firefly'	Peony 'Belleville'
Peony 'Laura Dessert'	Peony 'Feather Top'

2015 American Peony Society Banquet & Auction

American Peony Society Convention Banquet
The 2015 American Peony Society Convention Banquet & Auction were the best I've attended so far. Perhaps it is the familiarity and friendships you develop with the other "peony people" over time. Perhaps it was the numerous hours of volunteer work that went into planning and implementation for the convention, especially by APS Vice President Lore Sampson. Perhaps it was the almost endless number of items that were donated to the APS Auction. Perhaps it was the lovely peonies that decorated each banquet table in multi colored Fiestaware vases. Oh, there were so many things that made the APS banquet and auction great this year. The food was excellent. The auction items were numerous - a just right mix of rare and affordable peonies for your collection. Let's not forget the general member meeting led by APS President Scott Parker was informative, yet short and sweet! In the end, I think people's stomachs, hearts, and even gardens went home full last night!
Jim & Lore Sampson Run the APS Convention Auction


Scott Parker Gives the President's Message at the APS General Member Meeting

2015 APS Convention Exhibit Peony Preparation

American Peony Society Convention Preparation
Peony 'Grace Root' Opens in a Stainless Steel Pitcher
Well a few of them have opened this morning, but not all of them. This process is quite nerve-wracking especially when you have no experience and you've cut several of your buds way too early! LOL! As you can see Peony 'Grace Root' is starting to open pretty well this morning. However there are several others that are still in their steam bath this morning with lots of very warm water in their stainless steel pitcher. :-) Let's hope they do what they're supposed to before 11:00 am this morning. That's the deadline for the exhibit entries, and afterwards they'll start the judging. The peony exhibit opens this afternoon to the public at 1:00pm. The show is at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, KY. If you're in the area, you should definitely come check it out!
American Peony Society Convention Exhibition Preparation
Peonies Get a Steam Bath to Speed their Development

2015 American Peony Society Exhibition Preparation

American Peony Society Convention Exhibition Preparation
Wow. I feel really naive and ignorant today! It turns out I brought 54 cut peony stems for the American Peony Society Convention Exhibition show. It has been 3 weeks since I Cut First Stems for APS Peony Exhibition. I threw away 2 of these cut flower stems as soon as I unwrapped them because they had started to mold. The rest of them did not have any mold. However 15 of them are in my bathroom taking a steam shower as I write this because the buds are so tight they did not start to open at all even after I had taken them out of the cooler, recut the stems, and placed them into water. Of the rest of the flowers that did start to open, it seems like several of those are limp, with crinkled petals. I'm not really sure what happened to those. I can only surmise that they were not stored properly, but the exact reasons for the damage are still unknown to me.


Field Trip Outside for Peonies that Weren't Opening
I must say I was nervous about this already, and I think my worst fears are realized. I can only learn this art by participation, and today's experience was my first hard lesson! I already took several of the peony stems outside for a field trip today. Only two of them responded sufficiently to the warmth and light of the outdoors. The rest of them were transported to my room so they could freshen up with a steam shower tonight before their big show tomorrow (if they make it open and are presentable). I guess I'll let you know what happens tomorrow...
Steam Bath for Peonies that Weren't Opening

2015 American Peony Society Whitehall Mansion Tour

American Peony Society White Hall Mansion Tour

			The first tour stop of the 2015 American Peony Society Convention was the historic Whitehall Mansion in Louisville, Kentucky. The historic Whitehall Mansion was awesome, only outdone by its fabulous gardens. The blue dining room of the home was definitely my favorite with its blue walls and intricate blue rug. The house was filled with antique furniture, original paintings and collectibles. The original wallpapers has been reproduced, and the original hardwood floors had been restored. It was nice to tour a historic house still decorated with its period furnishings.
	Whitehall Mansion Blue Dining Room

We explored the gardens with one of their gardeners who was quite familiar with the grounds, having worked there for 20 years. He gave quite a nice tour, and it made you feel like you were walking with him in his own backyard. He knew every tree and bush planted there. There was a very nice walkway lined with perennials including lots of mature clumps of Siberian irises which were just beautiful. When we finally made it to the peony garden, it was breathtaking. They had curvy, wide, mulched paths lined with brick, and the beds between the paths contained so many carefully labeled and well cared for peonies. Historic Whitehall Mansion definitely has a great garden to visit for viewing peonies.

American Peony Society Whitehall Mansion Garden Tour


American Peony Society Whitehall Mansion Peony Garden Tour

2015 American Peony Society Convention Packet

Well, I made it to Kentucky. The 2015 American Peony Convention has started. I must say I am really impressed how organized it is this year. Upon check in we were given APS reusable tote bags, a folder with all of the convention details and schedule in it, an APS name badge and badge holder, a pen and mini notebook, and lots of peony promotional materials. This is so much better than the last meeting I attended two years ago. I am so excited about the convention this morning. I feel much better after getting a good 8 hours of sleep. I was a bit tired at yesterday's ALM Judge's Training workshop after driving for 10 hours and only getting 4 hours of sleep the night before. I am well rested now and so ready for the garden tour today. This morning we are going on a tour of Yew Dell Gardens and practicing our new ALM judging skills in the garden this afternoon. I can't wait! :-)
American Peony Society Convention Packet

2015 Peony 'Keiko' (Adored) Best Performer - Week 4

I must say I am really impressed with Peony 'Keiko'™ 愛幕 (Adored) this year. This peony just wowed me with its performance! This is only the second year that this intersectional peony has bloomed in my garden. I did purchase a large potted Monrovia Itoh Peony 'Keiko'™ 愛幕 (Adored) (also known as Peony 'Pink Double Dandy') plant from a local nursery in the fall almost two years ago. So I'm sure that gave it a great head start, but besides that it has just really taken off once it was able to send out its roots. Last spring this plant had 9 blooms on it. This year the plant had over 35 blooms on it! Also this peony plant was blooming for two weeks straight, and Week 4 was definitely its prime, peak bloom season. Peony 'Keiko'™ 愛幕 (Adored) has numerous side buds that open after its main buds which keep the blooms coming. This intersectional peony also shrugged off our late frost this year, with no apparent bud damage. The blooms on this plant are just awesome, opening a bright pink and fading to a softer pink over time. So if you are looking for a great intersectional peony to add to your collection, Peony 'Keiko'™ 愛幕 (Adored) is definitely it!
Peony 'Keiko'™ 愛幕 (Adored)
'Pink Double Dandy'
Southern Peony Best Performer


Peony 'Keiko'™ 愛幕 (Adored)
'Pink Double Dandy'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2015 Intersectional Peony Blooms Week 4 - Mid

There were so many intersectional peonies blooming this week with lovely blossoms, it was hard to pick just 6 photos for this week's spread. Every flower is so unique and the color range is so much wider than that of herbaceous peonies. Also the colors within each bloom are almost like an color changing ombre rainbow. Did I mention I love intersectional peonies? :-) Peony 'Old Rose Dandy', Peony 'New Millennium', and Peony 'Unique' all bloomed for me for the first time this year. I am so excited to have an ever growing collection of these plants. I just can't say enough good things about them, and they grow so well in warmer climates!

Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored)	Peony 'Unique'
Peony 'New Millennium'	Peony 'Yellow Emperor'
Peony 'Pastel Splendor'	Peony 'Old Rose Dandy'

2015 Peony Blooms Week 4 - Mid

If last week was mild with just a few early bloomers that survived our bud-blasting late freeze, then this week was an explosion of all kinds of peony blooms. It seems like lots of peonies are in bloom together this year since we started late, and they are all playing a bit of catch up. I'm not sure if we'll have a Week 7 this year. We'll see... This week we started to get lots of variation in bloom form and color. We had singles, semi-doubles, bombs, anemone, and full doubles all blooming this week. There was something blooming in all of my peony beds this week, and that doesn't happen most years. A couple of late early bloomers were still out with our mid season flowers. It was nice to see so many peony blooms flowering at once!

Peony 'Many Happy Returns'	Peony 'Prairie Moon'
Peony 'Pink Luau'	Peony 'Etched Salmon'
Peony 'The Mackinac Grand'	Peony 'Grace Root'

2015 Happy Mother's Day Itoh Peony Bouquet

Happy Mother's Day Itoh Peony Bouquet for My Sister In Law
This year I gave a peony bouquet to my sister in law for Mother's Day. She bought me flowers by surprise last year, and I wanted to return the favor this year. I also brought her a dark pink purple peony I grew from seed and helped her plant it in her back yard. The peony bouquet I brought her was entirely an Itoh peony bouquet. This was the first year I had enough blooms in my intersectional peony garden to cut an entire mixed color bouquet of just Itoh peonies. I think she really liked them. She said the biggest blooms were her favorites, blooms of Peony 'Bartzella', Peony 'Cora Louise', and Peony 'Garden Treasure'. There were also blooms from Peony 'Keiko' and Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' in her bouquet.
Pink Purple Single Peony Plant as a Mother's Day Gift for My Sister In Law
Itoh peonies originated in Japan. So it is fitting that I gave this gift to my sister in law who is originally from Japan. I also took a photo of her pink purple single peony in front of one of my laceleaf Japanese maples after I dug it up for her. They look so nice together. The purple of the laceleaf Japanese maple really pulls out the purple in the peony blooms. She told my Mom that she had purchased a peony from Walmart, but it never grew, and I knew I had to bring her one to help ignite a new passion for peonies! I hope she enjoys all of the peonies. :-) Happy Mother's Day!

2015 Red Peony Painting Acrylics on Canvas

Red Peony Painting Acrylics on Canvas
Look what I made today! My friend Janice invited me and a few other women over for a potluck lunch and canvas painting today. I decided to paint a peony. Janice had the idea to find a photo of something you wanted to paint. So I found this botanical red peony print that I wanted to paint on the internet. It was so much fun. She showed me the peonies in her garden. I invited her to come see the peonies in mine next week (before the 2015 American Peony Society Convention in Kentucky of course). What a delightful afternoon. Here is the photo of the botanical print I chose to paint. I'm not sure of the original artist, only that it is French. I can make out the work "Pivoine" at the bottom of the print, but I can't definitively make out the rest of it. If anyone knows who this print is by or where it came from, I'd love to know. Please contact me!

French Botanical Pivoine (Peony) Print

2015 Lavender Ruffles Peony Seedling Becomes Double

Lavender Ruffles Peony Becomes Double
It looks the like my Favorite Peony Seedling a Semi-Double Pink Violet that I had from my peony seedling garden last year has become a double. It was a semi double lavender pink peony in my peony seedling bed that I nicknamed Lavender Ruffles last year. I Transplanted Lavender Ruffles Peony Seedling last fall to a less crowded peony seedling bed so I could keep a better eye on it. It is a seedling of Peony 'Lavender Princess'. This peony has bright green foliage and multiple buds per stem. However I'm not sure if the plant has enough energy to open more than one bloom this year. Perhaps next year I'll get multiple blooms. Oh how exciting to grow a brand new unique plant with unique genes! I can't wait to see how many petals this royal beauty has next year!

2015 Peonies in Their Party Hats

The peonies in my garden put their party hats on yesterday. They have yellow hats, blue hats, and hats wih polka dots. No, it's not the Peony Kentucky Derby. However the 2015 American Peony Society Convention is in Louisville, Kentucky this year - in just a few short days no less! We just did miss the actual Derby. Instead of horses, we'll be racing peonies.
Peonies in Their Party Hats
Peony 'Miss America'
Actually those hats are colorful bags protecting the crosses I am trying to make this year. They are sitting above the stems on Peony 'Miss America'. Seems like a good person to have for a mother right, Miss America? With a title like that her children should be beauties! I am trying to hybridize her with pollen from my tree peony garden. We'll see if it works or not. I am more determined this year. The last time I tried this I got nothing - no children (seeds) at all. This time instead of putting the pollen on just once and covering it up, I am putting it on there like every morning hoping to get the timing on the fertility just right this time. We'll see if it makes any difference or not. I am a little worried about the pollen, though. I didn't get it into the fridge right away. It took me a couple days. So I'm not sure if it is still any good or not. I hope so. It seems like it would be good for a couple days outside. So maybe there will be a few in there that are still alive! I hope so.