2015 American Peony Society Southern Peony Winners

Wow! I can hardly believe it. I actually won a ribbon in the APS show, and not just one, lots of them! This was my first time showing peonies - ever. There was also a special blue and light blue ribbon, an APS Southern Peony Court of Honor Winner for 'Keiko' ('Pink Double Dandy'). I feel like I made so many mistakes, and could have done much better. I have definitely learned a lot for the next time I exhibit flowers. I'm not sure when I'll exhibit again, though. It was almost a last minute decision to enter flowers into the show this year. Originally I had planned on flying to the convention. However after evaluating the cost of driving and staying in the Galt House Hotel against flying and staying in a budget hotel, driving was a bit cheaper. So I decided to drive, which opened up the possibility of bringing peonies for the APS Exhibition. I'm not sure I'm up for the challenge of getting peonies to a show via an airline yet. So it may be a while before the opportunity to show presents itself again. We'll see though. Once you enter some peonies in the show, and you do well, it makes you want to do it again! Also I thought these were the only peonies I had that won a ribbon, but apparently I didn't look the tables over closely enough. Apparently I won 1 more ribbon! Wow!

3 Blooms Peony 'Bartzella' First Award	3 Blooms Peony 'Pink Double Dandy' Second Award	3 Blooms Peony 'Cora Louise' Second Award
Peony 'Pastel Splendor' Third Award	Peony 'White Emperor' Second Award	Peony 'Bartzella' First Award
Peony 'Soft Lemon Kisses' Honorable Mention	Peony 'Roy Pehrson's Best Yellow' Second Award	Peony 'Grace Root' Third Award
Peony 'Pink Spritzer' First Award	Peony 'Pink Luau' Second Award	Peony 'Feather Top' Second Award
Peony 'Do Tell' Second Award	Peony 'Angel Cheeks' Second Award	Peony 'Kansas' Second Award
Peony 'Bowl of Cream' Third Award	Peony 'Pink Double Dandy' First Award Court of Honor	Peony 'Smith Opus 2' Honorable Mention

2015 APS Southern Peony Court of Honor Winner - 'Keiko'

2015 APS Court of Honor Winner
Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored) - 'Pink Double Dandy'
Wow! I can hardly believe it! I actually won a Court of Honor ribbon for the Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored) - 'Pink Double Dandy' bloom I submitted to the 2015 American Peony Society Exhibition! It seems like only yesterday I was fretting over when to cut the peony buds and then how to get them open. Since this was my first time showing peonies, it's a wonder I won any ribbons at all. It just seems fantastical that I won an APS Court of Honor ribbon. I am so honored. This peony was hybridized by Don Smith and registered in 2004, and it is a great peony. I selected Peony 'Keiko' (Adored) Best Performer - Week 4 as a Southern Peony Best Performer this year for its exceptional performance in my zone 7 garden. This peony has two names, the original name given to it by its hybridizer, Don Smith, which is 'Pink Double Dandy' and the marketing name given to it by Monrovia who markets and sells this variety, which is 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored). Monrovia purchased the rights of several intersectional hybrids from Don Smith and renamed them with Japanese names to honor Itoh, the "inventor" or intersectional peonies. Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored) is one of these selections. Another APS Member commented to me that this peony bloom is like a work of art, and I agree. Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored) - 'Pink Double Dandy' is definitely a winner for me in the garden and on the show table!
Me with My First Ever APS Court of Honor Winner
Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored) - 'Pink Double Dandy'

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