2012 APS Peony Convention Banquet & Auction

2012 American Peony Society Banquet

The 2012 American Peony Society Banquet & Auction were nice. Even though it was a bit cold in the room, the people made it warm. The dinner was good - beef or salmon with red velvet cake for dessert, thanks to the APS Editor Claudia Schroer. :) APS President Dana Tretheway conducted a short and sweet business meeting. The presentation on the Sass family was interesting with the highlight being the actual APS Gold Medal from 1943. I'd never seen one of the actual medals before. So that was cool!

APS President Dana Tretheway	APS 1943 Gold Medal

Lucas Hudson did a great job with the auction. He is so outgoing and always has so much energy! There were fewer attendees this year, so I felt I had a better chance of winning something. So I actually bought 3 plants in the auction this year - Peony 'Halcyon', Peony 'Top Brass', and Peony 'White Cap'. I'm excited about all three of them!

Lucas Hudson APS Secretary and Auctioneer

My buddy from the bus trip the day before, Glenny, sat near me at the banquet, and I really enjoyed talking with her and all the other peony lovers as well. It was nice to be in such good peony company! :D

Glenny and Me

2012 APS Grand Champion Peony - Hephestos

Peony 'Hephestos'

The 2012 American Peony Society flower show was huge even though most of the growers complained about their seasons. I think they were just trying to set the judges' expectations a bit low so they could shine. ;) Everyone was busy with preparations this morning trying to get ready for the cut off before the judging of the show. The color of Peony 'Hephestos' must have captured the hearts of the judges this year. What a rare and dark color, which is fitting for the god of blacksmiths. It won the Court of Honor for Best Red Lutea Hybrid, and also the Grand Champion Peony, Best of Show ribbon. This peony was exhibited by Adelman Peony Gardens in Oregon. The color on all of their show peonies is always so dark and rich, and the size of their blooms are always huge. This tree peony was hybridized by Nassos Daphnis who named his varieties after Greek Gods associating the peonies he bred with his own Greek heritage.

2012 APS Peony Flower Show

2012 APS Peony Convention Garden Tours

Today was the garden tour day of the American Peony Society's annual national convention. We all boarded the tour bus early this morning for a 3 stop tour and a catered lunch. Since Nebraska's spring was about a month early this year, we missed the peonies entirely. The first stop was Jocelyn Castle which was very ornate, my favorite part being a stained glass window seat overlooking a small tropical conservatory.

Joslyn Castle

The second stop was the Sass Memorial Garden at Mahoney State Park, with a large display of all Sass hybridized peonies and irises. There wasn't much in bloom, but the layout and gazebo were nice.

Sass Memorial Garden
(Me with APS Editor Claudia Schroer)

The last stop was Lauritzen Gardens, which had an extensive collection of peonies and Chinese tree peonies. I would have loved to have seen it in bloom. However the garden had more to offer - a large rose garden, a miniature train garden, a Victorian garden, and so much more. At Lauritzen Gardens we had a nice catered lunch, mine being chicken salad on whole wheat, which was good.

Lunch at Lauritzen Gardens

After lunch peony hybridizer Don Hollingsworth gave a presentation on how to judge peonies for the Award of Landscape Merit (ALM). All in all it was a good day. However I feel almost like I have peony withdrawal since I was ready to see lots of blooms on the garden tours today, but they were all finished blooming! I can't wait to see all of the flowers tomorrow.

Don Hollingsworth's Award of Landscape Merit Presentation

2012 APS Peony Convention Arrival

When I got into Omaha tonight, it was almost midnight. The landscape is a bit flat with a nice river, the Missouri. The view of the city at night was beautiful. The lights of the skyline sparkled and were set off by the lit Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Omaha is much more of a city than the site of the last American Peony Society Convention I attended in Janesville, Wisconsin, which was more of a town. I am really looking forward to the garden tours tomorrow, but it is going to be an early start. So I guess I'll catch up on my sleep tomorrow night. :) I haven't had a chance to check into the convention yet. So I'll have to make sure I wake up early enough to check in and be ready to board the tour buses by 7:30am!

Omaha, Nebraska

2012 APS Peony Convention Preparation

I'm going to Nebraska, to Nebraska, to Nebraska. I can't believe it. I leave tomorrow for Omaha. I actually took a day off from work this time. So I'll be arriving Thursday night this time instead of Friday night. One whole extra day of peony goodness! :-P I can't wait! I am mostly finished packing, but I still need to pack my camera, my laptop, chargers, etc. This is going to be an awesome trip. There's a bus tour on Friday of two gardens and a castle, but I think the part I'm looking forward to most is the "Peony Breeders" discussion on Saturday. Also I'm hoping to observe the Board of Directors Meeting on Sunday. Oh, and who could forget all of the gorgeous peonies! (especially since my peony season is over)! It will be like getting another whole weekend of spring! This is going to be awesome. If you're going too, I hope to see you there!!!

2012 Last Blooms of the Peony Season

I can't believe how long the peony season was here this year! Today is the 7th day of week 9! The blooms in the last couple weeks have definitely not been the same as those at the beginning of the peony season which were so delicate and fresh. The last blooms have been wilted, drooping, and crispy brown on the edges. But who is to say that these last blooms are not just as beautiful as the first? Is something old not just as beautiful as something new? Is it not all a part of nature, which is beautiful in all its changing seasons? Why should we value youth and newness more than longevity and age? So here are some pictures I took today of the last blooms of my peony season here in zone 7. I hope you enjoy them and appreciate all nature has to offer in the beginning and the end. :)

Peony 'La Tendresse'


Peony 'Paul M. Wild'

2012 Paeonia Species Peony Seedlings

So I got 9 kinds of peony seeds from the 2010 American Peony Society Convention. I planted them in 2010, but I waited until this year to make sure that there weren't any stragglers. Four of the nine species actually germinated. I'm wondering if the germination rates were affected by the freshness of the seeds. Seeds sown here in my zone 7 growing climate will generally germinate the next spring. I've heard several times that sometimes peony seeds won't send up leaves until the 2nd year, but I've not found that to be true here. They usually sprout the first spring or not at all. Of course I usually let Mother Nature do the sprouting for me. I'm not much of a babier when it comes to plants, so they are most often left to take care of themselves. The 3 species that actually germinated here in 2011 were: Paeonia mascula, Paeonia mlokosewitschii, Paeonia peregrine, and Paeonia tenuifolia. Paeonia tenuifolia did not come back this year for 2012, but the other three did. I'm hoping to get some more seeds from the 2012 APS convention at the end of this month to try again. Hopefully I'll get some other species peony to grow here!!!

Paeonia mascula


Paeonia mlokosewitschii


Paeonia peregrine