2018 American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner 'Pietertje Vriend Wagenaar'

Peony 'Pietertje Vriend Wagenaar'
2018 American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner
I don't know a whole lot about the newest inductee into the APS Hall of Fame, Peony 'Pietertje Vriend Wagenaar', the American Peony Society 2018 Gold Medal Winner. Peony 'Pietertje Vriend Wagenaar' is a bit hard to pronounce, but supposedly a lovely flower. I've heard that the darker pink speckling on the lighter pink petals of Peony 'Pietertje Vriend Wagenaar' is similar to Peony 'The Fawn', but this plant grown side by side is supposed to be better. It was registered by Friend in 1996, and the registration information says it was named for his Mother. This peony plant is supposedly the child of Peony 'Kansas' (a Southern Peony Best Performer) and Peony 'Sarah Berhnardt'. So I have high hopes that this plant will grow and bloom well here in the South, since both of its parents work well in our climate.

2018 American Peony Society Convention Tours Adelman Peony Gardens

Carol Adelman Giving a Talk
American Peony Society 2018 Convention Tour
Almost a week ago we toured Adelman Peony Gardens during the 2018 American Peony Society Convention. It all went by so fast, but having the photos around to remind me of how beautiful everything was just brings back happy memories. Everything, and I do mean everything, was in its place and picture perfect at Jim and Carol Adelman's Peony Gardens. Their gardens and fields were just immaculate. Every detail of the tour had been considered down to the smallest detail. Every flower in their display garden had been clipped to perfection. Every border was neat and tidy. Their slip of land really does live up to the URL of their web site - www.peonyparadise.com, Peony Paradise. It is exactly that.
Tractor Tours of Adelman Peony Gardens
Carol gave a wonderful introduction to her farm. She has the perfect mix of humor and brashness (or maybe just outright honesty) in her stories, and she is definitely entertaining to listen to. They also gave tractors tours of their expansive fields (growing expansive flowers). I don't think I've seen anyone grow peony plants or flowers as large as the Adelmans grow them. They seem to have the perfect mix of soil, rain, temperatures, and cloud cover to create the largest and most richly colored peonies in North America.
Flowering Peonies at Adelman Peony Gardens

APS Award Ribbons and Cut Peonies
at Adelman Peony Gardens
Inside of the Adelman Peony Gardens sales office, they had cut peony flowers displayed in vases along with their variety name on a placard right in front of each vase. On one of the walls I found a few of Carol's American Peony Society Flower Exhibition ribbons, which appeared to be from 2001-2006. While there were many of them framed on the wall, I know there are many times that waiting to be framed somewhere. I bet she could fill up the entire long wall of her sales office with ribbons! I think Adelman Peony Gardens definitely has the most peony merchandise of any US grower I've visited. There were peony magnets, calendars, books, fertilizer, cut flowers, potted plants, and more. If you wanted for something peony, you found it.
Peony: The Best Varieties for Your Garden Book Signing
at Adelman Peony Gardens

Cold Drinks Adelman Style
While we were touring the gardens, the Adelman's also hosted a lunch for the APS Members on site. They had rented a lovely tent and chairs, decorated every table with a beautiful bouquet of peonies - of course, and catered in Panera Bread boxes for the meal. The food was very tasty - sandwiches, chips, a pickle and a cookie. Drinks were served Adelman style - in the bucket of a tractor's front loader! And of course, many people were lined up after lunch for their chance to get an autographed copy of Carol Adelman and David Michener's new book, Peony: The Best Varieties for Your Garden Book. Of course I needed a copy to memorialize the occasion.
Me with David Michener and Carol Adelman
Authors of Peony: Best Varieties for Your Garden Book

Adelman Peony Gardens' Display Gardens
The Adelman's display gardens could really be described as perfect, something that every home gardener would love to attain and achieve. They did have their secret sauce, aka Adelman Peony Gardens' Peony Fertilizer, for sale inside their sales office. It was a 10-8-8 fertilizer, with the nitrogen being slow release. Carol said that tulip and daffodil fertilizer was their secret, but I have a feeling there might be a little bit more to it than that. The Adelmans have really put their heart into their passion - growing peonies.
Adelman Peony Gardens Tour Talk

2018 American Peony Society Convention Tours Sebright Gardens

Sebright Gardens
American Peony Society 2018 Convention Tour
I missed the first day's activities for the American Peony Society Annual Convention due to a cancelled flight. So my first activity during the 2018 Convention was the first tour bus stop on Thursday morning. We went to visit Sebright Gardens in Salem, Oregon. Their web site says they specialize in hostas and ferns, but they seemed to have a fair number of iris too (and a few peonies tucked here and there). They had a long greenhouse full of an assortment of plants that I tried not to look in, since I was trying not to have to ship any potted plants home. I'm sure I would have come away with a wheelbarrow full if I was driving home! They offered complimentary coffee and cookies for the APS members on the tour which was quite nice.
Sebright Gardens Iris Field
I believe the tours were self guided here, and most APS members found their way around the place on tiny gravel paths meandering here and there. There was a wide array of plants being grown in their garden as well, with many beautiful varieties in bloom at the time of our tour. You could find roses, clematises, peonies, irises, rhododendrons, poppies, lilies, and much more. The best part about this garden, though, I have to say were the beautiful white peacocks at the bottom of the hill. Although they were encased in an ugly assortment of wood and metal, their beauty could not be bound by their cage. They were just gorgeous. What a wonderful tour indeed. :-)
White Peacock at Sebright Gardens

2018 American Peony Society Convention in Portland, Oregon

Well, it's that time of year, time for the annual American Peony Society Convention, hosted this year in Portland, Oregon by the Pacific Northwest Peony Society. I can't wait to see what they've cooked up for us. I'm sure this is going to be a stellar convention since two of our awesome board members belong to the Pacific Northwest Peony Society. I am eager to see what Oregon is all about since I've never visited their state before. I've heard the peonies grow pretty large there and the weather is nice (unlike my current locale - San Francisco).
2018 American Peony Society Convention in Portland, Oregon
My connecting flight seems to have been cancelled due to "fog". I don't think I've ever had a flight cancelled for this reason before, but I guess it gives me enough time to write this quick update for everyone. I've been re-booked on two more flights now. Let's see if these are successful. Let's hope so. Due to this delay it seems I will miss the welcome dinner and silent auction. I hope everyone else is able to attend, enjoy a nice meal, and hopefully find a few things to bid on. Have fun!!!

2018 Peony Blooms - Week 6 Late

Well, with pretty much 2 weeks of no rain, and now the temperatures are starting to rise into the 90s, the peonies are finishing their season up fast. I don't think we'll have any new varieties opening in week 7 this year. Everything got condensed at the end due to the hot weather and lack of rain. We'll still have some side buds opening next week, but it will most likely be the end of our peony season here. There were still some very lovely blooms that opened this week, though. Peony 'Sorbet' and Peony 'Karl Rosenfield' are both old standbys that are very nice. Peony 'Douglas Brand' opened for the first time for me this year. He was not quite as 'red' as I expected him to be, but still a lovely shade of dark pink. Peony 'Prince of Darkness' bloomed for me for the first time in a long time, if ever. After growing him for almost 10 years, I finally moved him to a better location 2 years ago, and I love the dark purple pink color of his blooms! Peony 'Perfect Princess' bloomed for me for the first time this year as well. She is a recent acquisition and new introduction from Khlem's Song Sparre, and I must say I am really impressed so far. She does seem to need a bit of support, but with only 2 stems she was loaded with 7 huge blooms! Peony 'Myra MacRae' is one of our Southern Peony Best Performers. Peony 'Candy Stripe' really came into its own this year. A lovely striped bloom, with such a rounded, symmetrical form, very nice! Peony 'Vivid Rose' is getting larger each year in it's new location, and the blooms are so lovely and mesmerizing, I just couldn't stop tacking pictures of them!
Peony 'Sorbet'

Peony 'Douglas Brand'

Peony 'Prince of Darkness'

Peony 'Karl Rosenfield'

Peony 'Perfect Princess'

Peony 'Myra MacRae'

Peony 'Candy Stripe'

Peony 'Vivid Rose'