2016 Southern Peony Grandma's Peonies

This past Friday I went to visit my Grandma and see her flower garden. She is the reason I wanted to grow peonies. My Grandma always has always had the best and biggest flower garden of anyone in our family, and I loved helping her in her flowers when I was a child. She likes to tell everyone the story of how I would stay outside deadheading flowers in her garden for her, long after she and my cousin had grown tired and gone inside. We took this photo in her garden on Friday. These two white peonies are some divisions from one of the original peony bushes she had in her garden when I was young. Back then Grandma's peony bushes seemed to be 4 or 5 feet tall, and the flowers were huge and smelled so good! Either I had quite the imagination or I was just much smaller and the perspective made them seem like giants! I'm guessing these "giant" double peonies are Peony 'Festiva Maxima' since they are fragrant, large, white double peonies with a few specks of red in the center. I love my grandmother very much and I feel very grateful to her for giving me the love of gardening, flowers, and especially peonies!

My Grandma and Me with her White Double Peonies

2016 Peonies for Spring Carolina Plant Swap

Southern Peony Seedlings for the Plant Swap
Yesterday was the Spring Carolina Plant Swap, and I spent the morning digging some of my most successful plants that needed a bit of dividing for donation to the plant swap. This is one of my favorite gardening events besides the American Peony Society Convention (which is coming up in less than one month!) This Carolina Plant Swap event happens twice a year, and I usually try to make it to at least one per year, two if I can. It is a great way to try plants you wouldn't normally grow (or pay for), and some plants that grow really well in your area, and even some plants you've never seen before! I always try to bring a couple peonies to help increase interest in the plant here in the South. Peonies can and do grow well here in the South - the biggest key is not planting the roots too deep. If you'd like to find a garden swap in your area to exchange plants (and hopefully help spread the love of peonies), I'd recommend signing up for an account on www.gardenweb.com, (previously GardenWeb, now called Houzz), finding the forum for your area and then looking at the Exchange forum, which is listed as a Related forum at the top of the page. Good Luck!
Southern Peony Pink Peony Seedlings

2016 Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' Best Performer - Week 4

Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' was hybridized by Irene Tolomeo and registered in 2001. So in the world of peonies, it is fairly new. However, with its unique coloring and numerous side buds, this plant is rapidly becoming a favorite garden specimen. This peony is a consistent performer growing larger and larger each year, with more and more blooms each year too! I am in love with the color - the clearest lavender colored peony in my garden. Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' is even more lavender than Peony 'Lavender'! Also see all of those gorgeous lavender colored side buds on the plant? Those are more blooms that haven't even opened yet! This peony just keeps blooming and blooming! So if you like any shade of purple or lavender and you want to keep the blooms coming, Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' is definitely a must have!
Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'
Southern Peony Best Performer


Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'
Southern Peony Best Performer

2016 Intersectional Peony Blooms Mid - Week 4

The intersectional peonies have really started to open this week. These peonies have a much more limited range of bloom times. While this is Week 4 of peony blooms in general, this is only Week 2 of the intersectional peony blooms. Something good to work on in intersectional peony hybridizing would be to expand the bloom time range of the intersectional group. Here is a group of pretty pastel colored intersectional peony blooms that were my favorite this week. Peony 'Keiko' is a Southern Peony Best Performer 2015 Peony 'Keiko' (Adored) Best Performer - Week 4, and she blew me away again this year! Peony 'Copper Kettle' really hit its stride this year, developing many bright copper orange colored blooms. Peony 'Callie's Memory' bloomed for me the first time this year, and has a pleasing combination of pastel colored shades, opening a pale peach. Peony 'White Emperor' has made a huge plant covered in giant white colored blooms - a rare color for intersectional hybrids!

Intersectional Peony 'Keiko' 愛幕 (Adored)	Intersectional Peony 'Copper Kettle'
Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory'	Intersectional Peony 'White Emperor'

2016 Peony Blooms Mid - Week 4

The peonies are really getting going this week. There are so many varieties opening. Here is a selection of my favorites this week. We got some rain after a dry spell, and the foliage and flowers look lovely. Likely due to our confusing spring warm up then cool down, some early season peonies are opening a bit later this year in the mid season. Peony 'Lavender is always one of my favorites because of its unique color. Peony 'Pink Kisses' and Peony 'Mahogany' are both new to my garden this spring, and they are both lovely Peony 'Mahogany' being the 2015 American Peony Society Gold Medal Winner. However, 'Pink Kisses' blooms are very impressive. Peony 'Golden Frolic' is always a very attractive plant both in flowers and in its 2016 Colorful Spring Peony Foliage.

Peony 'Lavender'	Peony 'Pink Kisses'
Peony 'Golden Frolic'	Peony 'Mahogany'

Peony 'Lovely Rose' usually blooms a bit earlier. However, it is always lovely in my garden as a Southern Peony Best Performer 'Lovely Rose', and it did superbly again this year. Peony 'Cream Delight' has a lovely elegant and timeless bloom with a nice hint of cream to the petals. I just love the shape of Peony 'Green Lotus' and Peony 'Pink Spritzer'. They both grow so well in my garden, and the petal and blooms last much longer than any other peonies in my garden. They hold their petals, and the blooms will still be on the plant weeks later. So as more and more blooms open, they just increase in number instead of a turnover where some blooms fall off over time (like most other peonies).

Peony 'Lovely Rose'	Peony 'Cream Delight'
Peony 'Green Lotus'	Peony 'Pink Spritzer'