There are two things in life that instantly make me happy.
The first is filling my car up with gas. Not because I love filling my car up with gas. I hate filling my car up with gas. As far as life's little pleasure's go, it's right up there with the family pet's wretched breath waking you up in the morning. No, filling my car up with gas makes me happy because I know once I drive out of the gas station I have another 500 kilometres to go before I'll have to do it again.
The second thing that makes me happy is when my Peony bush blooms. No that is not a euphemism.
A rose by any other name is a Peony. Of all the women I know 90% of them would name the Peony as their favourite flower. I'm completely making that statistic up, but it's somewhere around true. It's political true, as opposed to hand over heart true.
You can create a beautiful arrangement with a single Peony. Can't say that about a rose. Yes, a single rose is ... well ... cute. But it's no Peony.
If you have 2 or 3 Peonies, the simple beauty of them is almost breathtaking. Which gives Peonies another leg up if what they happen to take the breath away from is your family pet. Not alllll the breath. Just the bad breath.
Our cat let out some sort of gassy substance on the couch this morning. We didn't know if it was a toot or her breath. When you can't discern if the smell is coming out of the bum or the mouth, you know your pet has a breath problem.
Back to the Peony! After a year of waiting and a pretty miserable, cold spring my Peony bush has finally bloomed, which means I can finally cut a few flowers and bring them inside.
It's only been in the past couple of years that I've felt like my Peony bush was big enough to cut from. When you only have 3 flowers, it's kind of hard to whack one off and bring it inside. That's the thing about Peony's. They aren't what you'd call robust for the first few years. In fact they're downright touchy. The success you have when planting your Peony bush largely depends on how deep you plant it. They don't like to be moved. They like to stay put. They're like the Waltons.
So when you plant them, make sure you put them exactly where you want them. Once they're in, they're in. There's no moving them around. Not if you want them to flourish.
Also, if you're planting a potted Peony, make sure when you plant them, the soil line is exactly level. If you plant them too deep with the soil line from the pot lower than the soil line in the garden it could take years for the Peony to bloom for you. See? I told you. Touchy. It's not surprising though. Most beautiful things don't like to be disturbed. Case in point, Naomi Campbell. If you disturb Naomi Campbell she'll even take a swing at you.
The only thing you have to be mindful of with Peonies and bringing them indoors is their hitchhikers. Just tap the flowers while upside down a few times and you should be O.K. The flowers have to be upside down. Not you. Although that would work as well I suppose.
If you're thinking of planting a Peony bush, your best bet is to plant them in the fall. Not when they're blooming and looking all pretty in the garden centres in the spring. Planting in the fall gives the Peony the chance to develop a good root system, resulting in a faster blooming plant.
If you already have a Peony bush you can split it in the fall. Just make sure you don't disturb the roots too much and don't change the soil level. The splits, should have at least 3 or 4 shoots coming from it, and remember to plant them at the exact right soil level to keep it happy. You don't want it throwing a cell phone at your head out of anger.
When planted correctly a Peony bush can live for a century. That's 100 years of this ...
... and in the evenings ... this.
Every night when I walk through my dining room into the kitchen to get whatever snack it is I'm looking for I smile at the sight of my Peonies. And not just an inside my head smile. An actual smile.
This smile usually lasts exactly until my cat breathes on me.
Carol-Anne
My beauties just finished bluming but got a photo when they were at their peak! So wished they lasted longer... Love the colour of yours Karen. I may add that colour this year.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/keeawe/art/7300474-at-last
Karen
Wow! Yours are HUGE. They're beautiful. I have to admit, I really like the deep colour of mine too! It was just by chance. A neighbour of my mother's was splitting her peony bush the first year I moved into my house, so she left me take a bit of it. The woman has since died, but her peony bush lives on in my garden. ~ karen
Paulina J!
Get out of my head woman!! I have been doing some research on peonies since we will be movimg to a new house and this is what I want to plant. I love flower arrangements and called one of my local florists and was told that each stem is $14. I was too shocked to ask if that was truly the price and just hung up. Surely, that's not right?!?!? Anyways, I hope to be getting free blooms next year, for the next 100 years, from my own peony bush.
Tina
$14?! My Trader Joe's has a bunch (something like 6 to 8 stems) for $6.99.
I love peonies but only have roses. Perhaps it's time to fix that situation. :o)
Laura M
What a coincedence! I picked several of my peonies this morning too! I have 7 pink peonies in a glass pitcher - heavenly and one tucked in a vase with 3 pink roses.
Yes it's true you need a bunch of roses to get the same WOW as a single peony. I put a yellow rose in a bud vase on my nightstand. :)
Yeah flowers!
Pam
I love peonies too. Yes, I am in the 90%. :) Yours are beautiful!
Pam
blake
SO I disturbed a peony this weekend in fact...My neighbor sold her house and moved...asked if there was anything I wanted from the house before the final walk thru the next morning...I went over and helped myself to her Peony shrubs. 3 unhappy shrubs that had been planted under other things and were seriously grumpy about it.
Hopefully in 2 years they will like their new home and finally forgive me for digging them up in the dark with my 5 year old holding the flashlight. It will truly be an experiment in how far you can push a peony and still get it to bloom.
Kasia
I just put a peony out on our table yesterday. However, it is a really, really pale pink, and I like yours better. Peony-envy. >sigh<
Lydia
We planted a raised veggie garden this spring, and in order to do so I had to transplant the peony bush I inherited from my Grammom. It still produced a few blooms, then abruptly threw me the stink eye and dropped all of it's other buds. Diva. And mine is the same color.
Laura
What you say is so true! I have been meaning to move my sad shaded Peonies for a few years now. They haven't bloomed in so long, I've forgotten the colours. I am working on a spot in the sun for them to move to this fall (finally!) but last thursday I was out in the back & noticed one has actually bloomed! Two flowers, & now I'm afraid to move it!
Beverly @ The Buzz
Peonies have always been one of my favorite flowers. Love their scent! My husband brought me home a couple of those boxes of the rhizomes a few years ago. I planted all 14--yep, 14--never expecting them all to come up. But they did! This is their 3rd year and they were beautiful. I have the same color as your photos, as well as a lighter pink. I too face moving some of them this fall. My mother says peonies must be planted in August or they won't bloom--but I've proven her wrong!
kate
How right your are! There is nothing as beautiful as peony blossoms and the scent is wonderful. Growing up we had an ancient peony bush and every year we'd have huge vases full of peony blooms. Thanks for the peony photos and the memories on a Monday morning.
Leanne
Peonies are my favorite flower too. So with you and me... that's got to be close to 90% right there. Thanks for the planting tips. I have admired these flowers too much to squash them with my black thumb. Maybe I will try it. (In the fall. Not the spring. See how well I listen? ) Oh and I'm sure you know this but your table looks awesome. Your table has made my table feel ashamed of itself.
Karen
Leanne - My table wouldn't want that. Perk your table up with a peony. ~ karen
Jenny (@ The Housewife Project)
I agree with you. Peonies are my absolute favorite flower. We were lucky enough to have 3 beautiful peony bushes already flourishing here when we moved in. We've split them a couple times and while it does take a couple years for the new bushes to bloom, they are now doing well, too. We also planted a tree peony, whose blooms look similar but slightly different. Bright pink with a yellow center. I think it's a tree peony because the branches are woody, otherwise I'm not sure what the difference is. I only wished they all bloomed longer. Mine are done for the year.
Karen
Jenny - You're right. They don't seem to bloom very long. :( And all the flowers have a tendency to bloom at once instead of in succession. :( ~ karen
marilyn
I LOVE PEONIES!! they are perfect, my house is full of them right now.i also have three tree peonies which take even longer to bloom but are so worth it just for the smell. pure heaven and oh so beautiful! i don't feel too bad about cutting my peonies because they often get so top heavy they fall over anyway so i figure i may as well bring them in the house where i can see them all the time and yes they put a real smile on my face too karen. my next investment for the garden...a fringe leafed peony.
magali
do you brush your stinky cat's teeth? I've had my kitten since December and I have yet to brush her teeth. The little starter's manual I got says it should be done daily, but I think that's just crazy. I have been meaning to do it once it a while though... at least her breath smells fine!
Karen
Magali - I took her to the vet her breath was so wretched. He said she's normal, leave her alone. :( ~ karen
Pam'a
I go by one simple rule when it comes to most animal hygiene: They've managed beautifully for the last however-many thousand years without humans doing these things to them, so it's doubtful they suddenly need us doing it now.Except for vaccinations, which are a GOOD thing among civilized pets. And provided you don't feed them people food.
Deb
I'm not sure if I've ever left a comment....but I do "stalk" you quite a lot!!! ;-) You are so funny and I enjoy stopping by....you make me smile, just like your peonies do you...and we can all use all the smiles we can get!!! HOPE you have a blessed week!!!
Karen
Thank you Deb. :) ~ karen
Mike
I disagree. If flowers were high school girls the overweight uncool one with the Coke bottle glasses and bad skin would be called Peony.
Karen
Mike - Let me guess. You got rejected by a girl named Peony once. ~ karen
Bobbie White
I loved your response Karen! Rejection hurts! Lol!
I have been trying to grow peonies FOREVER from my Dad's, and have never been successful. From reading your blog, I can understand why! I took them and transplanted them in the springtime.
Branwen
I love this plant but I don't have it in my garden. There is one in my parents garden. Right soil level you say? I can do that. Perhaps next week the peony will be in my garden. Don't tell my mum...
Karen
You're secret's safe with me. ~ karen
rebecca gostin
I just picked the same color peony this afternoon and put it on my windowsill. I love them!
Pam'a
Yes! Peonies are the Queens of the Garden! If you're someone new to growing them, a word about those ants you'll see, busily working on the buds: Leave them alone! (Okay, 3 words.) Because the peony buds NEED the ants chawing on them in order to open.
p.s. I have two, but due to an overzealous "dwarf" red maple, they lack sun now. I face transplanting them this fall with great trepidation.
Karen
Pam'a - Yes thats's true. The Peony needs an ant to open it. Forgot to mention that. Thx! ~ karen
Lisa
actually, I think that's a myth.
Karen
Lisa - True enough, it appears to be a myth, although some gardening sites claim if the flower is an especially tight one, the ant getting into the tight petals to get to the nectar covering the bloom, can help open it. Dunno. ~ karen
Pam'a
Hmm. I can't recall who told me the story I base this on, but whoever-it-was didn't know about ants and peonies, sprayed and killed the ants, and subsequently had no blooms that year. 'Sounds entirely scientific to me...Heh.
jenn b
Last year I planted my very first peony, and this year - as noted by the expert peony person you are - I have exactly 3 (count em') slightly anemic but beautiful blooms. One of which my two year old decided was a weed when we were weeding, and she pulled off.... Gotta love it -
Looking forward to future happiness with my little peony ~
Karen
Ooo! What colour? What type? I like the Raspberry Sorbet Peony. Don't own one. I just like it. ~ karen!