Sunday, June 9, 2013

The Peonies Have Bloomed

When we moved into this house almost 35 years ago, my knowledge level of gardening, plants, flowers, trees and perennials was slim to none back then.  And it wasn't until we took a trip to England in 1989 that I totally fell in love with gardens and gardening.  Prior to that, I would plant a petunia here or there, but no thoughts or planning ever existed.  Maybe it's because those English really know how to garden but whatever it was it drew me in like a magnate.  I began studying, looking at gardening books, subscribing to various gardening magazines, going to local seminars, hanging out at nurseries and talking to the local experts to get a handle on midwest gardening.  That can be a challenge with our vast range of temps -15 to +100 degrees fahrenheit and our really awful soil....mostly clay.  I have learned over the years what works and what doesn't...unfortunately the "doesn't" can get rather costly (definitely hybrid tea roses are a no no).  I still try new plants, new trees, new perennials in hopes that they all love living in my garden, but realistically I know that not all will stick around.

But one thing that has definitely stuck around for probably 30+ years are the peonies.  Not all of them however...I planted them all along  the east side of the house, then proceeded to plant a weigelia bush right smack in the middle in front of them which grew and grew (who knew that little 2 ft bush would grow) and totally shaded out most of the peonies.  (remember that learning curve I talked about?)  I still have two, one at each end of the house that continue to return year after year and present me with beautiful, aroma filled bouquets of pink fluff and the weigelia bush also returns to bloom profusely each spring.  So, if you are a midwest gardener and want to add something to your garden, peonies and weigelia's seem to like it here and stay put for quite some time.   





Yesterday was the garden walk, snapped a few pictures but all in all kinda disappointing, except for the time spent with girlfriends.  There was no wowzer garden, nothing spectacular, but there are 2 more walks Friday & Saturday that I hope to attend...so maybe the wowzer will be among those.

Also must share this picture...last night was the "dance recital"....totally enjoyable, took another bazillion pictures, sitting on the 4th row center section (my spot for every dance recital) and will share some later....but this was after the performance.  Bailey danced the roll of the "Fairy Godmother", Sam is ticket taker and lighting man extraordinaire, Lisa the brilliant creative mind behind all the recitals, and Brie, unfortunately since she was away at college could not participate.  But that doesn't stop her from being right there in the audience cheering everyone on.  My family, love'em!!


Hope your weekend was grand...and that the week ahead will be even grander.

"There's a lot more to being a woman than being a mother, but there's one hell of a lot more to being a mother than most people suspect."  ~  Roseanne Barr

Until next time.....

15 comments:

  1. cute, goofy family. :) and not an ant in sight on those peonies! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those peonies are gorgeous. And I love that last photo. Too cute..

    BTW - I love your new banner..

    Hugs~

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my..how I DO love peonies! I'm going to plant some this spring!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really love peonies ... I have got to plant some next year :-D
    Beautiful shots!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well we all know that your love of flowers is amazing friend......so precious. But I had to stop by and tell you major kudos on the new blog header. A-DOR-A-ABLE!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love your gorgeous peonies!! They are some of my favorite flowers and sadly do not work in Texas. Those english gardens can definitely be very tempting to try and recreate. I love them, but sadly, am no gardener. I always get very enthused in the spring, and then it is 110 and I am done. Thank goodness my husband is great at watering my plants or I would have to switch to plastic flowers. So glad you had so much fun at the dance recital! Looking forward to more of the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love peonies. My daughter has some like these. I took a couple of snaps of them just before I fell...the mulch hid the fact that the hill started there. Those plants still haven't stood back up! Your family is lovely. Sounds like a very artistic and hard-working family.

    ReplyDelete
  8. beautiful post, your floral images look so misty and 'pretty' with the soft effects you create Deanna. Lovely family photo too

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I have to make a peonies post! I carried peonies at my wedding in May. My mom was a florist and when we decided to have our wedding in May she was so excited about Peonies! I had never heard of them before. I am so glad your trip taught you about gardening. And look at what you have become! That and more!!! You and your fancy camera lenses. Oh and peonies growing in your yard well that is just the icing on the cake.

    ReplyDelete
  10. OH those peonies are gorgeous. Love them!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, I remember that awful clay soil and 100+° days of Texas. I didn't even try to garden there much. Congrats on your peonies. What stunners they are. I am learning more about gardening since returning to Louisiana. It's much more enjoyable with the rich, dark soil and tropical climate. Love your family photo. Y'all are always smiling. So nice to see that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your peonies are so pretty- love the macro shot.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Still waiting for my peonies to flower on this side of the pond....we have clay soil as well...

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have one peony at our Atlanta home and now have a couple more at our new lakehouse, BUT none of them seem to offer up more than a handful of blooms at the most. Really, it's more like 2 or 3 blooms each. And, those end up on the ground. I do love them, but the one I have had at home for several years now seems to give less blooms each year. Maybe they need more fertilizer? Yours are absolutely lovely and so is your family!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful peonies. They are such elegant flowers. - Your family looks like they have so much fun together.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for leaving a comment, I read and cherish them all. I will do my best to return the favor.