The Daily DuBrule
On Saturday, a couple came in asking about repeat blooming peonies. Sorry, there's no such thing was my reply. They were upset because when they arrived at their weekend home, the peonies were all broken and mushy and fallen over. Yup. There was a brutal storm on Friday night with heavy winds and rain and all the peonies that had been in bloom and beautiful last week were destroyed. They missed these brief, voluptuous, beautiful flowers. It seems as if the most beloved, old fashioned perennials are the most fleeting. You really have to love peonies to put up with this issue. It seems to always rain when they are in flower.
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| Peony 'Pink Jazz' last week |
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| Peony 'Pink Jazz' on Sunday |
They asked if there is a better staking system than peony hoops. I know, the heavy flowers, even if supported by hoops, bend and break. Taller hoops, perhaps? Tall stakes set inside the hoops with a ring of Twistems? There are adjustable staking systems, metal stakes with hoops that can be raised up and down. We carried them for a while, but no one seemed interested. I brought a few home and they are great. They are the ideal solution for peonies.
I don't care, I am still growing peonies. I was lucky enough to be home early on Friday evening and I picked armloads of fragrant peonies- 'Pink Jazz' and 'Nancy Nora' are the two that bowl me over with their scent. I also picked lilies and white Camassias and anything else that seemed fragile with the impending storm.
So many people say they hesitate to pick the flowers they have planted and worked so hard to grow. To me, that is why you grow peonies and lilies and roses and tulips and fragrant Narcissus. To make bouquets and walk by them in the house and bury your nose in them and get transported back to gardens of long ago. Another live-in-the-moment lesson from the garden.
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