Peonies at the Jarvis House Garden

A bouquet of deep pink Peonies.The largest mop head light pink Peonies in their glory.
A smaller pink variety with a fringe of butter yellow at the center. These are wonderful because they do not flop over as easily as the large pinks.This peony root like the larger pink roots came from my mother's garden and is over 60 years old. It has flecks of maroon and butter yellow at its center.The peony plants push up in early spring with deep bronze sprouts. If they will become light pink the foliage is usually green, and the deep pinks usually keep their dark red foliage. Wire cages are placed around the shoots to keep them from flopping over when they are fully grown.The wire supports heavy blooms. A large row of Peony plants stand behind the Private hedges. Others are scattered amongst other flowering shrubs. June thunderstorms can really shorten the Peony season, but when they are in full bloom Peonies are spectacular and graceful with very long stems and beautiful shiny leaves.Garden ants like to crawl all over the peony buds, but as far as I can tell they do no harm to the plants. They disappear when the flowers are blooming, but you might give them a shake if you cut stalks of flowers for displays indoors. In the fall, believe it or not I run the lawn mover over the dying leaves and stems and cut them down to the ground! I have been doing this for ever and they keep coming back stronger each spring. If you want to share the Peony roots with a friend, do it in the fall and replant them not more than one and one half inch below the surface of the soil. Sprinkle a bit of triple sulphate in the hole to stimulate root growth. Otherwise do not disturb the plants and they will thrive for generations in full sun. I have seen peony plants come up in gardens where the house has been bulldozed or burned down, years before. They are truly heritage plants and continue to amaze us each spring.