Lush and romantic, peonies are fabulous in bouquets. To get the most out of yours, here are some tips from Dr. Patricia Holloway of the University of Alaska, as quoted by Debra Prinzing in her book Slow Flowers:

“‘Cut peonies during the coolest part of the day. Cut once you see the true color of the flower with one or two petals separating at the top [the “soft marshmallow” stage] – or any time after that. Then the flower will continue to open in your arrangement.’ If you cut prior to this stage the buds either will not open or they will be stunted. Fully-opened blooms can also be harvested, but their vase life is shorter. . . .

“Dr. Holloway also offers this commercial growers’ tip; ‘Once cut, your flowers should be chilled in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to one week before putting them into a vase. That chilling very definitely extends vase life.’ Wrap the peonies in paper towels and lay them flat in the crisper drawer, away from the refrigerator’s other contents.”

We’ll also remind you that for future growth and bloom it’s best to leave as much foliage as possible on the plant. This is especially important during the first two years after planting, and in fact many experts recommend that you cut NO flowers the first year. We know how hard that can be, but your patience will be rewarded.

‘Madame Stappers’

‘Old Gold’

‘Sellwood Glory’

Our experience with the Historical Iris Preservation Society last year as they collected varieties lost in Holland but still grown in American gardens inspired us to check our own lists of varieties we can no longer find. Sometimes a small-scale grower retires unexpectedly due to illness; sometimes varieties are lost due to unlucky weather events (last spring our New Hampshire friends had their fields flooded late into planting season, resulting in poor harvests in the fall), or there may be an issue with storage conditions over the winter. We’d like to resurrect some of these “lost treasures” and spread them to more gardens before they’re gone forever, so If you have any of these varieties to share, please let us know. We - and the dahlia lovers who have been wishing for their return - will be thrilled.

‘Coral Sunset’ peony

We’re awaiting our peonies blooming in a few weeks and are excited to be able to offer a variety in glowing colors seldom seen in the peony garden: deep coral-peaches softening into salmon and then ivory. Illinois hybridizer Samuel Wissing spent over 25 years developing his famous coral peonies and this APS Gold Medal winner, turning 60 next year, is one of his best. David Michener raves “The changing color tones flow so well that it is a delight to behold…Would that even a handful of summer sunsets were equal to this peony’s bloom.” If you love warm colors, particularly in soft cups full of golden stamens, this is a peony sure to delight you.

And before your memories of your daffodils, tulips and crocus from this spring fade, give some thought to whether there were particular varieties or colors that you wanted to increase next fall (or to try for the first time) in any gaps you noticed in your springtime displays. It’s a good idea to mark the location you use for planting next fall with an interesting stone, a labeled stake, or even a handful of the colored gravel sold for use in fish tanks. If your beds or borders are anything like ours, they fill in so well over summer that what seemed obvious last month can be unrecognizable in October.

Woo hoo! The weather is glorious here, tulips are blooming, iris and peonies are budding, and the birds are singing. It’s been a great season (thank you!), Rita’s about to go on vacation in Croatia (!) and we’ve got lots of work awaiting us out in our gardens and production fields, so we’ll only be taking spring orders today and tomorrow (May 6 - May 7). Orders will ship out Wednesday and Thursday, so perhaps a mother or grandmother in your life would like a surprise next week! You can check our list of remaining bulbs, all now on sale at 30% off - here. And we’ll let you know later this year when we have varieties up online for spring 2025 planting!