fancyvan, how fun! whole sections of my yard will be begging for that kind of relief come august. time to start looking around for some used yard umbrellas. you guys arr so creative :-)
2011 Peonies IV
Love the temporary shade.
I have recently gotten smarter (a brain cell or two perhaps) and instead of dumping my dehumidifier water down the drain, haul it upstairs and outside for my plants. Even though we are not under water restrictions, and have had too much rain - I still have some plants that need watered, and it might not make a dent in my waterbill, but it is better than dumping it into the sewer system.
The rare times I have been under water restrictions, I have also saved rinse water from my shower & bucketed that up, and my water rinse water too. Pain in the back (and arms & legs), but noone could 'yell' at me, either ~j
This forum is lots of fun! (Thanks for the encouraging words too, Steve). Lady Alexandra Duff (beautiful and elegant) and beach umbrellas in the same thread. Now we'll all do a Brazillian axe dance in front of the sun umbrellas. Hope springs eternal for next year's peonies, too.
I'm sorry about mstella's tree peonies. In April it still looked like they had a chance.
One never quite knows what is going to happen in our gardens in spite of lots of hard work, and then sometimes, we discover unexpected joy.
Debra, you may have sources of water from your daily household tasks. In many areas it is called gray water. Collect any water that is used to wash fruits and veggies, pasta and liquids used in cooking, allow to cool before used on plants. With a siphon? from an auto store or camping supplier can be used to siphon water from tubs and showers. Look for a type that has a pump to start rather than gravity. Have had similar conditions in this area so know what you are dealing with.
You might try applying mulch in a wider area but the mulch should be damp when you apply or water will not be absorbed. Depending on type of mulch I find that using a couple of drops of dish soap will allow most things to absorb moisture then slow release it.
Finally returned home last night from the APS meeting. Lots of plants in the van. It rained every day but still had lots of sun. Was weird since it was cool and we took the northern route on I-90 back. House temp was set at 78, my normal temp, felt like 100. Had to set air at a lower temp to sleep.
Took pictures along one road of wild peonies, P. brownii, two of which had different types of leaves. Will post pictures later.
I keep thermo at 70 F - I don't care how much it costs!!! LOL
Three days of rain and temps in the 40s & 50s but its time. The peonies are opening in the North Country! My first white opened today. It's an old one, don't know its providence, and its about 4 1/2 feet tall. Is this what I have seen called a farmstead peony?
Well my fernleaf is no great shakes this year as you can see but still it has opened two blooms so I guess that counts!
Looks fabulous to me! As does your garden. Would love to see more pictures of the whole garden. And yes, you are colder than me, judging from that allium :-)
DGer from NW Arkansas brought me this one last week. She said its been in the container for three years. No idea what kind it is, so will be surprise come next Spring. :-)
okcrow there are lots of pictures of my garden in my gardening blog.
http://davesgarden.com/tools/blog/ ( not sure if this link gets you there or not!)
Carol, that link does not work. Could you please try again? I would love to see your pics. You are a very adventurous gardener. You always post things that are different from ANYONE else.
try this one.
http://davesgarden.com/tools/blog/index.php?tabid=7058
If that gets you in then there is a list on the right side of my different picture series.
http://davesgarden.com/tools/blog/index.php?tabid=7058
try this.
Oops sorry for the double post!
This message was edited Jun 13, 2011 7:19 PM
access denied
I got that message too!
Easiest way I know to read a blog on DG is this: in the upper tab of this page click on Communities, then on the left of the next page, click on Members. The search works, so search under fancyvan and the blog page comes up. then entering individual entries gets into picture displays. I hope that works.
In my quest to see Carol's garden I found this under FAQ in blogs:
Can other users see my Journal?
That is up to you. If you wish your Journal is made available for other Subscribers and Members to view. If you prefer to not have your Journals public you can change that preference under the Privacy option under the Journal Main Menu. The default setting is that your Journal is Private unless you change it to allow others to see your Journal.
Perhaps this is the issue?
Still raining here. Still in the 40s & 50s :-(
Well this is not a journal-I dont keep one - it is my blogs. In the past people have had no trouble viewing them.
And now I am really curious about this I sent a note to admin.
And I am also being pretty stupid because I cannot find that Privacy option under the Journal Main Menu!
Terry says this link should work:
http://davesgarden.com/tools/blog/
This message was edited Jun 14, 2011 9:15 AM
Rosemary's method works. I found Carol's garden journals. Now to get a chai and settle down for a nice long read.
Thanks!
I just clicked on her name in the post, and it brought up the options.
Nice pix!
My peonies aren't blooming much this year. Last year they were beautiful. I grow Sandra Bernhardt and Sorbet.
I am not sure if it is due to the crazy weather. We had an icy late winter, cold wet spring and a heat wave. We missed spring altogether this year. The plants themselves are bigger than last year - lots of more leaves and much taller. I just didn't get many flowers. Maybe they were triggered to grow more leaves instead of flowering this year. I checked the soil pH, it is fine. I gave them a good dose of aged manure at the base to help them build up for more flowers next year.
Is there anything else that I should do?
It was a strange season. I got a lot of blooms because I have a lot of plants. For some it was the first time I got a bloom! But on some of the peonies there are buds that failed to develop or open, not rotted yet, but sure they will.
My plants look healthy, just don't have many blooms. They are usually blooming before the roses (and it usually rains that week - argh).
I had gotten a yellow tree peony at the end of the season last year. It was beautiful, but expensive, in bloom at a local pricey nursery. It was originally marked $80, marked down to $40, marked down to $20 and finished blooming. I offered $10 and carried it home! It was slow to emerge, but has green growth. It didn't bloom yet. I am not sure what time it would bloom in the garden, I suspect that the nursery had it in the greenhouse. It survived the terrible winter and ice storms, thank goodness.
I would think it would need a year or so to develop a good root stock in your garden. The nurseries pump them full of growth hormone, heat them up, and all that. Mine took three years from planting to huge blooms and healthy beautiful bushes. Love the colors of the leaves, rather like intersectionals. I ordered Guardian of the Monastery to come this fall. Have high hopes for it.
After so much anticipation watching the peonies bloom in the south, our Northern gardens finally started to bloom. Both Silver Shell and Blaze bloomed for me today. Silver Shell is a two year old plant and has about 10 blooms while Blaze is a baby, just one year old. Here is Silver Shell
And here is baby Blaze. I think the blooms will be larger when the plant gets a little older.
Okcrow, it's your turn. Enjoy—they are lovely!
Peony Mrs. FDR beginning to open earlier this month - very late!
With its spectacular flowers.
Sharing its space with the much younger Lady Alexandra Duff to the left and behind, Cornelia Shaylor beginning to open.
Another shot of the trio, backed by the intense red of Rose Quadra. I love peonies and roses together.
I love your Quadra!!! It looks especially nice with the white peonies. I love red and white together...I think some Black Barlow columbine would look nice with them. Or maybe a black iris, although mine typically finish before my peonies start. I think a red-white-black combo would be fun.
Garden.
Red, White and black sounds cool!.
I love to use red and white too! Here's a better picture of Quadra, with its red and white. I sort of made a mistake when I bought two, because they swamp the trellis, which is almost 8 feet high. But what the heck!
Gardenquilts, I think many of us have had a strange peony season. My experience was like cathy's - some were better and more floriferous while others didn't do as well. I have read here on DG about lots of people having an inferior season to year prior but that is not so unusual with any perennial I guess. Lots of greenery for you this year might translate into a really nice bloom season next year with additional food stored by the plant. I had/am having a great daylily season but this early, intense heat is bringing everything to a standstill.
Ok- Silver shell is a real beauty.
Donna, as usual your peonies and roses are absolutely magnificent. What a spectacular showing!
DonnaMack, they're beautiful!
GardenQuilts, the tree peonies generally bloom at least 2-3 weeks before the herbaceous peonies. Since tree peonies get their growth from previous years' growth, do not be tempted to trim.
Ann Cousins is just starting to bloom.
Cornelia Shaylor has sprung into bloom.
I love the flowers.
Donna, I can smell them from here!