With thunderstorms and heavy rain in the forecast for most of yesterday, I was out early in the morning, before the skies darkened, to snip and photograph these queens so that they can take their proper place in Cathy’s Monday collection of cut flowers. As you can see, they haven’t opened all the way…I’m hoping for a glimpse of sunshine so that I can take another shot with some of the single blossoms fully open. I don’t know the names of the red or pinks ones; white is ‘Duchesse de Nemours.’ I added three sprigs of Stachys for some texture.
I learned a while ago that, after cutting a stem in the garden, it’s best to cut it again beside your vase, this time while the part of the stem to be cut is underwater. This prevents air bubbles to enter the stem, which would impede water flow; doing this second cut it supposed to help prolong the life of a cut flower. So my prop today is the bowl of water I used for this purpose.
My container is a glazed earthenware jug I found tucked away in my favourite vintage shop on Saturday. Apparently it’s more than a century old and came from England, of course. I love the earthy colour tones, and the way they drip and blend into each other.
…well, here it is Monday morning…not much difference in the vase, but at least the skies are blue!! Here are these queens today, plus a bonus shot of a hummingbird moth I spotted the other day… Have a lovely week everyone!
Pretty, petaly Peonies. You were fortunate to find the earthenware jug. Lucky you to get a visit from a Hummingbird moth…they are adorable. Enjoy your blue skies.
It was quite gorgeous yesterday, and maybe today as well, before clouds move in again…
Well done, Chris! Your peonies are marvelous and the vase is quite a find.
Thank You!!
Peonies seem to be more popular this year. I really should try at least one. I regularly mention how enviable they are, but I do not really know that I can not grow them. They are very marginal here, since they do not get much winter chill, but I had neighbors in town who grew a few.
I think it’s worth trying…and I imagine there are some varieties that are more tolerant of your warm conditions?
Yes, and ‘Festiva Maxima’ is one of the three that is supposedly more tolerant of the mild winters here. (I happen to like ‘Festiva Maxima’ in pictures.) ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ and ‘Karl Rosenfield’ might be the other two, but I do not remember. If I ever try any, I will likely start with ‘Festiva Maxima’.
I miss my old fashioned peonies that were planted in my first garden by the original home owners in the 1960s. They looked and smelled amazing. So wonder to see this vase.
I think for many people who move around, or move from a family home of many years, peonies are the main or only plant they miss – they’re so glamorous and romantic and often fragrant and just so big and beautiful them make that sort of memory impression.
Pretty peonies, in a lovely vase, Chris – I do like earthenware vases and jugs in this kind of colourway and have a few, mostly jugs
Thanks Cathy!
Love Peonies! Another impossibility for me so I adore yours. I like jugs like that too. I am betting your queens last a long time.
They should last for a bit because a) it’s a bit chilly for June here this year – just 8 degrees when I woke up a while ago – that’s 46 fahrenheit, going up to just 20, and b) the white ones have loads of side blossoms this year that I mostly didn’t cut off. So smaller blooms for a few weeks…
Wow! I would be frozen!
Peonies AND a hummingbird moth – oh my!
LOL! It was a two-fer post!
Your Peonies are perfect in the jug. They’re so healthy and lush! Mine didn’t have a good year, so I’m really enjoying photos from other gardeners. Great shot of the hummingbird moth!
Happy to see the moth, Beth…so huge!
Peony joy! Definitely a highlight of the garden season. 😍
It sure is!
Such an interesting tip about the second cutting of the stem. I wonder: would that apply to flowers brought home from a shop as well? It may be that by the time those cut flowers make it to a purchaser’s home, any benefit would be minimal, but minimal’s better than none, I suppose. The flowers, of course, are glorious. Peonies were my family’s flower of choice for cemeteries; their ability to come back after Iowa winters made them practical as well as beautiful.
When I buy flowers from a store I almost always cut off the stem bottoms …normal, yes? So maybe yes, that cute should be under water?
They are lovely Chris! Especially with that blue sky. Isn’t it always the case that we get heavy thundery showers just as the peonies open?! Pick more and enjoy them! Mine are just about going over already. (You have almost caught us up now!)
I brought in some lupins today…they’ve only got a week or so left I think so…of course I can see them all thru the dining room window 😁