One of only two peonies this year. I usually see five or six times as many blooms. The peonies, along with the lilac and the bridal veil spirea all suffered from that late frost we had in MAY, of all things. The other plants seem to be fine. But it really impacted these hard workers.
All that being said, this flower is beautiful and the scent – as always – is heavenly. Don leans down to sniff them when he returns from his morning walk.
Yesterday was crazy – torrential rain and high humidity. I stayed inside except to water the porch plants and take some pictures.
The hollyhock that I planted last year in this galvanized tub came back this year. It’s right by the kitchen door and throughout the winter it stayed there, exposed to all the elements. But some of the leaves never died and I kept seeing new leaves – even in the midst of late winter. Hollyhocks are biennials; they take two years to complete their life cycle. As the weather got warmer, this plant shot up and has three stems.
I don’t mind saying that I’m thrilled, especially since it was in a pot and ignored throughout the winter.
The same thing happened with my lavender, which looked, after being left on the porch throughout the winter, like it was a goner. Closer examination this spring showed a tiny hint of green, so I put it back on the bench on the funky patio. I cut back the part of the plant that had died and waited. Now it’s green and beautiful and growing tall.
You never know, do you?
I saw the groundhog this morning but he had run away by the time I came back with my camera. Also saw a catbird bathing in the birdbath.
A good way to start the day!
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
glad you are seeing more blooms and growth with other plants/flowers, if not the peonies (maybe later?). and that’s great the hollyhock showed up again for you!
and those colors … a very cheery way to start my day! thanks for sharing.
glad you saw some creatures … always wonderful to see. does the groundhog have a name yet? i heard some birds chatting at 4:00 am today. i told them that they sounded sweet, but needed to go back to bed. :)
as always (well, at least until i turn full retirement age in 53 months), i am glad and grateful to have a job, but i am just as glad and grateful that today is friday. it’s been a week of mondays around here so i am going to take it very easy this weekend.
hope you all can do the same … and stay safe!
kathy in iowa
No name yet. We have to observe him.
I’m glad it’s Friday for you. Remember to keep rested, my friend.
Stay safe.
Sorry to hear about your peonies….but, that’ll make the ones you do have all the sweeter. I think that late May frost/freeze did quite a bit of harm.
I was beside myself yesterday…all the canna tubers I had planted, as well as my elephant ear tubers had been dug up and eaten (small bites) by some animal. Grrrrr! Ain’t gardening fun?
Enjoy your peonies while they last. Stay safe! ;)
Oh no! I’m so sorry about your canna tubers! Gardening can be wonderful but it also can be full of pesky little bugs and animals eating our flowers!
Stay safe, Donna.
Hi Cynthia. Did you have any drainage holes in the tub in which the hollyhocks are planted? I’m going to try wintering some over because mine
usually get buried in the flower beds. Thanks. Janet
I’m pretty sure I did. I know I put drainage holes in my other galvanized tub. It I’m unable to make holes, I put in a layer of broken pots so that there’s room for drainage. Stay safe, Janet.
Oops, sorry, Claudia. Must be mild sunstroke from mowing. SO hot here.
Stay cool!
Well done on the hollyhock. I’ve never had great luck with them but I enjoy them so. I was pleased with my peonies and one lavender came back this year. The rest of the garden? Still seedy!
The peonies, though beautiful, are disapointing. Ah well. Stay safe, Jeanie.
Sorry about the peonies, but this one is gorgeous! It’s an ever changing display at your home. I was cleaning up the other morning (I love our window over the sink) and saw a darkish shape dart across to the Mt. Laurel bush. I watched for a bit as the leaves rattled until the little darling hopped out and voila! A catbird! We don’t see them here often. Stay safe!
So glad you saw one. We have a lot of them here. I hear them calling all of the time and they’re known for loving baths in the birdbath. Stay safe, Nora.
Just caught up with your last few posts. My days are pretty much the same. Doing my crafting (like you do your puzzles) and weeding and checking on what’s coming up and blooming. Maybe because my world is centered on the house and surrounding yard, this year I’m noticing even more how certain plants spread themselves around over the years – some quite abundantly.
Although I’m still observing the strict isolation Dean went to the office yesterday. He was quite alone there, except for his financial officer for a while. They stayed apart and spoke to each other from at least 6 feet away. Still, I feel strange that he is inching his way back out there and we aren’t out of the woods yet with this virus. Our particular area in WI hasn’t many cases but when he is venturing down to Milwaukee to the office it’s a different story.
Anyway, I’ve discovered I’m having a vision issue and am now wondering if doing an eye exam (they’ve emailed they’re open) is feasible. So much of a good exam is with the doctor up in your face. Something I’ll take weeks to think about probably before I’m willing to act. Sometimes I think this whole thing is making me cowardly.
Question on your hollyhocks in the galvanized tub: Did you punch holes in the bottom? A few? Lots? When we cleaned out the garage, I found one and I’d also like to use it as a planter. I’ve been wanting hollyhocks for years and I might copy you on that.
Take care.
Kay
I’ll be cautious for a long time. Nothing that isn’t absolutely necessary. Don feels the same way.
I’m pretty sure I punched holes in the bottom, Kay. I usually punch about 4 or 5. If I’m unable to punch holes, I make sure I place a layer of pieces of broken pots at the bottom before I put in the soil. But I’m almost 99% sure I punched holes. Stay safe!
Yes, my husband and I had another LONG talk last night … about EVERYthing (after we tried to calm down from yet another significant ant invasion inside the house at 10pm) and we decided we definitely have a year’s worth of work here at home, to keep us busy and creative about it, such that maybe that’ll last us til they get a vaccine. Kay in the comments isn’t being cowardly; she’s being cautious, and it’s just how we (some of us; should be ALL of us) have to be for a pretty long while yet … but, it’s do-able; just plan it out a bit; have an outline and some goals. We’re all smart enough people to figure this out. So we don’t shop in stores like we used to? Change happens. You go with it. There’ll be some mountains and valleys but, in between, we’ll keep finding our middle ground so that we can keep living sanely and smartly (as in being intelligent). My husband and I will be wearing masks for a LONG time yet; it’s easy; don’t make such a big deal about it, right? My birthday’s coming up and a friend wants to meet for lunch; we’ll politely decline and I have to pray she’ll understand. Just a little postponement; just a little inconvenience. It’s (as I keep reminding myself) TEMPORARY.
Don’s birthday is in less than two weeks. We’ll just lay low at home and have a quiet celebration. Stay safe.
I sprinkle bone meal on my peonies as they are coming up. Despite the late snow and frost in May they are loaded with blooms. Unfortunately, the violent rain and thunder storm we had last night has made them look pretty ratty.
Try it next year, my grandmother’s trick!
Don’t they smell wonderful!
Thanks for the tip, Betsy! I’ll try that next year. Stay safe!
Peonies and lilacs; nothing I know about ‘way out West here in SoCalif. But I love that you have a hollyhock! You don’t see them so much anymore. I was entranced to see my first one come up in my former home before this one, the little cottage on the hill where my older relatives had lived for 60 years. I never knew if it was a planting of my great-aunt’s or if it had been a part of the landscape from the first owners in 1923, but it had been buried in tall grasses/weeds for so many years that I didn’t have its existence in my consciousness. When we cleared the lot, my husband and I were so delighted to see patches of purple iris and those wonderfully-tall, waving hollyhocks.
I also like foxglove but I got scared about having pets around it as, the more I read about it (has a poisonous element that began to concern me [certain toxicities] and I just didn’t have a place in the yard where I could get it out of reach), I decided I needed to enjoy it at someone else’s location. (Same problem here in the West with firestick [“sticks-on-fire”], which is a sort of succulent or sometimes called pencil cactus with all the little bright-red/orange ‘fingers’, and MUCH used in SoCalif as a drought-resistant plant, yet its milky ‘sap’ is dangerous and can actually kill a dog, like if one of those fingers broke off and the dog brushed against it and then licked its hair. We have a cherimoya tree [custard fruit] which has toxic skin and seeds, but I knew that, which is why we planted it on our hilltop where nobody can get to it but us.)
(A shame you have to think about this kinda thing but I’m also very mindful of our golden medallion tree in the front yard, which sheds a woody, hard-surfaced banana-size pod containing poisonous seeds; we regularly/daily check it when it’s in pod-mode to make sure none of the pods are laying on the city sidewalk or clearly visible in the yard because we don’t want some curious kid or dog to pick one up and play with it. Thing is, you see firesticks and golden medallion trees on city properties and on other public medians, even purposely planted to beautify street corners by organizations like America In Bloom [terrific volunteer organization; they enhance and improve the community with flowers and all kinds of pretty things], so it made me think, at least with the medallion tree [which is very drought-friendly and gives us a green tree all year long with seasonal yellow blossoms], that we were compliant.)
In what parts of the U.S. do peonies flourish? Anywhere but SoCalif [??] (I remember part of a discussion once here, on the blog, that where I am just doesn’t get cold enough for them – – I don’t remember why they need cold, so am feeling ignorant on the subject [I knew of a woman who was an artist and she loved to paint peonies in vases {still-life paintings, not landscapes} and she lived in Northern Calif, so I’m thinking prob places like where I am in the south of the state, and maybe Arizona/New Mexico {??} wouldn’t be growing peonies; I need to do some reading on them].)
You have to have a hard frost – in other words, WINTER. xo
I won’t grow foxgloves for that reason. There are too many animals around here who might take a bite. xo
The smell of peonies brings back such wonderful memories of my childhood. My Grandpa and Grandma had several bushes in their farm yard. We could smell them while we played outside! Now every time I smell or see peonies, I think of them. Thank you for the beautiful picture!
You’re welcome. They have the loveliest scent! Stay safe, Melanie.
Our gardens are coming along really well so far. Good mix of rain and some nice sunny days.
Would love to see your lavender! Mine have come back as well and I’m thrilled to see how healthy they look. I have 4 (Munstead) planted in my front garden, and 4 in pots that are new this year. Two will planted (English) but the other 2 (Spanish) I’m going to try to overwinter in our house. I’m told they won’t do well as our Winters are too cold here. So in they’ll go.
Have a great evening!
X Chy
The lavender is growing nicely but it’s still in the non bloom stage, Chy. Soon.
Stay safe!