You asked. And I promised to post them.
I wish you could smell them! Heavenly.
We have two peony bushes, but the other – which has beautiful pale pink flowers – hasn’t budded this year. Both of the bushes have been here for years, long before we moved in. But the young shag hickory came up right in the middle of the pale pink peony and for a while, that was okay. It still bloomed. But now that it’s bigger, things have changed. Last year we had just a few flowers. This year, none. Does the tree demand too much of the soil’s energy? I used to think it was because of the bush not getting enough sun, but it was getting plenty of sun when it would normally be developing buds. The bush grows and leafs out – just no buds.
I think I’m going to have to try to transplant the bulbs, but peonies do not like to be transplanted. However, I’d really like to save it – the flowers are so beautiful. Any advice?
The catmint is in full flower and there are bees everywhere. Lots and lots of activity in the big garden bed.
Don. Stop. (Although he has orders not to read the blog and I made him unfollow me on Instagram until his birthday.)
Yesterday, I spent several hours painting the mini Adirondack chairs for the TSP. Today, I’ll add a clear coat to protect them.
I love this shade of green called Fresh Foliage. It looks good against the red of the studio. It pops. Do I need to say again that I would like a life-sized pair of these chairs?
Who left the guitar on the floor?
Happy Thursday.
That color is perfect on the chairs! Are you nearing completion on the TSP?
Yes. Very little to do now!
I am wishing we had smell-o-vision! The peonies are gorgeous. I keep saying I want to plant one, but need to investigate when a good time for that is. The TSP is looking so good, I think someone has been in there playing guitar! Happy Day my friend.
hugs,
Linda
Yes, and that person shouldn’t have left it on the floor! Have a great day, Linda.
Years ago there was an old house in our town that was being torn down,. The owner had planted loads of peonies and the townspeople were invited to come and take as many as they wanted. It was quite a success and the plants were relocated all over town, including in the old cemetery where they now line the fences and bloom beautifully every year. I still see the ones I planted at our old house. It’s so sad, because the house isn’t well cared for, but the peonies bloom every year and are so beautiful. I’m tempted to ask the owners if I can ‘help’ them thin them out and take some!
They took well to transplanting, Karen?
Oh yes! From what I remember, we just split up the larger plants, and stuck them in the ground with some plant starter. I do not have a green thumb, so I’m sure I didn’t fuss over them.
Good to know, Karen! Thank you!
Looks great!
Thanks, Carolyn Marie!
Watch out and don’t step on a pick, could hurt! The color of the chairs is great. Take care.
I’ve been contemplating making mini-picks, but that would be awfully tiny work. I don’t think it’s going to happen!
That green is perfect! I have a pretty shade of green paint, I’ve used over and over again; a little softer green , but similar called “dragon hide.” :)
Yes, your pink peony is languishing, tired of competing. When you transplant, dig a nice big hole, tuck the peony in being sure it’s at the same level, and fill with rich soil. She’ll do just fine.
Thanks so much for the advice, Dori. I’ll do that.
Your peonies are gorgeous. I certainly enjoyed mine this year. The little chairs turned out perfect. Love the guitar laying on the floor. So real life.
Have a great weekend,
Judy
Very real life! I see guitars and picks around here all the time!
Wonderful on all! I can almost smell the peonies and Yes! I want a pair of the chairs, too. My size, of course!
Of course!
Peonies like a nice side dressing of compost and 1 cup of bone meal once every few years. You might want to try that and see what happens next year before transplanting them. Sometimes transplanting is successful but in the northeast it is not a sure proof tactic. I have quite a few because they are one of my favorite flowers!
Thanks for the tips, Betsy! I think the tree is just using too much energy, though. I can try the compost and bone meal – when should I do that?
You can fertilize in early spring when they are 3-4 inches up and in the middle of the growing season-when the flowers are done blooming. It’s not good that there is a tree growing in the middle of them because they don’t like competition. If you do end up transplanting don’t do it until end of September- beginning of October. Your garden is 1-2 weeks ahead of mine. I always thought northwest CT was warmer than your area of NY!Still humming Anastasia songs! Happy gardening!
I’ve been humming a different song from Anastasia every day! And it’s now been a week since I saw it! I will take your advice and transplant at the end of September, Betsy. Thanks so very much!
Love the green chairs. Perfect.
LOL@ “who left the guitar on the floor”
m~
Thanks, Monica!
I had no idea Peonies didn’t like to be transplanted. I moved about 25 plants from my grams house this year and transplanted them in my raised beds. I figured they wouldn’t bloom this year but they have buds so I’m assuming they will. I must have got lucky mine are all doing great. I’m loving Don’s space and yes the paint colors are perfect!
Oh, I’m glad to hear they did well. These are older peonies – I have no idea how long they’ve been here!
Wheeee! The TSP is turning out great!
Thanks so much, Brae!
saw those green chairs in people sizes this past weekend at Lowe’s. Might want to check there if you have one nearby. They were less than $20 each. They aren’t wood, but some sort of composite/resin.
You know, if I ever get them, I want them to be in wood, just like the ones my grandmother had. I just like the traditional wood Adirondacks!
Love the color on the chairs, I would love full size too. Husband says he would have to move everytime he cuts the grass! Peonies don’t mind being moved as long as when you replant their little red eyes are above the soil. Mine flower and then it rains and flowers fall apart, never fails.
Yes, wouldn’t you know it, Mary? It’s going to rain tomorrow and thunderstorms on Sunday. It never fails, indeed!
I love the chairs, Claudia.
Peonies will transplant just fine, but you need to take care not to plant them too deeply, or they will not bloom. I have successfully divided and transplanted them in the early spring when they are just poking up through the soil. I have also transplanted them in the early fall, so that they have a chance to get established before the winter. The first winter, you can mound up some mulch over them after they die off to help protect the roots. Just be sure to remove the mulch in the spring as the growing season starts, so that they will bloom.
Good luck!
Thanks, Mary. I think I’ll try transplanting them in September. I’ll plant them about the same level they are now, I think.
We transplanted some peonies a few years ago. The first year they did not bloom, but have every year since. I was always told that, unlike most other plants, peonies should not be planted down too deep. I have kept a good amount of mulch on them, but they are not planted too deeply in the earth.
The color on those chairs looks great against the studio. I bet it will be difficult to wait until the 24th once there isn’t anything more to do…….
Yes, it seems the bulbs shouldn’t be planted too deeply from what I’m reading in the comments. That’s good to know!
Yes, it will be difficult to wait and I want to start a new project, so I need the free space!
The peonies are gorgeous. But sorry, I don’t know anything about them. Your readers seem to have experience though. Sometimes Cost Plus World Market has a sale on outdoor furniture and I know it sells Adirondack chairs in different colors. Sometimes there’s free shipping too.
Thanks Wendy – Right now I’ll have to live vicariously through the mini chairs!
Your peonies are beautiful. I always enjoy my neighbor’s….she planted them so I would have a perfect view from my kitchen! Love the color on those chairs too! Does Don have any idea what the TSP is? ;)
He might have some sort of an idea – just because he told me – long ago – that he thought it would be fun to have a ‘manly’ dollhouse of his own. Whether he knows it’s a studio/den is another story. I hope not!
Hi, Claudia! I LOVE the chairs! One of my favorite memories from my grandmother’s backyard was making “mud pancakes” on the chair arms of her Adirondack chairs! In fact, I have a card on my desk at work with an Adirondack chair and note that reads “find your happy place”. I also have always dreamed of having one of my own.
My peonies are also blooming, including a new dark red one that I planted two years ago but is just now blooming for the first time! I always think I love the scent of my lilacs most of all, but then the iris bloom, and now the peonies…!! Although I also see my honeysuckle is just getting ready to bloom, so I’m rather fickle with my garden favorites!
I don’t claim to be a truly knowledgeable gardener, but I do know some trees produce toxic chemicals that taint the soil and cause plants to slowly decline. Black walnuts are particularly bad but hickory also produces a chemical known as juglone, which can damage the plants near it. You might want to do some more research, but I know my mother never allowed hickory or black walnut trees near her garden.
Can’t wait to see Don’s reaction to the BIG REVEAL!
We have a black walnut tree in the back forty – not near the garden. I will look into that. Though the hickory has been here for at least 11 years and this is the first year that the peonies haven’t bloomed. (Got my gift certificate, Martha – just trying to pick out the rose bush that would be perfect in memory of my dad, Thank you. I’ll update you when I choose one – hopefully today!)
I love peonies and wish we had found some of them planted here but sadly, no. When my dad put his moms home for sale, my sister dug up her peonies and poppies and moved them to the farm she was living at. She did nothing special and they did skip a year of blooming (peonies, not poppies) but flowered normal year after year since. With regard to the Adirondack chairs – oh, my! The adult version in that beautiful green would be awesome in our gazebo. They have plastic ones almost that color but I do not want plastic – yuk! My wishlist grows. ;)
I don’t want plastic, either! I can see the adult version on my front lawn or up on the back forty!
Love your peonies. I left two bushes back in Idaho and I hope that the new owner of our cottage loves them. I don’t think that they will survive our intense temps here. C’est dommage. Don is going to love his surprise!!
Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
They do best in an area where there’s a hard freeze, just like lilacs.
Your post today is so full of color; I enjoyed reading, and the chairs are fab. I want go live in that studio! And learn how to play that guitar on the floor.
I want to live there, too!
WOW! They are just gorgeous Claudia…I see you have gotten some good advice for the other one..I figure if it’s not going to bloom anymore where it is..you might as well take a chance and move it…The chairs look great…How naughty of Mini Don to leave his guitars lying around on the floor like that..lol..
I know! Someone could accidentally step on it!
Love, love, love the chairs. They have an Adirondack loveseat and several chairs at the office/store at the lake. When I take my walk every morning, I stop and sit for awhile and enjoy some conversation and the view of the lake. Your peonies are beautiful. My advice is go for the transplant. We moved some at the lake two springs ago. Last year, no flowers or buds but this year both of the bushes are full of buds. What do you have to lose if it’s not flowering anyway? Just my humble opinion. :-). Have a wonderful day.
Blessings,
Betsy
I think you’re right. Come fall, I’ll transplant them and hopefully in a couple of years, they’ll be blooming again!
Beautiful peonies, Claudia…I need to try growing them! Can’t wait to see the project reveal…
Thank you, Linda! It will be soon!
Claudia, couple of blogs back you had pictures of your Lamium Yellow Archangle. I had just about given up on finding any here in Virginia until yesterday. We took a ride to Abington to this nice nursery and low and behold I found me 6 plants. Mine are purple dragons and I just wonted to let you know your flowers are an inspiration to any flower lover.
Wonderful! So glad you found some, Deb. Enjoy!
Cut the peonies back in September and carefully dig them up and transplant. TSP is amazing!
I will do that very thing, Karen!