I have to apologise for my two week absence from Peonies & Posies. I have been head down in my borders most days, working frantically to try and get on top of the many weeds that are exploding out of the ground at great speed and trying to get all of my annuals and dahlias planted out now that the risk of frost has passed.
I have planned to get out with my camera on many days, but somehow the evening has arrived with no photos being taken – there have been many garden highlights that I would have loved to have shared but I just have to get on top of the borders before I can indulge myself with camera time!
Gardening is as much about preparing for the seasons ahead as it is about enjoying the moment and I have come to realise this spring just how important the autumn jobs are to the performance of the garden in the next year. Having failed to do any work in my garden between September and December I have found that the borders have been overrun with weeds this year. Also I was short of tulips as so many bulbs never made it into the ground and most of my biennial plants started last June went straight into the compost, so I am now missing the lovely honesty, sweet rocket and foxgloves that filled my vases last year. Thankfully as the peonies start to open and I am planning this years round of sowing biennials I feel that I have finally come full circle and can start to enjoy the garden again without constantly bemoaning what I am missing!
This week is just a quick look at the very first peonies to flower this year, which I have been enjoying in a vase for the last few days.
This is peony Red Charm – a very early double flowered peony. I picked it when the buds were fat and showing colour but had not started to open – I find this is the best way to get a long vase life out of a peony flower. If you wait until the flowers are open before picking they tend to drop their petals very quickly once in the warmth of the house.
On a sad note I have lost almost all my chickens to Mr Fox in the last week. My 4 Buff Orpingtons are fine as they sleep safely tucked up in a stable, but the many feral chickens that had moved in from next door were not tame enough to keep in a chicken house and always preferred to sleep in the trees. We have been fox free for the 6 years we have lived here but in the last week that has changed. My garden now seems a very quiet place and my lovely Buff Orpingtons look lost without their friends and in particular without their favourite cockerel who looked after them so well.This sad change is going to take some getting used too.
As ever on a Monday I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to join in with her challenge to find something from the garden to put in a vase in the house – do pop over to her blog to have a look at what she and the others have found this week.
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Oh I am sorry for your loss of the chickens….I love foxes but not when you have chickens. I also have been behind with reading blogs mostly because of work in the heat and humidity in the garden. it wipes me out. And because we had no rain for 3 weeks I could not get to the weeding…that will change as we do have rain. Once I get my containers planted it is back to weeding. Thankfully the heat is dissipating.
Love this wonderfully simple vase of peonies! And I love their color.
There is something so special about the first flowers…peonies, iris, camellias, azaleas, and on and on. Peonies head my list.I already miss them.
Peonies, at last!
Such an incredibly rich red, colour, gorgeous.
So sorry to hear about your lovely chickens. I have been head down in my garden too as I am opening the garden for the village on Sunday. It leaves no time for anything else. Oh how lovely your peonies look in their vase. I have never picked any of mine. It is worth bringimg them in to enjoy theim.
Firstly I am so very sorry about the loss of your hens, and Mr Cockerel. I hope that they soon settle down again.
Secondly thanks for the tip regarding the peonies. I haven’t been posting recently as we have been house hunting etc. We sold our home on day two of the viewings, last Friday! I think the lady just loved the garden and the Peonies!
Oh Julie – I was so sorry to hear about your chickens. What a sad discovery to have had to make 🙁 We are fairly confident foxes can’t get to ours, but we shouldn’t be complacent as I am sure a hungry fox could be very wily… I hope the appearance of your peonies will partially make up for the lack of tulips and other spring blooms this year – this variety is such a stunning colour and of course needs no embellishment in the vase. Thanks for sharing.
Your Red Charm looks lovely the way you’ve displayed it Julie. Looking forward to watching your peonies unfold in the weeks ahead. Glad you feel you’re finding some balance in your garden again.
Oh, your poor chickens. We occasionally see (or smell!) a fox in our garden too, but the only neighbours with chickens lock them in at night. Your first peonies are lovely Julie, and look similar to my first ones too. The white ones still need a few days yet, but the stems and buds got horribly battered in our horrendous rain at the weekend. Let’s hope for a calm and storm-free peony season! 🙂
Red Charm looks great especially in that simple jug. So sorry about the demise of the chickens. It reminded me there was a strong scent of fox here in the heart of the city yesterday morning.
Oh poor old chickens!
Those peonies are just beautiful – there are few flowers to rival them! I always hope that they are not dashed by summer rains, as they are so fleeting even in the best of weather.
So sorry to hear about the chickens, Julie. But your peonies are wonderful and I really was glad to have the tip about the best stage to pick them at. I can sympathise with the desperate need to catch up in the garden. I always find it so difficult to fit blogging into the day as well as everything else. But good to know you are feeling happy to be at the start of a new season of the biennials we’ve all enjoyed so much on your blog.
That beautiful peony took me straight back to my childhood Julie, my neighbour, “Middy”, grew them and I have loved them ever since as his enthusiasm for them must have been infectious. I’m sorry to hear about the chickens and that too reminds me of the time I was gardening in the company of one of our cockerels “Gregory Peck” (son of “Spencer” and “Tracey” our cochins) when I looked up and Mr Fox was trying to make off with him. I threw my gardening fork at him and then attempted to herd Gregory into the greenhouse only to be joined by Mr Fox who must have thought it was for his benefit!! Sadly no chickens nowadays but am enjoying your photos of your beautiful ladies.