This has been a week of great highs and lows in the garden. The torrential rain earlier in the week brought a real low, as I saw my first roses collapse under the weight of water that pounded them for over 24 hours. If I had any doubts about the value of the peony supports that I bought earlier in the year they were dispelled this week – miraculously all my peonies survived bedraggled but still standing. I also remembered to support my delphiniums this year, so they too survived the drenching. Sadly there was nothing I could do to save the roses – on the bright side they had only just started to flower so there are still plenty of buds to open.
The high this week has come from the beautiful peonies that are opening all over the garden. I will photograph them and show them to you in their uncut state later this week. For tonight I had a surfeit of Sarah Bernhardt flowers ready in the Cutting Garden which just had to be used!
I have arranged them on short stems n the Sarah Raven glass trough I was given for my birthday. There was no need for any additional support – the flowers are so big they easily filled the space and support each other.
The arrangement fits perfectly on the mantel in the dining room and has filled the room with a delicious scent.
A mature Sarah Bernhardt peony can produce around 40 blooms in a season. I think my two 3 year old specimens had about 15 blooms each this year, so they have a long way to go to maturity.
Sarah Bernhardt is also very long lasting in a vase. If you cut the blooms just as they start to open they should easily last a week or longer.
There is so much going on in the garden right now and so many jobs I need to finish that I must apologise for not answering your comments last week or keeping up with reading your lovely blogs. I have been almost switched off from my technology as I have rushed about the garden planting out half hardy annuals and dahlias from the greenhouse, staking, weeding and tying in perennials around the borders and sowing seeds in the vegetable garden. I often find myself out until dusk in June, making very quick suppers and realising very late in the day that I have not finished the laundry or unloaded the dishwasher!
Today I have been planting up the pots along the Terrace with summer bedding. I have plenty more planting out planned for the week after which I will feel like I have ‘finished’ the garden for the summer. Emptying the greenhouse and cold frames always feels like something of a milestone and marks the start of the quieter summer months when I can concentrate on deadheading, weeding and watering and hopefully enjoying the garden. June, however, also marks the start of the box trimming season and is the month when I sow my biennial seeds for next year, so there will still be plenty to do!
I wil be back tomorrow with more peonies in my ‘Vase On Monday’.
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They are just lovely Julie! And I agree: peonies are wonderful that they last so…long when cut. Your gardening cycle is so different from ours in that your peonies are just coming out…. I really look forward to seeing your garden at end of summer. Can’t wait!
Thank you Libby – I am out planting the sunflowers, dahlias and zinnias that I hope will be flowering when you come this week.
What a beautiful peony Sarah Bernhardt is and it goes so well in your new vase.
Thank you Pauline.
Peonies are one of my absolute favourite flowers – just love them! Look forward to seeing more pictures of them in your garden.
Love Nina
Thank you Nina – I will be out in the garden with my camera this week – as long as the rain keeps away!
Your roses are just beginning and sadly some of mine are coming to the end of their first flush. The peonies look lovely in their vase, simple and perfect, I look forward to seeing more tomorrow.
Your garden has been ahead of mine all season Christina (not surprisingly!). It will be interesting to see how our planting compares throughout the summer – particularly in our Cutting Gardens.
My cutting garden is so new I really don’t know what to expect.
I bought my first ever peonies yesterday – a Sarah Bernhardt and Mister Ed. Lovely to see your pics of Sarah Bernhardt. So beautiful!
I have not come across Mister Ed – it looks fantastic but I don’t think it is available in the UK. I hope you are enjoying your blooms.
ah – I am so happy to know there is someone else on the planet who loves Sarah Bernhardt as much as I do. They really are perfection. Also so happy to know you have a surfeit – we had a rough polar vortex this winter that really socked it to a few peonies – including my S.B.’s, so I miss them. I got one bloom (one!) but I still love it just the same. Honestly – I can smell the smell of your room from across the pond
;-D
Thank you Bethany – I am sure your hard winter will have done a lot of damage. Hopefully your peonies will regain their vigour for next year.
Sarah Nernhardt is a real beauty! They look so pretty in that vase… look forward to more! 😀
Oops, Of course I meant Bernhardt with a B! 😉
Thank you Cathy.
I love Sarah Bernhardt, she looks so pretty in a your little vase. I think it is a good idea growing them specially to pick because I can never bear to pick them from my garden.
I know we needed that rain, but oh dear the poor roses! It always happens, we get strong winds just as the irises are at their best and torrential rain when the roses are looking glorious.
I lost my irises too – the heavy rain has pulled all but the shorter varieties over. I am thinking about staking the tallest ones next year as this seems to be a regular occurrence!
Oh boy can I relate to your being busy + not getting to visit blogs/writing a post etc. I am so busy, too out there now that it is picking up and all the chores to do. I don’t have a large place, but I even wonder if I need help. My parents came for a visit last week + said, “you need help”-lol.
Your peonies are beautiful:-) I admire your ability to make them look “pefect” in every setting you place them:-) You have an “eye”…and I am always inspired to cut the flowers, I have some peonies coming in right now, but not the lovely “soft” pink you have there…stunning:-)
Thank you Robbie and it is good to hear I am not the only one feeling overwhelmed at the moment!
More perfect peonies, Julie – beautiful!