Friday 20 March 2015

Spring is in the Air

Today is the first day of spring and the snow is starting to retreat.  There is less snow this year than last year. 

Some of the peonies that were planted in the fall are starting to appear.  It is too early.  I am going out to add some soil on top of them to protect the buds.  I did not get the straw on them last fall.  There was so much to do with the new bed.

Every night I go to bed thinking about the peonies and how they will look this spring.  My daughter is having a party here during the peak season.  It will be a very busy spring.  I am not sure if I will have time to bring flowers to the Oshawa Peony festival.  I do plan to visit the festival on Sunday, after the party.
This year I am also planning to visit the show in Ottawa and visit Friends of the Farm that are collecting AP Saunders peonies.

Peonies from my beds will be used for the party for my daughter, it should be lovely.  The photo opportunities should be breath taking. (Provided I can keep up with the weeding)

I added another 33 different peonies to the collection last fall.  I picked flowers for their name, and colour.  Many are in the new bed.  There is still a lot to do in the new bed.  It will be a few years before it is full and established.  One of my suppliers had a bad year and was unable to deliver all the flowers I was looking for.  Everyone else was able to provide the plants I ordered last winter.  It seems buying from more than one place is paying off.  I did try another supplier again last fall and found them to be wonderful.  The roots were large with more than 3 to 5 eyes, and there was bonus plant.  They even were able to send a plant I did not have!  I expect that most of these plants will bloom this spring along with some that did not bloom last spring. This means I will have more plants to share with you. It will be a real challenge to keep up with the pictures and the bloom dates.

While the snow is still on the ground, I have been going over the web sites looking for more peonies to add this fall.  I found it was important to order the plants early so they are available for the fall delivery.  The new bed has space for about 20 more plants.  I think I will cut back on the amount of plants I order this year.  There is still many more years that I can purchase plant to expand the beds even more.
Thanks for stopping by and happy gardening.