Photos taken on Friday, May 15, 2015
Magnificent peonies are blooming in our yard right now!
These peony bushes are about 200 years old and were handed down through my aunt's family. My aunt, my mother's sister-in-law and best friend, was born in 1916. Evidently, my aunt, my aunt's mother, and my aunt's grandmother had green thumbs!
Three more photos, including close-ups, below the fold.
Beautiful. Europe is nice and all....but I really can't wait until I can get back to my Virginia home.
ReplyDeleteCI,
DeleteThe peony bushes took a beating last night during a heavy rainstorm here. Fortunately, some buds remain, and they may bloom later this week.
You're definitely a few weeks ahead of us...
ReplyDeleteFJ,
DeleteInteresting. Peonies are in full bloom in D.C. and the close-in suburbs.
...and up in Harford Country, our Azaleas and Rhodendrons have "just" started to bloom.
DeleteMy one azalea bush has now dropped all its blossoms as have the wisteria, the tulips, and the black locusts. The lilies of the valley are withering as well.
DeleteWe are definitely a few weeks warmer here.
Our first peonie flowers opened up in Harford County, MD, today 5/30.
DeleteThersites,
DeleteAt last! Enjoy.
This year, our peonies bloomed the heaviest ever. I hope that your bloom that heavily, too.
No WONDER you've always been so reluctant to use rock salt to ensure your safety getting in and out of the property in the icy winter months!
ReplyDeleteNow I understand why you are willing to risk life and limb to preserve, protect and defend such beauty.
I suppose if flowers were sturdier, longer lasting or indestructible, we'd take them for granted, and not appreciate them so much.
A thing of beauty may be a joy forever, but it is in the twin realms of Mind and Spirit that it endures.
I once knew an old country fellow in Sussex County, Delaware who grew the most beautiful peonies –– nearly as lovely as yours. He may have called them "pee-OWN-yas," but he sure knew how to grow them and keep them happy.
I don't suppose those plants minded in he least that he couldn't properly pronounce their name. They must have realized they were properly loved and appreciated, despite his ignorance. The love, affection and expertise he lavished on those plants were far more important than correct pronunciation, no doubt. ;-)
FT,
DeleteAbsolutely no rock salt in use here! Sno-melt is plant safe, but not as effective in controlling ice formation. I guess that I will continue to risk life and limb.
We lost one peony bush over the winter. I'm not sure why; neither is the county horticulturist. The bush may have aged out.
Now is the season to enjoy the fruits of your restraint.
DeleteDucky and I are in agreement!
ReplyDeleteI'd do anything to see the daffodils in Paris right now! Or the Forsythia in Munich.
ReplyDeleteAOW, I'm so glad you have those gorgeous peonies to look at and to SMELL...fabulous scent! And 200 years old. That is VERY cool.
Here in CA, we have the jacaranda trees blooming ...purple arches over many of the streets in Santa Monica...BEAUTIFUL.
But to have peonies growing in my own yard? Bliss! Enjoy!!
Z - I spent last weekend in Munich, but don't remember seeing any Forsythia [and I had to look it up]. I was downtown though, so I may have been in the completely wrong spot to see any.
DeleteWhat beautiful peonies. I LOVE them, and the scent. And no, we can't grow them here. But I'm enjoying the wall of jasmine I pass each morning.
ReplyDeleteAnd Z, you can get all the daffodils and forsythia you want nearby ... in Oregon (they have a big daffodil festival). Do you have pictures from Paris? I understand that daffodils and asparagus were the harbingers of spring. http://daffodilfestivals.com/archives/922
ReplyDeleteIt's a great time of year.
ReplyDeleteIn the Dallas area the continuous rains have provided blessed relief from the prior drought conditions and mandatory water rationing. We live in an area with beautiful trees - pecan, live oak, ash, red maple.... The sixth floor waiting area of my hospital is a lovely glassed in space and the view is two miles from my home. I went to this area a couple days ago and homes were not visible, but a vast array of green greeted me. It is a magnificent view!
ReplyDeleteYour peonies are lovely! Whoever is keeping the lawn does a great job too!
Tammy
Tammy,
DeleteA lawn care and landscaping company associated with Decorate A Vet does the mowing here -- ever since DAV blessed us that Christmas season of 2013. You were here around that time and saw the many blessings we received from that wonderful group.
I'm past the age of being able to do my own mowing and some other yard work as well. I am, however, still able to do a decent job of tending the perennial flowers that we have and of keeping the scooterway and patio area free of grass sprouts.
As you know, we have not been in a drought here. All that ice and snow a few months ago have now yielded a spectacular spring bloom here.