Just a quick post with a recap of how my glorious peonies looked this year. They were spectacular - and I had them in vases in the house until last week. The peonies ended up being particularly important to me this year because it was a love that I shared with Pat Simkins. Pat has been a very prominent force in my life since I was a very small child... her style, her grace, her warmth, her welcoming of everyone was always admirable and amazing. We spent every holiday with the Simkins along with many vacations which gave me a chance to become very close to Pat. When I moved home at the age of 35 she was so supportive and they always made sure to include me in whatever was going on by the pool or at the house even if my parents were away. Pat lost her battle to brain cancer on June 12 - right after my 38th birthday. I had a chance to sit with her for a while the week before and to say good-bye. She is at peace now and watching down on all of us. And she had her peonies all around her.
As I posted previously, I pulled out half of the peonies last fall to get the daffodils out from under them and to separate them out a little. That batch didn't bloom crazy, but I did get flowers from them so that was very promising. I think this fall, I'll try to split some of the really big bunches so they don't crowd out the rest of the garden. But I just absolutely love them, so the more the merrier!
Here they are when a couple had opened the rest were just about to pop - which is one of my favorite stages!
A look as more were blooming... the light ones are first then the fuchsia. It's just fabulous b/c it keeps the bloom coming for a full month!
In full bloom (about half way through June and then they stayed that way a couple of weeks.)
Finally a display that I loved... I cut them and put them in this bucket all through the month so that when I walked through the house I could always see them!

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