Peonies, or ignoring unsolicited advice

"In the eyes of the editor of Cottage Gardening, it was the very absence of a 'pretentious plan' that lent the charm to the cottage garden, leaving the 'flowers to tell their own tale.'"

From The Cottage Garden, by Twigs Way

I can claim little to no responsibility for the lovely peonies in our back garden. They were planted along the north side of the garden by a previous owner, whose father grew them commercially.

I water them, throw a bit of compost around them every spring, mulch heavily, and use grow-through cages to hold them up. I have also ignored unsolicited peony advice:

·      Do not move them

·      Cut off the smaller buds to make the larger buds get even bigger

·      Do not use them as cut flowers in the house because of the ants

Well, I couldn't leave them along the fence. I'm not fond of lining up plants (except the vegetables). Once we decided to rip out the entire back lawn, I felt at liberty to move things about with reckless abandon. And the peonies survived.

This is my evolving "unpretentious plan" — with the peonies in bloom.

I toyed with the idea of cutting off the smaller buds, but after the first year of picking up soggy blooms following a heavy rain, it seemed silly to make them bigger and heavier. And I rather like the little blossoms and even the buds that never open. They're the charming introverts in the Paeoniaceae family of divas (or tenors).

Now about the ants. I think a vase full of peonies is one of the best reasons to have a garden. My ant-reduction strategy is to cut the flowers in the late afternoon or early evening when the garden is in the shade. Or I cut them, put them in a vase, and set them in a cool shady place outside for a while. (This was solicited advice, but I can't remember who told me this.) I still get a few ants, but not enough to worry me.

Clark wanted to help me with a vase of peonies on Sunday. He cut the flowers, and I trimmed them for the vase. I explained my peony-arranging philosophy: put as many flowers in the vase as possible and then add a couple more. I hope these are the kind of things he remembers.