Paeonia suffruticosa ‘High Noon’. Photo credit: M. Brehaut.
What a cool spring! But let’s have a look and see what’s happening in my garden…
First mention, and they have already bloomed, are the tree peonies. I have three Paeonia suffruticosa ‘High Noon’ that bloomed their droopy heads off this year. My husband describes them as blowsy and slightly drunken, and he says this with affection. I have them under tall obelisks that protect them from the wind and rain as they are vulnerable to both while in bloom. I like the foliage of the plants, which extends their season for me. They are relatively trouble free and the blooms just make me smile.
Rhododendron ‘Lemon Dream.’ Photo credit: M. Brehaut.
My smallish rhododendron ‘Lemon Dream’ has opened up. The plant itself has a nice shape and I like the soft yellow blooms – they transform from pillowy pods into delicate petals. I have it in part shade and that seems to suit it. Vine weevils take their toll on the leaves and currently I am just living with that.
‘My Meredith’ is a recently registered rose. As a birthday gift to me, my husband bid for the right to name the mini-flora at a Van Dusen benefit last fall. Brad Jalbert of Select Roses donated the roses. As you can see, they are blooming and are glorious – shiny thick leaves and a quiet but pleasing scent. The buds start out quite red, move to coral and fade with yellow in the center. I love them.
Rosa ‘My Meredith.’ Photo credit: M. Brehaut.
We have a Corokia cotoneaster in a pot on the back deck and it is set to bloom. It’s a dark and wiry little thing and I love the shape of it and the shadows it creates. The blooms are a bonus. They surprise me each spring as the buds are small and I always miss them – then suddenly, tiny bits of star shaped yellow.
Corokia cotoneaster. Photo credit: M. Brehaut
Small fruit apparently follow but I have not had them on my shrub. I move that pot indoors for the winter as I have lost corokia in the past and am done with that.
While the roses will flower throughout the summer, the others have just a week or two of splendor and then that’s it for blooms. I learn to stop and enjoy the sight of them as they visit. Life moves along at a stunning pace and as hard as that is to accept, it’s still no reason not to revel in all that it offers us.
What’s blooming in your garden?
Your husband is very sweet. I live for romantic things and your rose is just lovely. Wondering if you know why sometimes I buy peonies and they don’t open, and end up dying in a ball, while other times they pop open and make me happy.
Sometimes peonies are reluctant to bloom – here is a checklist of common reasons:
http://www.peony.ca/e_html/articles/whynoblooms.htm
Additionally, if you are trying to grow herbaceous peonies in pots:
http://www.paeonia.com/html/peonies/about.htm#14
In direct experience, I find my in ground tree peonies bloom well, but I have had mixed success with my potted herbaceous peonies. One of them blooms yearly, and the other is not blooming for me this year – I think I will move it to a bigger pot and see if that helps. It would do better in ground, but I don’t have a sunny enough spot available. Good luck with yours!
Julia is very perceptive