Christmas Notebook

My mower came home from the mower hospital yesterday. Much as my leg ached, I just had to get out and mow. So I did. Loved being outside for a change. The peonies and irises are adding so much color to the garden. Here are a few pictures I took while mowing. I *always* take my camera with me.

My favorite peony is ‘Sorbet.’ We have several of these around the yard. This one is the original and it is in the fenced garden.

For reference…here’s a picture DH took (from the roof of the house) of the fenced garden in 2009. It sits on the east side of the house. Must have been evening, as that is the shadow of the house across the garden. The ‘Sorbet’ is in the lower right hand corner.

‘Little Medicine Man’ is a wonderful single peony. It is vigorous in our garden and flowers profusely. I like the singles because they stand up to rain, unlike the heavier blossoms of doubles and bombs. We need to take a few starts from this one and place it in other parts of the garden.

‘Krinkled White’ is another lovely single.

Another single…do you see a theme here??…Peony ‘Illini Warrior.’ It is actually a darker red than this picture portrays.

Another single, ‘Dancing Butterfly’ is near the back door. I enjoy it every time I go outside.

An old variety, introduced in 1851, ‘Festiva Maxima’ has a large, double, white flower with flecks of red at the base of some center petals. This is one of the three “old-fashioned” peonies everyone seems to be familiar with…the white one (Festiva Maxima’), the red one (‘Karl Rosenfield’ 1908), and the pink one (Peony ‘Monsieur Jules Elie’ 1888). Rest assured, there are many, many more than those three. But they seem to be the ones you find in old gardens, farmsteads, etc.

I’ve gone on and on about the peonies…I’ll save the rest for another post. Here are a few other pics I took while mowing. I’m sure my neighbors wonder why I mow…stop…mow…stop…mow…stop… Takes longer than it should to do the entire yard when one stops every few minutes to admire the garden!

The rhododendron by the veggie garden will bloom in a week or two. It is covered with buds. It was labeled as a white one when we bought it, but it is actually a lovely pale pink.

The hosta ‘Samurai’ is showing a couple of damaged leaves. Must have been the extremely cold weather we had last week. The highs and lows have been chaotic lately. Not to mention the rain, rain, rain.

Two great plants in this photo. I love the color of the meadow sage. And the blossoms last a long time. When they are done, they can be cut back and the plant will bloom again. The old-fashioned yellow iris is a wonderful plant. It begins to bloom with the earliest irises and will still be blooming with the latest. It adds a great splash of color all over the garden.

There’s something so peaceful about the evening light in the backyard. Dreamy.

You can see more beautiful spring blooms at Jean’s Bloomin’ Tuesday.

~~Rhonda