At Canada Blooms, I found myself standing in front of the large table of peonies, overwhelmed with the possibilities. Inside each of the clear plastic bags, a few leaf buds could be seen peaking up from under a covering of peat moss. A tempting picture was fastened to each bag. Hmm...what to choose? One of everything was not in the budget.
Pink? No, I had fluffy pink peonies already.
Maybe white? After all, I have been wanting a single petaled white one for a while.
On the other hand, this one is not only pretty, it has an interesting name.
On the other hand, this one is not only pretty, it has an interesting name.
But then the dark pink peonies caught my eye. I turned to my husband. "I can't decide!" Of course he was no help. By this point, he just wanted me to pick one and be done with it.
I looked to the young woman behind the table for sympathy. We struck up a conversation as I tried to reason my way to a decision. Turns out, that she had taken most of the lovely photographs displayed in the booth and on the peony bags.
A few minutes later, I had my choice narrowed down to a light pink one and a deep pink one. Which one of the two? I looked at my husband, who just shrugged and said, "I'm staying out of this".
There was nothing to do, but listen to my own inner voice. It said "pink".
I handed the young woman my selection,"I'm going to go with the pink." There was a silent sigh of relief all round.
This is the peony I choose in the end. We paid her and then strode off down the isle of the show.
When I paused a few minutes later to adjust my bags of purchases, I noticed that there was not one but two peonies in my bag. The young woman had put not only the light pink one, but the deep pink peony into my bag as well.
Now wasn't that just the nicest thing to do!
Peony Envy recommends that you plant peonies in a hole 1' in diameter by 1' in depth. Plant the eyes 1/2" to 2" below the surface of the soil, depending on your plant zone. The colder the zone, the closer you should come to the full 2". Beware, if you plant the eyes too deep, they won't flower. Water after planting. Peony Envy also suggest that you add bone meal and decomposed compost to the soil, when planting each peony.
If you are looking for peonies, here is a link to the Peony Envy website. They ship orders in the fall, once the plants have become dormant. Sadly, they do not ship to Canada. Does anyone knows a Canadian grower/supplier?
