If you haven’t caught on yet, I love peonies. I grew up surrounded by them. I mean, they are the state flower of Indiana.
As a kid, I remember feverishly shaking the ants off the blooms so I wouldn’t bring them in our house. And if I happened to spot any survivors once I got inside I’d fill our kitchen sink with water and dunk the peonies in so the ants would float out and ultimately drown. I don’t mess around when it comes to insects.
I joked with Brad the other night that whenever we move to a bigger house on a bigger property I’m going to have a peony garden. Rows and rows of them. It’s going to be ah-mazing. And I’ll post 5,000 photos of them on Instagram, assuming it’s still around when we upgrade.
Yeah, I’m sad my peony season will be coming to a close within the next few days. But I think I took enough photos to last me until next year. Seriously, my neighbors probably think I’m crazy because I’m always outside taking photos.
What’s your favorite flower?
Do you grow it in your yard?
Do you take 5,000 photos of the blooms once they open?
[email protected] says
May 22, 2013 at 8:51 AMPeonies remind me of my grandma. I also remember shaking off the ants violently. I need to plant some!
Emily says
May 22, 2013 at 9:00 AMWe also live in IN and I am trying to wait patiently for ours to bloom. The buds are there and the wait is killing me! What is it with ants on peonies?! I hate that they are always there!
Bonnie says
May 22, 2013 at 9:16 AMI grew up in the South where there are NO peonies! I made my wedding bouquet out of fake ones, so when I was choosing plants for our VA garden last year, of course a peony had to go in! It had ONE bloom this spring, and it’s the very first time I’ve seen a live peony bloom. It’s beautiful!!! It’s next to my computer at work now, so I can gaze at it all day.
Thanks for the tip about getting ants off!
Ericka says
May 22, 2013 at 9:42 AMI’m still waiting for my peonies to bloom! I live in Michigan, and our weather has been kind of crazy lately. There are some huge buds on my peony bushes and I can’t wait until they pop open! Yours are so pretty, I sure mine look that great!
[email protected] says
May 22, 2013 at 9:59 AMI didn’t know peonies are the state flower of Indiana. They are my favorite, too. I don’t have any right now, but I plan to plant a butt load at the property. I just wish they stayed around longer.
Natalie says
May 22, 2013 at 10:04 AMHydrangeas are my favorite flower, especially blue ones. Your peony bouquet looks amazing! I also like that you have the brass gator guarding them. We need to name him. I was thinking something like Swampy McFuturepurse, but that name kinda makes me sad. I’ll work on it.
Kathryn says
May 22, 2013 at 10:29 AMMY FAVORITE FLOWER!! I thought I had killed my peony plant a few summers ago when we moved in, but I found it creeping up again this year! I’m so excited to see what colour it will bloom.
Anna says
May 22, 2013 at 10:45 AMI am a born and raised Hoosier and love me some peonies! My parents wouldn’t let me bring them in because of the ants so instead of dunking them in defiance, I would sit and stare at them for obscene amounts of time because I’m awesome like that. They are so beautiful! Love all of your pictures! P.s. I have an almost identical alligator….weird?!? LOL love your blog! Have a great day!
[email protected] says
May 22, 2013 at 12:58 PMThis is how I feel about hydrangeas! I’m waiting not so patiently for our bush to bloom! If it does well Jesse has promised me another one for our front yard! 🙂
Courtney says
May 23, 2013 at 7:37 AMPeonies are my favorites too. There is a woman in NJ who did just what you spoke of. She has a big piece of property and she has it filled with peonies. And the best part is she allows people to walk around her garden for a small fee! She also runs a mail order peony business. I found her on Martha Stewart. The name of her website is Peony’s Envy. You should check it out!
cindy the cottage chick says
May 23, 2013 at 9:49 AMYep. Loves me some peonies too….I”m in Fort Wayne, but grew up in Noblesville, so yeah. Love me some peonies. Don’t love me the big crunchy ants that help them open, though.
Liz E. says
May 23, 2013 at 10:45 AMI L-O-V-E peonies with a passion! I’m always so excited when their blooms start to open up, and then so, so saddened whey they’re gone. Ours are going bananas right now and I’m in heaven!
Open letter to all the people that tweak the genetics of plants: PLEASE make a spring-to-fall blooming peony! We’ll be forever grateful.
Kelly @ View Along the Way says
May 23, 2013 at 11:45 PMMy single solitary peony bush has a couple buds on it and I’m pretty much obsessively checking it every 15 minutes or so for a new flower. 🙂 LOOOVE your gorgeous blooms!
Amanda Danae says
May 24, 2013 at 3:14 PMLOVE peonies! They are so large, bright and wonderful 🙂
My roses are blooming, and I just want to freeze time to keep enjoying them!
Liz says
May 27, 2013 at 3:43 PMOh, those are soooo gorgeous!! I can’t wait for mine to bloom (we’re a little behind up north here!)
Renee says
May 29, 2013 at 7:03 AMGerbera daisies are my favourite. So simple, but so beautiful. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment and have zero garden space. Sometimes my boyfriend will bring me home a wonderful bouquet of gerber daisies and it just makes my day 🙂
Emma @ Entirely Emma says
June 3, 2013 at 2:35 PMPeonies are my favorites as well! I adore your mix of different tones of pink and that vase is to die for!
Heidi says
February 20, 2014 at 10:03 PMJust a little piece of peony trivia, if you cut them just as the leaves are separating and you can see the petals underneath then wrap the stems in a piece of when paper towel then wrap them in plastic cling wrap you can keep them in your fridge and set them out to bloom at your convenience. My wedding was the end of July and I desperately wanted peonies without having to pay a ton from the florist. They were in my fridge for 6 weeks and when we took them out we trimmed the stems and put them in water for 2 days and they began to open and we enjoyed peonies in August!