It’s my favorite time of year– peony season! If you’ve been around for a while, and if you follow me on Instagram (@twotwentyone), you know my love for peonies. Heck, I even have a hashtag dedicated to my peony photos (#221peonies).
3 weeks ago the peony bushes looked like this:
And yesterday, they looked like this:
Crazy, right?
I’ve told friends that whenever we sell this house, I’m putting in the contract that the peonies are coming with me. No, I’m not kidding. The new owners would have to pry them from my dead, cold hands.
I’d love to have a peony garden at our next house; where I can grow all different types of peonies. And take 5,000 photos of them because I love photographing flowers.
We plan on sprucing up our landscaping in the next couple weeks. I’m hoping to get it done before the peonies open, because right now the mulch and landscaping around the peonies looks very neglected.
Don’t worry, because I know you’re riddled with fear, I’ll post more photos once the blooms finally open. And thankfully, because of the different varieties, they open at varying times so I typically get to enjoy the blooms for 3 weeks.
If you’d like to learn more about growing peonies, see my post here.
Meghan says
May 11, 2015 at 8:02 AMI just got a peony plant for Mother’s Day and I’m so excited for it to bloom!
Carrie says
May 11, 2015 at 8:07 AMI love peonies too! Once we get our house built I will be planting a whole bunch of them.
Iryna @ RedBarberry.com says
May 11, 2015 at 10:31 AMI love peonies! Always makes me think of my grandmother and her beautiful garden!
Evelina says
May 11, 2015 at 10:57 AMI can’t wait to see them in bloom! Your garden must smell soooo nice!
Reshma says
May 11, 2015 at 7:10 PMLove peonies!! Can’t wait to see more pictures when they bloom!
Sarah Kressaty says
May 12, 2015 at 7:52 AMCan’t wait to see them in bloom. I want to put some on the side of my house. They are so pretty!! s
amy says
May 12, 2015 at 11:39 AMI discovered 3 peony plants at my new house! They are about the size of yours right now. But, they have lots of ants on them. Do you treat yours with anything to cut down on the ants?
Peggy says
May 14, 2015 at 10:31 AMAmy, the ants are a good sign so leave them alone! When you don’t have ants on your peonies, you’ll notice they don’t bloom. I’m sure there is a science that relates to the sugar but I’m not up on that. I have peony plants in my yard that traveled with my Grandfather from Holland 70+ years ago…my dad had some in his backyard and after his passing, my brother and I asked my stepmom if we could take cuttings…and we keep adding on.
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
May 14, 2015 at 12:58 PMYep, leave the ants alone. They’re attracted to the nectar the peony buds produce.
amy says
May 14, 2015 at 2:21 PMThanks!
Do you do anything special when you cut them to bring in the house to make sure all the ants are off the flower?
[First Time Peony Mom :)]
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
May 14, 2015 at 2:35 PMEverything you need to know is in this post: https://www.twotwentyone.net/2013/06/growing-peonies/ 🙂
Betty819 says
May 21, 2015 at 8:04 PMI don’t blame you for putting that stipulation in your contract about the peonies. I have one of that same color, or let’s say I had one and one white with light pink edging. We just sold our house, my husband is in a facility for Dementia/memory loss and my daughter found me a nice Asst. living facility and we sold the house that we loved and had only lived there 10 years. It break my heart to sell it but it’s one of those things you least expect. I am here because a serious auto-immune illness from 13 years ago has returned. Peonies, daylilies, roses and iris are among my favorite flowers plus my clematis vines.
Chelsea @ two twenty one says
May 23, 2015 at 11:13 PMSo sorry to read about your husband and your illness. I wish you both the best. If you can’t plant your favorites in your new asst. living facility perhaps you can find some beautiful art prints of them to hang on your walls. I have prints of my favorite flowers in my home office, and I love looking at them while I work. 🙂
Kris Kruse says
June 4, 2016 at 12:32 PMI have a peony plant, it has not bloomed for 3 years….know this year it has about 8 blossoms on it….could you tell me what is going on….
Susan Summers says
August 30, 2016 at 1:54 PMAnts / The good and the bad……
One of our Chicago area homes had plentiful, beautiful peonies when we moved in (during August). The peonies were planted all along one side of the house and on one side of the garage. They were gorgeous. The following Summer, we had a ton of ants that had moved into our home during a particularly cold winter. We had to have an exterminator remove an infestation of ants from our house and garage (attached garage to the house) because the ants had moved in with us and were starting to cause damage to the home. We were told by the exterminating company that it is not recommended to plant peonies adjacent to your house, but to plant them across the yard or driveway from the structure. Since that time (several homes in my past), I’ve always kept the plants away from the house and/or the garage.