Peony Season Has Begun

Our peony collection is starting to bloom and I think most would agree that peonies are worth planting even for that brief period of bloom. I'm not sure what variety is pictured to the left but the clear white is amazing and these blooms are almost 10" across! This picture was taken along our frontage road (Palmer Drive) and is one variety of over 40 that were donated over 15 years ago by peony breeder/aficionodo Roger Anderson from Fort Atkinson, WI. Roger Anderson is known internationally for his breeding work and we're fortunate to have many of his intersectional hybrids and herbaceous selections here at the gardens. Nice shot to the right of the Japanese roof iris (Iris tectorum). If you're wondering why this is called a "roof iris", I've copied a segment of information from the Carroll Gardens website that states, "It gets it name from the fact that it has naturalized on the thatched roofs of rural Japanese homes. In fact, the story goes that centuries ago in a period of famine the emperor ordered all land to be stripped of its ornamental plants, so that edibles could be grown. The resourceful Japanese planted many of their most treasured ornamentals amongst the thatch in their roofs in the hope that when the famine passed, they could return them to their gardens. Of course most of the plants perished. However, Iris tectorum took root and naturalized in their roofs. Thus the name: Japanese Roof Iris." Interesting and beautiful.

Need a durable shrub for shade? Try black jetbead (Rhodotypos scandens) seen above. You can see the new white flowers (not super showy) and the fruit from last year. This arching shrub is tough as nails and while not super showy, it is certainly a candidate for areas where other shrubs languish. This shot is taken at my in-laws where I recommended an informal hedge of these as a screen.

For a "light Tuesday", we had plenty of people around today! Larry and Janice worked on various projects including mowing. I had Jenny continue to work on labels and this has been our best year yet for replacing and creating labels. This is certainly time well spent. Mary, Bev and Bev's grandson (2 years old?) worked on "lifting tulips" in the entrance garden. We remove our tulips near the building "in leaf" each spring and give them to volunteers. We change over the color each year and need to clear the space for "impending annuals." Dr. Gredler ran debris to the dump and accomplished alot of mowing. Bill is here mowing as well and we were fortunate to have the trio of Heidi, Barb and Shirley in the color rooms removing weeds and planting as they cleared out areas. They do such a nice job (individually and collectively!). Nice shot below of fresh foliage of the dappled willow (Salix integra 'Hakuro Nishiki'). The fresh growth on this full sun shrub rivals many others and if cut back severely every winter, it will stay smaller (3-4') and have a nice rounded form (see bottom photo). If it's not cut back, it can get quite large and lanky.