In our garden, the first peonies start blooming in May and the last ones finish in June. So we're about six months away from scenes like the one above with 'Kansas' blooming in back of 'Caradonna' salvia.
This one is either 'Felix Supreme' or 'Paul M. Wild,' with an 'Ambassador' allium blooming tall.
Whatever the last one was, this is the other. It was a bit floppier and needed a support ring.
BB is a remarkably dark color that creates interesting color schemes in the garden or in a vase.
I think this one is 'Red Charm,' another early bloomer.
'Coral Supreme' is a large plant with huge flowers that bloom early. It hasn't been a good cut flower for me, though, as the petals turn brown the day after cutting.
'Green Lotus' is an unusual peony with thinner, crinkly petals in shades of white and green.
Although GL starts white, as it ages is develops reddish streaks on the petals. I suppose that coloring is interesting in its own way, but I'm not a fan. The flower above is just starting to show a hint of the reddish streaks.
'Casa Blanca' is a large white peony that smells like fresh linen. This is my favorite fragrance of all my peonies.
'Rivida' has fewer petals than many peonies, so it stands up without staking and makes a nice contrast to the 'bomb' type peonies.
This unnamed pink looks nice in the garden or in the vase.
An arrangement like this is six or seven months away, sigh. At least my hellebores will start blooming in just three or four months. This fall I transplanted my 'Black Mulberry' peony to a sunnier spot and planted a new little start of pale yellow 'Lemon Chiffon.' The other plants continue to mature each year, so I'm looking forward to the best peony season yet in just half a year.
