• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Peonies in the Garden

May 25, 2012 by Jeanne

Peony “Festiva Maxima”

I love spotting old fashioned garden favorites such as peonies, irises and daylilies, especially when they’re growing near an older home in the neighborhood. One of the reasons I love living in an area rich in history, such as our little corner of Virginia where the Civil War ended, is that there are many old farms, houses and properties untouched by the hand of time and the bulldozer.  In our little country town, for example, there are many homes built in the late 1800s and into the early 20th century. They’re clustered near the remains of the old railroad station and the still-open post office.  One home has a row of peony bushes growing along an old rusty wire fence that produces such a dazzling display of blossoms each spring I keep meaning to take my camera into town to photograph them.  But of course, by the time I remember that it’s peony time, a good thunderstorm comes and my own garden peonies look like bedraggled messes.  So it’s probably too late to stop by the old home and snap a few pictures of the peonies

I love old-fashioned garden flowers, the kind that looks like they belong clustered around a Victorian cottage or in a 19th century gardening catalog or print.  The kind of flowers that my grandmother or great-grandmother would recognize.  I know, I know – some of the new hybrids are beautiful and dazzling too, and I agree. Many are also grown for great disease resistance, and that’s something to love, too.  But I can’t help but be charmed by old-fashioned beauties growing over an old picket fence, near the remains of a farmhouse or an old privy. There’s something enchanting about it.

My own peonies here in the flower gardens of Seven Oaks are just three years old or so. I planted them in the spring of 2008, a kit of five different peonies from Breck’s gardening catalog.  Four of the five survived and of course I lost the plant tags, so I’m forever trying to match flowers with the pictures on the packages. I saved the package at least and taped it into a page in my gardening catalog, aka the glorified three ring binder.

I’m pretty sure my peony varieties include:

  • President Taft
  • Dr. Alexander Fleming 
  • Festiva Maxima
  • Sorbet
Peony “Sorbet”

Among the three, Festiva Maxima remains my all-time favorite, but Sorbet, with its charming mix of pinks and pastel shades, also gives me great joy when it blooms in the garden.

And by the way, ants are normal. Don’t spray them. They’re just doing their usual job of finding food and they don’t harm your plants at all.

Happy gardening and happy peony season, if they’re blooming in your gardening zone!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Soaker Hoses for the Vegetable Garden
Next Post: Scabiosa Butterfly Blue Perennial »

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Plant Profile: Peonies - Home and Garden Joy says:
    March 4, 2016 at

    […] gardens, and suburban dwellings. A popular Asian symbol and a symbol for the country of China, the peony is an ancient flower that hails from Asia, Southern Europe and Western America. Although not […]

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

a zucchini growing in a raised bed

Growing Zucchini in Raised Beds

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

a watering can next to a seed tray on a sidewalk

What Veggies Can I Plant Now?

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

butternut squash growing in a raised garden bed

How to Grow Butternut Squash Organically

Learning how to grow butternut squash organically ensures you know how to grow this tasty, nutritious vegetable in your home garden. I’ll share with you some basic information on growing butternut squash, followed by some organic gardening tips that have been helpful for me here at Seven Oaks Farm in dealing with the various pests…

Read More

herbs in a pink dish

How to Make the Perfect Cup of Herbal Tea

Make the perfect cup of herbal tea, right from your own garden! In May, I gave two free talks on how to grow, harvest, dry, and create your very own herbal teas. This lecture proved so popular that I recorded the narration and uploaded it to YouTube. You can view it below: Supplies to Make…

Read More

tent caterpillars on a pear tree

How to Get Rid of Tent Caterpillars

I spent last Saturday morning getting rid of Eastern tent caterpillars from the apple and pear trees in the orchard here on the farm. Malacosoma americanum, the Eastern tent caterpillar, is a regular visitor each spring. We first spot the shimmery webs on a clear spring day. The small ‘tents’ built by the caterpillars quickly…

Read More

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

Raised bed vegetable garden soil soil needs to be replenished periodically. If you’ve done your job right and selected great soil, and amended it with nice compost, you’re going to have super garden soil for the first few years. Because you don’t walk on a raised bed garden the way that you do with typical…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme