Peonies in the Spring

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Visit the University of Michigan's Peony Collection at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum

In the 1920’s, William Upjohn, founder of the Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo, donated a collection of 280 varieties of peonies to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum at the University of Michigan.  More than 90 years later, many of his original plants are still healthy and blooming.  An avid collector and grower of peonies himself, he had the kindness to share that with other gardeners.

Colorful Avenue Banners announce the Peony Blooming Festival and draw the visitors to the entrance.

Peony flower forms are single, double, semi-double, Japanese, and anemone. They come in a range of colors including white, yellow, pink, and red. Blooms can be expected May through July.

Madame Ducel peony is a very large, compact, semi-rose type peony.

Flame Peony  

Prairie Afire Peony

Welcome Guest Peony

Gay Paree Peony

Huang Jin Lun or Golden wheel Peony (not recognized by the American Peony Society) is an unusual yellow peony, worth more follow up. It is said to be less hardy than many of the other peonies but I was glad to see a yellow flower blooming midseason in this group.

This beautiful white peony was located in the first bed and is Summer Day. Summer Day was developed by Kelway in 1895.

Fuyajo Japanese Peony

Petite Renee Peony

Victoire de la Marne Peony

Bride's Dream Peony

This helpful poster greeted visitors in the Welcome Center

Additional Resources:

Peony: The Best Varieties for Your Garden 

2017

by David C. Michener and Carol A. Adelman

Dr. David C. Michener, is the Associate Curator for the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum and has written a comprehensive book about peonies for home gardeners if your are interested in learning more. He oversees the largest public collection of historical herbaceous peonies in North America. Dr. Michener and Carol Adelman, a grower of over 400 peony varieties in Oregon, collaborated on this book, which is now included on The New York Times Summer Reading List.

Adelman Peony book

Fleeting Beauty, Enduring Consequences: Decisive Issues in Peony Garden Collection Development

The American Peony Society


Resources__________________________________________________

• Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia   www.paeon.de
• Van Wert, Ohio Peony Festival
• https://www.gardenia.net/plants/plant-family/paeonia_--_peonies
• Hidden Springs Flower Farm PO Box 602 18581 County Road 4, Spring Grove, MN 55974 (763) 218-4540
• http://www.southernpeony.com/2016/01/2016-peony-on-my-wish-list-silvia.html
• Plants Delight Nursery (testing peonies that will thrive in the south)
• https://www.whiterabbitinstituteofhealing.com/herbs/peony/

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©  2020 Hyden Photography for

eGrassroots Horticulture e

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Iris' Awakening | Bloom Sequence

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The First ....

Tall bearded Iris 'Grain Exchange' (Joyce Ragle, 2007) TB, 38 inches (97 cm), Ruffled Laced, Copper/Brown, Gold,White,Yellow. Plicata

Grain Exchange

Sunday.....  

Border bearded Iris 'Cranapple' (J. T. Aitken, 1995) BB, 24 inches (61 cm), EM S. and style arms cranberry red; F. dark velvety cranberry red; beards russet. (Gyro x Warrior King) X Maid of Orange. HM 1997, AM 1999  RHS

Cranapple

Monday.....                                                       

    

 These are irises planted as bulbs. The squirrels didn't uproot these like many of the other bulbs I planted. 

Tall bearded Iris 'Jesse's Song' (B. Williamson, 1983) TB, 36 inches (91 cm), M S. white center, sanded into a solid methyl violet band; F. white plicata edge of methyl violet, sanded into a clean white ground; lemon beard tipped blue-white. HM 1985, AM 1987, Dykes 1990.

Jesse's Song

Tuesday....                                                       

This is an heirloom iris

Iris 'Pallida Dalmatica'?, (1597)TB, 36 inches (91 cm)       

Wednesday.... 

Tall bearded Iris 'Buckwheat' (Byers, 1989) TB, 36 inches (91 cm), Cream yellow standards, falls medium yellow with variable greenish ecru influence and dark brown lines at hafts to just below yellow beard. Slight sweet fragrance..

Buckwheat

Thursday.... 

This is an heirloom iris

Iris Germanica (1500) Tall bearded Iris TB, 30 inches (91 cm)

Tomorrow?
Midnight Oil, Change of Pace, Fringe Benefits, Orion's Gate, Sorbonne, Majestic Ruler, Winterland (rebloomer), Lemon Pledge, Designer Label, Snowspoon, Orange Pop, "Princess" That Scentsation, Queen's Circle, Purple horns, Frosty Moonscape, Holy Kosmoly, "Sunset", Gnus Flash.




What to Plant?
I will be creating a graph for my irises with three important characteristics (1)The initial time sequences of blooms  (2) height, and (3) color family. Iris 'Grain Exchange' was the first to bloom. It is about 38" in height and it is in the yellow color family.  This information, in a graphic form, is especially helpful when you want to create a newly designed bed from scratch. If you have several iris varieties, and would like to include in your garden journal a similar graphic, contact me and I can help you create a chart. It is quite easy.  I am in zone 7-8. 

Irises: Arranged in the chart by first to bloom (x), 
and height (y). 
Each iris will have a bar representing it's color.

To extend the season even further try these additional Iris varieties, in order of bloom:

Iris Reticulata (Iris reticulata), Dwarf Bearded Iris (Iris pumila), Crested Iris (Iris cristata), Tall Bearded Iris (Iris germanica), Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica – any variety), Japanese Iris (Iris ensata), Reblooming Iris (Iris x germanica cultivar “Immortality” suggested

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From the Historic Iris Society:

Links of interest to irisarians…

• A.I.S. – The website of the American iris Society.
• S.I.G.N.A. – Species Iris Group of North America – the original historic irises. =)
• AIS Checklist Database – Searchable databases for iris Checklists and Name registration.
• Presby Memorial Iris Gardens – Located in Upper Montclair, NJ, Presby has a display garden of more than 2000 historic irises.
• Alain Marmier’s gigantic collection of historic iris in postcards.
•  The World of Iris – Thanks to David Joyce from Clarke University, here is a small portion of Mike Lowe’s ‘The World of Iris’, the original HIPS website. David does not update the site any longer, so there are many broken links,  but he is happy to share with us what he can.

Catalogs from Cooley’s Gardens and Schreiner’s Iris Gardens are the source many of the vintage treasures for the historic iris enthusiast. Schreiner’s continues to this day to put out must-have catalogs eagerly sought by restors, as well as quality garden irises, but Cooley’s unfortunately has recently closed. You can learn more about these growers by clicking on their names above.

HIPS member webpages featuring historic irises…

• Brighton Park Iris – Featuring the Chicago collection of a HIPS member, with an extensive Schreiners tribute page with all of historics from Schreiner’s Iris Gardens – one of the oldest and most prestigious growers in the US.
• Shadowood Irises – Loads of iris pics, many historics. Also has a very handy list of irises that exhibit PBF.
• Bliss Irises – National Collection of iris introduced by AJ Bliss. All you need to know about Arthur Bliss and his irises.