Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Anniversary Gifts

Last month was my 2nd year anniversary, and the hubs surprised me with a bag of daffodil bulbs. He listens well. He knows that I've been wanting to buy bulbs for the front flower garden. I love flowers and plants as gifts, so this made me super giddy. 
Then in the mail, we received a package from White Flower Farm.  His Grammy had sent 2 Nancy Nora Peony bare roots as an anniversary gift.  It was so thoughtful of her.  Peonies are my most favorite flower.  I absolutely adore them, from the large blooms to the fragrance!  It's so wonderful. The bare roots came nicely wrapped in wet newspaper.
The bare root was a really nice size. Very large as you can see.
I am not sure where to plant these peonies yet, so I decided to plant the bare roots in containers for now.  Does anyone know if I can keep them in containers throughout the winter and plant them in the spring?  And does anyone know when I stop watering them for the winter?  Should I stop after the first snowfall?
The directions said to plant the bulb until the buds are just barely an inch under the soil.
I can't wait until the peonies start growing into a bush in the spring.  I am soooo excited!  My friend told me that bare root peonies usually take 3 years to flower.  Ugh, I can't wait that long!  As a gift to myself, I also order some Crocus Sativus from McClure and Zimmerman.  $7.95 for 12 bulbs, I thought that was a great bargain.  I ordered from them because I read on Greensparrow's blog that they were a good company to order bulbs from.  I ordered these bulbs after reading about them on Greenish Thumb.  I never knew that is where saffron comes from.  I love using saffron in cooking but I rarely buy it because it's so expensive.  How awesome that you can grow your own.  I bought a dozen bulbs to plant in the garden, I can't wait until they come up next October!  Fun!!

7 comments:

  1. Peonies are not a common plant here in MS.

    You are going to enjoy everything when it blooms.

    Happy anniversary.

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  2. what great gifts - especially the peonies that are supposed to last for a gazillion years! I think both my bareroot peonies bloomed the first spring after planting in the fall. Not very prolifically, but nonetheless. Each year, my green halo gets bigger and bigger - tons of blooms now!

    I realize I didn't get back to you about a source for the saffron - sorry about that!! I sort of lost track of that! I can't even remember where I got them - probably from whoever had a coupon for free shipping! I can tell you that they really multiplied this year.

    Happy anniversary to you and your devoted hubby!!

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  3. What a super gift, he knows you well! If I were you I would keep them in a cool dark place until spring, keep them from drying out, but not damp where they will mold. I transplanted about 25 Peonies when I moved to the new house (10 years ago), it took them 2-3 years to really take hold and bloom, I dug them up from an old abandoned farmhouse and put them in garbage bags and planted them a week later. I remember it was summertime. The next year they shot up stalks but barely any leaves and no blooms, the 2nd year I had 2-3 blooms on all 25 bushes! The 3rd year I had hundreds, they are the most beautiful Peonies now, they are along a fence and I never ever cut them to the ground like some do. I basically neglect them and they thrive. I have a Japanese yellow Tree Peony and it has the most beautiful 3 blooms each year, and has the fragrance of Heaven but she's behind the shed, an awful spot but Im too scared to move her!

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  4. Congrats on all the goodies, I love peonies as well. I have only planted bare root in the Spring, and they failed- all others have been in pots. I would call White Flower Farm for an answer that question.

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  5. I bought some some saffies too after learning they were a fall blooming crocus. All the damn rabbits mow down my spring blooms, maybe they will leave these alone!!

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  6. Happy anniversary Mimi!
    I agree with Jezibels, the peonies will be fine in the pots as long as they do not completely dry out. if you have a garden shed, they'll be fine there too. They're very hardy plants, so it won't be a problem if they freeze -does the ground actually freeze in Staten Island? Just remember, when you do finally decide where to plant the peonies, do not plant them more than 2" over the crowns: peonies are long-lived reliables, but they are picky about planting depths -they can refuse to flower if they are not at the right depth.
    I'm so jealous! I wished I had room for peonies!

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