A Look Back at Mother's Day Flowers

Two week's ago, I went home for mother's day and bought and planted some flowers for my mom. It's pretty much a tradition in my family. We buy flowering plants for mom and we plant them in the yard. I much prefer giving plants to giving fresh cut flowers because they last so much longer! And if you buy a flowering perennial, they bloom year after year. It's a gift that keeps on giving! This year, I bought her these pretty begonias. How insanely beautiful is this deep yellow color?

I also bought her some mini dahlias. I just loved these deep orange and red colors. So pretty!

My mom's dogwood tree is also blooming right now. I love the color!

Over 10 years ago, we bought my mom a peony bush. Year after year, it blooms a spectacular show of flowers! I picked one to bring home. How pretty is this?  My mom loves the bush, whenever it blooms she says, it reminds her of that mother's day.

Here is a view of the bloom 2 days later. The scent is amazing. Peonies are definitely my favorite flowers. I just love them! They definitely are show stoppers! Just gorgeous!

It's Now an Addiction

I was in Home Depot the other day and I saw a big sign that said, "50% off all bulbs". So I bought this.  OMG, it's gone so beyond obsession of peonies to an addiction that I can't stop.  I mean, I did afterall plant 7 herbaceous peony roots already in my yard since last year.  Did I really need to buy more peony plants?  (Hehehehe.)  But seriously, can one really pass up $5.00 for 4 bareroots?  Nope.  Sorry.  It's too hard to pass up.  I just hope these roots will grow, since they have been sitting in these packages since the beginning of the year, when I bought a similar package.    If they don't, at least I only spent $5. 

Nancy Nora Peony in Bloom

I saw this bloom from the backdoor and couldn't wait to see it up close. The Nancy Nora Peony is finally in bloom! I saw that it had a bud and was anxiously awaiting to see how nice the bloom would look.

Here is the bud from above.  It is quite large!  White Flower Farm really does not disappoint!  They have such amazing products!

Isn't it just stunning?  I am so pleased that it was able to bloom even though it was growing in a container.  I plan to plant them in the ground after it has finished blooming.  I have to find a perfect spot for these pretty flowers!

Hooray, A Peony Bud!

I love peonies. I've written about it before. It's my absolute favorite flower, for the size and the scent.  It's amazing. Last October, we received two giant Nancy Nora Peony bareroots as an anniversary gift from the hub's grandma. The bareroots were from White Flower Farm, my absolute favorite nursery. I wasn't sure where to plant the peonies so I planted them in large containers.  I was going to plant them in the ground this spring, but then I noticed that flower buds were forming.  I didn't want to disturb the roots while buds were forming so I just decided to let it grow.  When do you think is a good time to transplant these into the ground??

Check out the bulb now.  It has grown significantly since I took the first photo.  I am anxiously awaiting for this to bloom.  I am so surprised that peony flower buds can grow in containers!  Should I leave them in containers?  What to do, what to do.  I feel like they will do much better in the ground though.  What's your opinion on this?

In February, I also had bought a 4-pack of bareroot peonies from Home Depot.  I couldn't pass up the amazing price.  I also stuck them in containers indoors, because outside was full of snow on the ground.

I finally planted the 4-pack ones in the ground this week.  These won't likely flower this year, since these seem to be younger bareroots than the ones sent from White Flower Farm.  Let's hope they do next year!

Planning Out New Shrubs and Plants

I'm having a lot of fun with planning out what to plant in the yard and garden for this Spring.  New to our garden this year are 6 peony bushes.  I need to figure out where to put them where they will get ample sun.  I'm a bit hesitant putting them so near to the house, since they attract ants like crazy.  However, since we have lots of large trees near our property, sunshine is at a premium in our yard.  I decided the only place that will work is the side yard. Do you plant your peonies near your house?  If so, does it impose an ant problem?  I'm also planning to order 2 David Austin Rose bushes to add to our rose garden.  I am so excited.  I really adore the ones in Davy's garden and he recommended Chamblee's Rose Nursery which has an amazing selection of David Austin varieties.  I have 4 hybrid tea roses that we planted from bare root last year, and although they are pretty, I really am looking forward to roses that have a nice scent and larger heads and petal count.  What are you excited to plant this season?