Peonies

I grow old roses which generally aren't repeat flowering. This year they've been battered by the torrential storms that we've had on and off during the last 3 weeks. I think perhaps plastic flowers are the answer!!

My red ones are far from “posh” Baggs !
They came from the garden of the house where I grew up in the Borders and I can remember seeing them there from my earliest childhood. When I was selling the house after my Dad died I had asked someone to tidy up the garden (Dad had been in a care home and then hospital for 5 months) and to dig me up a couple of plants to bring down here to remember my parents by. . They practically grow wild in my home town but the sort of torrential rain we seem to get in June just strips the petals from the flower heads.
I could pick them but suspect they would not last and it can be a shame to take the colour out of a border can’t it?
The “fried egg” white peonies started as a wizened half dead looking plant I bought from Dobbies in their end of season sale about 10 years ago. It took 18 months to produce its first (single) flower but has gone from strength to strength since. (No credit to me, I find it best to leave plants strictly alone)

I lay a piece of wire mesh over paeony baby shoots and gradually pull it up as they mature. Works beautifully in breeze and light rain but haven't found a cure for gusts or downpours. Know when I'm beaten!

My peonies do well as cut flowers. Maybe you could try that with yours, mawbe? Yours look posher than mine standard ones though so maybe they're more delicate.

I have a bowl of dried peony petals from last year. They have retained all their colour.

JulieNoted, I’m no fan of flowering cherries, either. There was one in the front garden when we bought the house over 30 years ago. It’s now much bigger, and very pretty in a very showy way for about a week max, then I can guarantee there’ll be a gale and masses of pink ‘snow’ to clear up.

If we ever got rid of it - unlikely now - I’d plant an apple tree, to me that’s the prettiest blossom, and at least there’s something useful to show for it afterwards.

I put horticultural fleece on my peonies if heavy rain is forecast, so that takes the battering rather than the flower heads - it does work, although it’s a bit of a faff.

I absolutely adore paeonies. Some herbaceous ones can go very floppy so do need proper paeony support - keep meaning to do mine! They make lovely cut flowers though and some have such gorgeous perfume. The intersectional ones don’t need staking and seem to stand up better to the weather.

We became disenchanted with our two flowering cherry trees for similar reasons. They looked beautiful for about 4 or 5 days, then came the wind and rain, the garden was smothered with pink flowers, going brown and soggy in the rain. Then again in the autumn the whole garden would disappear under a carpet of leaves which took forever to rake up.

Now I admire other peoples flowering cherries, but I would never ever have another myself!

It's the law mawbe!

I think 'aren't my peonies glorious'. Then the rain or wind starts. Happens every flipping year.

So, why am I planning a space to put another on in;?

Similarly these poppies, short lived anyway, the heavy rain at 4:30am has finished them.

I managed to support mine this year and they are still glorious. I do love them.

I have Buckeyed Belle - red with yellow eye. Glorious while they last about 5 days this year ?

Apologies. In that case, it's just another example of this site being a constant source of irritation!

FannyCornforth

School girl error Maw!
Your garden looks lovely

Nope. First time there were no pics with my post - when I tried a second time, they reappeared as if by magic!

I’m with you “MawBe”. This year I picked mine before the wind or rain got to them and either gave them to friends or put them in a vase in my home. They look lovely and last a lot longer in a vase.

School girl error Maw!
Your garden looks lovely

And the OP pics have also now magically appeared

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202106/medium-526152-79d72f88-030a-4c38-9556-8c3b0be59e75.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202106/medium-137842-fe4193b4-b201-4aff-af62-5f0c8e46f2dd.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202106/medium-658885-5859bb35-2001-4584-a730-838e64ab616c.jpeg

Maybe these will post THIS time?