Saturday, May 24, 2008

Buds

Though I certainly have flowers blooming now, some of my favorites are about to come out. They are all in bud right now. My all time favorite that is about to bloom is my lilac. It is pretty enough but what I really love about it is its fragrance. Another favorite in my garden is my dwarf iris. It blooms profusely no matter what happens to it. It just slowly spreads. It will take over the garden if I let it, though I wouldn't say it was particularly invasive. It is just persistent. It doesn't care what the weather is, it just keep growing - and of course blooming each spring. Maybe every five years of so I'll have to hack it back with a very sharp shovel (its roots are thick), but other than that it needs nothing, yet gives so much.

Another flower I'm looking forward to is my peonies. Last year I planted them and cut off their buds so they would work on their roots and not their blooms, so I haven't yet seen them in bloom. Peonies are strange. I used to hate them. I considered them too showy, lots of flash but no substance. I'm not quite sure what changed my mind and made me plant them. I think over the years I've slowly grown to like them and then to love them.

On the vegetable garden front, my cucumbers that I seeded 11 days ago are up. I was a little bit worried about them. It seems that anytime I start to worry whether a seed will germinate the next day it comes up. A while back I thought my chamomile seeds hadn't germinated so seeded some more. The original seeds poked up their heads the next day.

3 comments:

  1. I love peonies, except that it always rains right when they are heavy with blooms. I'm tying all of mine up today. I found the best, though, are the tree peonies. They're very strong and don't bend over in the least.

    Nice blog.

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  2. Hi Daphne....I think the most exciting thing about gardening is the anticipation. A seedling appearing, a bud waiting to open. It gives us hope of what is to come.
    What colour is your peony?
    I saw a very very pale pink one on someones blog....it was beautiful.
    Happy gardening and watch that garden gate.

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  3. Jane Marie: My husbands grandmother used to tell me that a true garden always had to have a tree peony. I guess I just don't measure up to her standards, but maybe one day.

    Cheryl: I planted two last year and for the life of me I don't remember what I picked. Though I'm sure they are pink. I wonder if the plants are still marked. I always mark them when I plant them, but the markers never seem to last.

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