At the flower shop where I work, every arrangement is made-to-order. Still, there are times when my own preferences influence the designs, like during last fall's "You are all getting nearly-black bouquets and I promise you will love it" phase. And then there are other times when the customers let me know in no uncertain terms, "We only care about peonies." It's peony season, y'all.
Peonies definitely play well with others, but on their own, they are spectacular. Whether you can 3 or 15 stems, a grouping of peonies will explode in a stunning fashion. But if you feel like mixing it up..
- For this first arrangement, the customer requested something bright, colorful, and young, with peonies. I combined hot-coral peonies, hot-pink anemones, bright-yellow ranunculus, and bright green viburnum in a matte black vase. The black helped ground the colors a bit, and made the black centers of the anemones pop.
- This second piece was for a customer who wanted something white/cream/green, with peonies, of course. Generally a grouping of just two flower types can look awkward, but I felt the cream peonies and green- & white-streaked double tulips combined perfectly. The double tulips are also explosive bloomers, so I knew they'd hold their own as the peonies opened dramatically.
- The third bouquet was a little hand-held posy - I took this photo before I wrapped and ribboned it. It is a petite grouping of coral peonies, orange, yellow, & peach ranunculus, and orange, yellow & pink garden roses. Definitely feminine and just a little wild.
- The fourth request was "pretty & bright with peonies". I made a long window box-style arrangement, filled with lots of pink peonies, yellow tulips, orange double tulips streaked with green, and fresh mint. I avoid using peonies with other scented flowers, but felt the bright, clean scent of the mint would set of their sweetness nicely.
- I'm going to need your help for this last little posy. There are palest-pink peonies, of course, and a cloud of white sweet peas, but I don't know the name of the firework-esque grass or the little showers of white flowers with a blush of pale pink. Any ideas?
Are you filling your house with as many peonies as you can afford? Do you like to add them to arrangements, or let them shine on their own?
MORE PEONIES ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• Peonies At Trader Joe's
• Good Question: Alternatives To Real Peonies?
• Keep It Simple: Single Flower Arrangements
• And my own hesitant Peonies: Could I Actually Be Starting To Like You?
(Images: Tess Wilson)
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I love peonies more than anything, but beware of the ants they can bring in if they come from the garden. Sorry to be a Monday morning Debbie Downer!
I love peonies, I wait patiently every year for peony season and then I buy as many as I can afford each week at the farmer's market. And I love their smell - for a few weeks every spring my apartment smells SO GOOD.
Where is it peony season now? They bloom in April here :)
oh my, peonies are my absolute favorite! i love that brides are more often forgoing the standard rose & incorporating peonies & ranunculus into their bouquets...SO LOVELY.
On the last arrangement, I think the little flowers are mini star agapanthus. I saw a teeny arrangement of them at my local shop a week ago & it was spectacular- each stem was in a tiny hole of a fluted vase. So different & beautiful!
Back to peonies- I have 5 plants in my back yard, only 2 have blooms. I keep hoping the hot pink/ magenta one will open, but all this rain is keeping it closed! The white one has grown a bit, but I don't think it will ever open this year. Maybe next year the other 3 will finally bud & bloom. In the meantime, I'm spending far too much money buying them from the stores :)
Peonies like their buds to be just below the soil's surface, no more that 2" deep including mulch. Planting too deep is the number one reason peonies don't bloom. If you think that might be the case, wait 'til fall and dig and replant a little shallower. Peonies are such a fleeting pleasure but oh so worth it(unless they decide to bloom in the pouring rain which mine often do).
BTW the grass looks like panicum; either switchgrass or one of the annual panicums:)
Here, just outside of Philly, my 2 large peony plants have bloomed (and gone) already :( Due to travel and general business, I only had 5 blooms on my kitchen table. I wish their bloom time was the entire summer :)
Peonies are already past in southern New England. I did spy some this past weekend in the Berkshires.
How late can I plant peonies? I'm starting my garden in the next 3 months, and I love peonies. I would love to plant these inside and outside.
I have 3 plants, one is white and the other two are "apple blossom" - just a hint of pink.
They all opened in the second half of last week but on Friday, after 3 months of absolutely no rain we finally got some rain (all day) and that was the end of my peonies.
But, at least I enjoyed what I called "guilt-free cutting". Otherwise, I would be trying to decide whether to cut some for vases or leave them in the garden, so the decision was made for me. Most of the stems bent and the heads were kissing the mulch. I cut them all and I have 3 vases. Unfortunately, they really stink and I have to make sure that I air my bedroom really well before I go to bed and that I also relocate the peonies into the spare bedroom.
In the fall, I will have to dig out one plant and give it to somebody - my Viridis Japanese maple is hanging over it so the blooms are mostly hidden. I don't have any good spot for peonies - not enough consistent sun in one location.
Surprisingly, I have not seen a single peony at the farmers' marker this year - I kept checking all the flower stands but nada (and I go early, so it's not like they were already sold out).
Okay, you've sold me on peonies.
I've always found them to be like a bit "boozy" on the bush but I must admit they're lovely in bouquets. Our shrub is still blooming and I'll try my hand at some arrangements--sans ants.
Southern California here.....sigh. We get very few East Coast blooms. I've already purchased two batches and they bloomed out in a few days. Too hot.....sigh
Pi; peonies prefer to be transplanted in the fall so I think your all set, not too deep tho' :)
looks like the grass might fiber optic grass..