Time to research whether I can grow peonies in North/west Berkeley. Pale coral is my new favorite color for flowers. I planted some "Cameo" yarrow in my garden (in a bed with lavender, penstemon, and lambs ear, plus Desdemona and Wollerton Old Hall roses). I'm utterly smitten. I was also walking past a flower stand yesterday and they had pale peach toned statice and straw flowers. I might need to find space for some of these as well in the garden.
I'm sorry to tell you that it's too warm in Berkeley for peonies--they grow in zones 8 and below, but Berkeley is zone 10. I'm actually concerned that we may not be able to grow them well in WA, over time--our gardening zone just got bumped up to 9.
But I love the idea of your coral tones in the garden. Your beds are going to look so beautiful! I hope you are enjoying this new home/garden. It all sounds lovely.
My brother lives in Seattle and he has peonies in his garden, but it’s true that I don’t see many (or any?) gardens in my neighborhood with peonies. That said, I’ve seen fabulous peonies growing at Filoli in Woodside in San Mateo county!
Yes, I never saw peonies in gardens when I was growing up. But that is so interesting about Filoli! I wonder what their trick is. Do you know if they were in pots or in the ground?
My honorary grandmother lives very close to Filoli and she has a lilac bush--which also shouldn't grow well in CA. But every winter she dumps bags of ice on their roots, to give them the "chill hours" they need. I am sure the Filoli gardeners have some cool techniques up their sleeves too :-)
The peonies at Filoli were definitely in the ground — if you are ever there in peony season, they are planted towards the end of the garden, in the south east corner. I used to live a few miles from Filoli and so visited frequently (I maintained a membership for 18 years) but only ever managed to show up at the right time to catch the peonies in bloom once or twice. The varieties were unusual… some were golden yellow or “sunset” hued. I have plans to meet friends there next week and might have a chance to catch the tail end of their peony season… but will more likely have missed them again!
Perfect timing. I was overwhelmed by the profusion of peonies at last Saturday's Market in Edmonds, all local growers. The gorgeous array of colors, Coral Charm among them although I didn't know the name at the time. You are so right about their fleeting beauty. Like local strawberries, we need to fully appreciate them while they are here.
Coral Charm are my favorite too! ✨
Aren't they wonderful? I just love the color transition.
Time to research whether I can grow peonies in North/west Berkeley. Pale coral is my new favorite color for flowers. I planted some "Cameo" yarrow in my garden (in a bed with lavender, penstemon, and lambs ear, plus Desdemona and Wollerton Old Hall roses). I'm utterly smitten. I was also walking past a flower stand yesterday and they had pale peach toned statice and straw flowers. I might need to find space for some of these as well in the garden.
I'm sorry to tell you that it's too warm in Berkeley for peonies--they grow in zones 8 and below, but Berkeley is zone 10. I'm actually concerned that we may not be able to grow them well in WA, over time--our gardening zone just got bumped up to 9.
But I love the idea of your coral tones in the garden. Your beds are going to look so beautiful! I hope you are enjoying this new home/garden. It all sounds lovely.
My brother lives in Seattle and he has peonies in his garden, but it’s true that I don’t see many (or any?) gardens in my neighborhood with peonies. That said, I’ve seen fabulous peonies growing at Filoli in Woodside in San Mateo county!
Yes, I never saw peonies in gardens when I was growing up. But that is so interesting about Filoli! I wonder what their trick is. Do you know if they were in pots or in the ground?
My honorary grandmother lives very close to Filoli and she has a lilac bush--which also shouldn't grow well in CA. But every winter she dumps bags of ice on their roots, to give them the "chill hours" they need. I am sure the Filoli gardeners have some cool techniques up their sleeves too :-)
The peonies at Filoli were definitely in the ground — if you are ever there in peony season, they are planted towards the end of the garden, in the south east corner. I used to live a few miles from Filoli and so visited frequently (I maintained a membership for 18 years) but only ever managed to show up at the right time to catch the peonies in bloom once or twice. The varieties were unusual… some were golden yellow or “sunset” hued. I have plans to meet friends there next week and might have a chance to catch the tail end of their peony season… but will more likely have missed them again!
Perfect timing. I was overwhelmed by the profusion of peonies at last Saturday's Market in Edmonds, all local growers. The gorgeous array of colors, Coral Charm among them although I didn't know the name at the time. You are so right about their fleeting beauty. Like local strawberries, we need to fully appreciate them while they are here.
Exactly like strawberries! :-)
And, while you can get strawberries all through the year now, they're never as good as they are in May/June.
I should get myself to the Edmonds market. I've never been!