Comments on: My housekeeper Lily Mei and her family come to view the peonies

By: EcoGirl

EcoGirl — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:56:35 +0000

The trip must have been a real treat to her family. Its great that you encouraged her family to come and visit a piece of Chinese heritage in your garden.

By: Arlene

Arlene — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:15:10 +0000

Please let me know what type of peony is pictured on photo #29. It is just a beauty! I would like to buy some and plant it this fall. Thanks!

By: toodygoodshoes

toodygoodshoes — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:23:00 +0000

I always enjoy your beautiful photos and the peonies are spectacular (my favorite flower).

My favorite opera(s): Tosca and Madame Butterfly. They both give me goosebumps!

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:12:40 +0000

Such a lovely group!

By: Trish

Trish — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:08:51 +0000

To Jan,
Thanks for finding Franny for me. I didn't think about enlarging the photo and she was hard to see. I still only see 19 people though and 20 names. I knew which one was Lily but didn't see Lily listed unless she is Lipei. Not important. Trish

By: Jan Erickson

Jan Erickson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:06:43 +0000

Hi Martha, What a wonderful blog about Lily Mei and your beautiful peonies. Both of them are on my favorites list! Lily certainly has a large, lovely family and I'll bet they really enjoyed their visit to your wonderful farm to see all of your stunning peonies. All of the peonies you photographed are gorgeous and my two favorites are #12 and #29. How nice that the weather cooperated and you didn't have any rain that day. I'm following you on twitter while you are in France. Can hardly wait for that blog{s}. Thanks for continuing you blog while you are away. Jan

By: Rowaida Flayhan

Rowaida Flayhan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:36:56 +0000

Thanks Kit Feldman for the questions.
Thank you Martha for the information, very helpful.

By: Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:13:35 +0000

For Kit Feldman - I find that the ants are pretty much off the peony flowers by the time they are ready to pick. The ants are drawn to the bud, which exudes a sticky sweetness they consume.

The staking method we use is kind of a cat's cradle using stakes and string. If you search my blog for other peony blogs or for cat's cradle, you will see what I mean.

Thanks for the questions.

By: Lili V

Lili V — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:23:54 +0000

Love how many of the close up photos of the peonies show those beautiful water droplets. And the overall display is simply a work of art!

By: Kit Feldman

Kit Feldman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:46:05 +0000

Two questions with regard to your incredible peonies--my favorite flowers:
What do you do about the ants to prevent them from coming in the house?
How do you tie them up? What is the staking method you prefer?