Early June is such an exciting time here at my farm. It's when my herbaceous peony garden is blooming with brilliant pinks and whites!
Every year, I’m always amazed by the dazzling display of these beautiful flowers. It’s definitely one of the most anticipated sights - we all wait patiently for the floral show. Friends and family love the peonies as much as I do and rush to see them in all their splendor. When I first planted this garden, I knew I wanted many, many peonies in one large area. I chose a location across from my Winter House, where there's lots of room and full sun - a perfect spot outside my window.
Enjoy these photos.
Of all the flowers at my farm, one of the most anticipated is the sight of these blooming herbaceous peonies. Everyone is always so excited to see this peony garden explode with color.
Before the flowers appear, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew put up stakes, so the peonies are well-supported as they grow. We use natural twine and metal uprights I designed myself for this purpose. I also make sure the beds are well fed and mulched – maintenance is very important.
Not long after, one can see hundreds of buds atop their stems. When I first planted my peony garden, I focused on pink varieties, and planted 11-double rows of 22-peony types. I chose the varieties for their colors, their forms and their long blooming periods.
By the end of May, the blooms appear. One of the reasons these peonies thrive here at my farm is because of the soil. It has a pH of 6.5 to 7.0, which is ideal. It is also amended with superphosphate and Azomite, a natural product mined from an ancient mineral deposit in Utah. These natural additives improve root systems and overall plant vigor, resulting in this fantastic profusion of blooms.
Look at the transformation – rows and rows of gorgeous blooms.
The peony is any plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America.
There are approximately 33 to 40 different species of peony.
Peonies are one of the best-known and most dearly loved perennials – not surprising considering their beauty, trouble-free nature, and longevity.
Peony blooms range from simple blossoms to complex clusters with a variety of petal forms.
The peony’s fragrance can vary, but most have sweet, clean scents. And, do you know… pink peonies tend to have stronger fragrances than red peonies? Double form white peonies are also very aromatic.
Flower colors come in pink, white, yellow, red, and coral and the various shades and tints of each.
The majority of peonies are hybrids and classified as herbaceous, or as deciduous tree peonies. The peony is showy, frilly with tuberous root systems.
Peonies are considered northern flowers – they tolerate and even prefer cold winter temperatures. They are hardy in zones 3 through 8 and need more than 400-hours of temperatures below 40-degrees Fahrenheit annually to break dormancy and bloom properly.
For the most part, peonies are disease resistant. They do, however, take some time to get established, so be patient. And if you happen to see ants crawling on your peonies, don’t worry. The insects are attracted to the sugary syrup produced by the buds. Once the flower opens fully, and the sucrose has been finished, the ants disappear.
Among the varieties in my collection – ‘Elsa Sass’, ‘Victorian Blush’, ‘Fringed Ivory’, ‘Martha’, ‘Madylone’, ‘Lullaby Coos’, ‘Vivid Glow’, ‘Angel Cheeks’, ‘Miss America’ and ‘Flying Pink Saucers.’
This peony is soft pink with many petals. The petals are part of the large, layered blooms that can reach up to 10 inches in diameter.
Here, the outer petals are medium pink, the inner petals are light pink and white, and the center stamens are red.
And I have more outside my main greenhouse! I love planting them en masse – look at all the gorgeous blooms!
This is a favorite with light pink petals and a dark pink center.
Here’ one in crisp white.
And a gorgeous deep red peony that’s bigger than one’s hand.
The only disadvantage of peonies is that each field yields one crop of cut flowers for a couple of weeks only once a year, and then that’s it – until the next season when they bloom with splendor once again.
So much is growing and blooming at my farm, especially in my flower garden.
The perennial flower cutting garden is located just outside my main greenhouse at the foot of my long clematis pergola. Every year, I add a number of flowering plants to this collection. And right now it is bursting with vibrant colors - the poppies, peonies, Baptisia, lupines, columbines, and irises are all putting on quite a show.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This garden bed is just outside my fenced flower cutting garden – both are among the first ones seen when visiting my farm.
I wanted the plants to be mixed, so every bed in this garden would be interesting and colorful.
I grow many alliums here at the farm and they continue to bloom so beautifully. These easy-to-grow bulbs come in a broad palette of colors, heights, bloom times, and flower forms. They make excellent cut flowers for fresh or dried bouquets. What’s more, alliums are relatively resistant to deer, voles, chipmunks, and rabbits.
Here are some of the many lupines. These flowers are attractive and spiky, reaching one to four feet in height. Lupine flowers may be annual and last only for a season or perennial, returning for a few years in the same spot in which they were planted.
The lupine plant grows from a long taproot and loves full sun. The flowers are produced in dense or open whorls on an erect spike, each flower about one to two centimeters long. The pea-like flowers have an upper standard, or banner, two lateral wings, and two lower petals fused into a keel.
Look at them exploding with rich colors.
The leaves of the lupine are also quite interesting. They are grey-green with silvery hairs. They are palmately compound in groups of nine to 17. Leaflets are two to five inches long, and up to an inch wide.
These are the large leaves of Rodgersia – a genus of flowering plants in the Saxifragaceae family. Rodgersia are herbaceous perennials originating from east Asia. The common name is Roger’s Flower.
And here are the Rodgersia flowers. These tiny white to pink flowers arrive in late spring into midsummer.
These bearded iris flowers get their common name from their blooms, which consist of upright petals called “standards,” pendant petals called “falls,” and fuzzy, caterpillar-like “beards” that rest atop the falls.
This is the tall and stately foxglove plant, Digitalis purpurea. These add lovely vertical interest to any garden. Foxglove flowers grow on stems which may reach up to six feet in height, depending on the variety.
Baptisia produces loads of sturdy spikes filled with rich pea-like blossoms that emerge in mid to late spring. The showy terminal flower spikes are followed by inflated seed pods. The pea-like flowers are attractive to butterflies and other insect pollinators.
This is Baptisia ‘Carolina Moonlight’. This plant produces rich buttery yellow pea-like blossoms.
The columbine plant, Aquilegia, is an easy-to-grow perennial that blooms in a variety of colors during spring.
Here is a white columbine flower. On this, bright apple-green foliage forms under the tall stems bearing pure white flowers and short curled spurs.
Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris, grows along both sides of the path of my cutting garden. It is a clumping perennial which typically forms a mound of long-stalked, circular, scallop-edge light green leaves, with tiny, star-shaped, chartreuse flowers.
Oriental poppy blossoms, Papaver orientale, last only a week or two, but during that time, they provide one of the high points of the gardening season with its bold colors. The flowers appear to be fashioned of crepe paper and can be more than six-inches across on stems up to three-feet in height.
I have peonies in this garden, but I also have a garden filled with only herbaceous peonies in shades of pink and white. Peonies love cooler climates where they get pronounced winter chill. Some will do well in warmer areas. All are also worth a try in dappled shade.
The peonies are just bursting everywhere right now. These are in a bed just outside my flower garden.
I am so proud of all the gorgeous plants and flowers that bloom in my gardens. And this year everything is showing off so wonderfully.
Enjoy this encore blog posting which originally ran on June 14, 2024.
If you're planning to be in or near Westchester County, New York this summer, try to visit Lyndhurst, a magnificent Gothic Revival country estate and National Historic Landmark located on 67 sprawling acres beside the Hudson River in Tarrytown.
Lyndhurst, which is also known as the Jay Gould estate, was owned and shaped by three prominent area families - The Pauldings, The Merritts, and lastly, by railroad tycoon and financier, Jay Gould. Purchased in 1880, Jay occupied the home until his death in 1892. In 1961, his daughter Anna Gould donated it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The estate features 16 elaborately decorated rooms - many lovingly restored and including original furniture left in the home. The surrounding park is an outstanding example of 19th-century landscape design with expansive lawns, specimen tree groves, and curved carriage roads. The property also includes a children's cottage, a bowling alley, a laundry building, a pool house, and the exterior of what was once considered the largest private greenhouse complex in the country.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The mansion was designed in 1838 by architect Alexander Jackson Davis in a romantic Gothic Revival style. The original structure was doubled in size between 1864 and 1867 to what is seen today.
Lyndhurst is situated beside the Hudson River about a half mile south of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, formerly known as the Tappan Zee Bridge. On a clear day, one can see New York City.
The property boasts some beautiful mature trees – some planted in groves and stands and some singly.
The main house has a soaring two-floor Art Gallery, which was once also used as a library and billiards room. Today, the room is filled with 19th century academic paintings along with Tiffany glass windows and other period furnishings designed by Davis.
On the first floor are several sitting areas and parlors – all meticulously maintained.
The Dining Room at Lyndhurst still contains the original Gothic Revival dining table and chairs designed by Alexander Jackson Davis for the Merrit Family in 1865.
This is one of the bed chambers in the home. It includes a very ornate period bed.
The family bathrooms were large in its day with marble sink counters and claw foot tubs.
This beautiful spiral wood back staircase takes visitors up to the fifth floor tower where one can see panoramic views of the Hudson River and New York City as well as all the way down to the basement kitchen.
Here is the main kitchen – still decorated with many of the 19th century cooking elements, tools and supplies. This room had great light and ample space.
This is the large stove behind the kitchen table.
Staff would gather and eat at this table – it was a dream to work in a kitchen like this one in its time.
Various tables are filled with types of items possibly used during that era.
Just outside the kitchen is where pickling and preserving was done.
And across the carriage road is the Laundry Building, where the housekeeping staff would wash, iron and mend cloth items.
This wall is lined with large, deep sinks for washing delicates.
The servants’ rooms were also rather spacious. This one was likely occupied by the head of staff – it includes a bed, a small sitting area and a private bathroom.
And not far from the main house is the Bowling Alley, one of the earliest bowling lanes in the United States. Anna Gould used the bowling alley for visiting soldiers during World War II. Although the structure fell into disrepair in the 1950s, it was restored and opened for public tours. The building was also used as a school where local women could learn sewing and other skills.
Here is the children’s playhouse, the Rose Cottage. It is nestled beneath the shade of mature trees just steps from the main house.
Inside there was full sized furniture where the children could rest after playing in the warm summer sun.
Here is the cottage from afar. The entire Lyndhurst estate is a wonderful and picturesque escape from the busy city – still as beautiful now as it was in the 1800s. Please visit the next time you are in the area. You can learn more about Lyndhurst on their web site at lyndhurst.org.
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