GRANDPA’S PEONIES

I grew up with yards full of peonies. My Grandpa planted hundreds of them. Really. They surrounded our property in the Poconos. Shortly after I bought this place here in VA, my father dug up some peony roots and brought them down here and planted them around the place. It took them a while to get going, but now I have a couple dozen beautiful plants here and there around the yard. one nice thing is, they don’t all bloom at the exact time, so it seems to stretch their blooming time out much longer. They tend to start as the azaleas are finishing, sometimes blooming with the iris, sometimes not. I consider them real treasures but am still surprised when folks stop out front to ask what they are since they seem to grow so well here.

                

 

But probably my biggest treasure (plant wise) is something I have been told does NOT grow around here, and that is this Mountain Laurel. It is now well over 5 feet tall, the tallest point being over my head. I have 2 Mountain Laurels, the other one is much smaller and did not bloom this year. I think they do better when we have had a cold winter. Well, last winter sure qualified! Can you get a sense of the size of this plant?

                   While taking these peony pictures, Spook came out to visit Hadji’s grave. It is so weird, he goes out there each morning and sits for a spell.