Ah, how wonderful the scent of peony is!
Our garden has been filled with it since the beginning of summer,
Burgundy and white buds,
And also a soft pink color,Like ballerinas in satin skirts,
They flew up over the green bush,
Oh, how graceful and beautiful they are,
Divine, royal peonies!
Peonies are a symbol of glory, love, and wealth. In ancient times, they were grown in the gardens of emperors, while commoners were forbidden from growing these beautiful flowers. Nowadays, it's hard to imagine a garden or cottage without peonies!
I love bouquets of peonies and every summer I pick them and put them in a vase. The apartment is filled with a wonderful aroma and the mood becomes festive.
I have six peony bushes growing at my dacha—three pink, two white, and one dark red or burgundy. All the bushes have large, double flowers. Unfortunately, I don't know the names of the varieties. But that's not important to me; the main thing is that my peonies bloom profusely and decorate my garden.
White flowers
White peony bushes of a single variety are neat and compact, growing from 50 to 80 cm tall, with large, glossy, dark green leaves. The flowers are large, double, and delicately fragrant. The petals are soft white, some with a greenish-pink tint.
Pink flowers
Pink – three different varieties, one of which blooms earliest and has the largest flowers. The lower petals are wide and flat, while the central petals form a dense pom-pom. This variety grows tall, over a meter in length.
The other two are similar in appearance, only one is light pink, while the second has bright pink petals.
Burgundy flowers
Another tall bush with beautiful, bright, dark pink flowers. I call it burgundy.
Care
Here in Krasnoyarsk, peonies begin blooming in mid-June and last for about three weeks. Hot weather usually sets in at this time, and the flowers quickly fade in the sun. And if it rains, the bushes collapse, the buds bending to the ground under the weight of the rainwater.
As soon as the peonies release their elastic ball-buds, I drive a stake near the bush and tie the peonies up, and then they won’t be afraid of any rain.
Peonies are very hardy flowers, surviving winter, even in the most severe frosts. They are easy to grow and can bloom profusely in the same spot for many years. This requires proper care, fertilization, and regular watering.
In the spring, when the ground thaws, I lightly rake away the humus I use to cover the bushes for the winter, carefully loosen the soil, and trim off any dried stems. I feed the bushes with urea, working the granules into the soil, and water them. And my peonies begin to grow quickly.
When the bushes begin to bloom, I feed them with herbal infusion and add ash to the soil, mulching them with humus.
I never pick off the buds, I know that some gardeners remove the side buds for larger flowers.
When the peonies have finished blooming, I carefully trim the flowers along with part of the stem down to the first leaves and feed the bush with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
In the fall, when the first frosts arrive and the bushes begin to droop, I trim the stems, leaving petioles about 8-10 cm above the ground. I add humus or compost under the bushes and lay the flower stems on top. My peonies never get sick, so I don't treat them with anything.
Pest control
Sometimes, large green beetles appear on flowers as pests. These are bronze beetles, and they can damage the buds. But I inspect my flowers every day, and if I spot a beetle, I catch it right away and put it in a jar. It's a shame to kill one.
I also have to deal with black ants; they simply swarm over the unopened buds, which are covered in sweet nectar. So I periodically spray the bushes with Inta-Vir, and they go away.
Last spring I transplanted four peony bushes to a new location and now I am eagerly awaiting the first shoots of these divine flowers to appear this spring.