Peony Envy

Peonies are everywhere. Blooming in gardens. Pictured on blogs. Everywhere except my yard.

I started out last fall with six peonies. Three singles that I had ordered and planted in the border along the Ugly Green Fence. Two survived the winter. Neither is showing any inclination to bloom this year. Because they’re new and still small, I’m giving them a pass this year.

The other three I had moved from the border along the Ugly Green Fence to the Infamous Entry Garden, a much shadier location but peonies are tough and will grow most anywhere. Only two survived the squirrels. I found the chewed remains of the third root in the spring.

The two surviving peonies leafed out nicely and developed buds. The buds on one of them turned black and died.


The buds on the other peony were quite promising:


But whenever they got to the point where they were about to open, this happened:


Cruel, cruel squirrels. They weren’t eating the buds. Instead, they left them on the lawn.


I have peony envy.