Day In The Life of My Garden, June 2, 2010

Things are looking mighty fine at Chez Chaffee. Behold those poppies- every time they bloom they surprise me with their beauty. The Snow in Summer is a billowing mass of white loveliness.

My peonies are perfect. I suspect the rose chafers are on their way to wreck their beauty, but sigh.... enjoy them while I can




I am smitten with my new planter. I have been coveting these echeveria for years and finally splurged. The pink blush on those chubby leaves make me want to pinch them. But like one of little nieces I just reach down to plant a little smooch on them to express my admiration.

And here is the new arbor- installed! My Henry Kelsey roses need to get to work now.

Poor, Poor Peonies

When flowers only bloom once a season, albeit for two weeks, they become a much anticipated event. When something interferes with the annual bloom, it becomes a source of despair.

This spring several of my peony plants developed buds that just stopped growing and then proceeded to dry up. Sometimes whole plants were affected, sometimes just portions.

My hunt on line indicated two possible causes. One is botrytis blight, but that supposedly affects the whole plant. My peonies only have affected buds.

The other is a condition called bud blast. This can be caused by a couple of things, but the most likely cause of my problem is that we had frosts up until late-May. This can interfere with the growth of the bud.

I suppose it is better to suffer the Horseman of the Apocalypse Death than the Horseman of the Apocalypse Disease.