Thursday, June 5, 2014

Appreciating Peonies


I overheard a friend talking about how peonies were a good garden choice these days because deer don't seem to eat them. I didn't pay too much attention as I have pretty much convinced myself that deer will eat ANYTHING.

But driving around the last few days I have noticed some lovely peony blossoms that seem to be thriving even in our heavy deer-populated neighborhoods.

We had rows of peonies lining a walkway when I was growing up. I remember how lovely they were till a high wind or rain storm knocked the tall blooms over. And ants. I remember how many ants we would find in the petals whenever we would cut a few flowers to bring in the house.

When we first moved to this house I planted several peony plants in the backyard, but none of them ever grew, apparently because of too much shade.

But if peonies are deer-proof or at least deer-putting off, I may have to reconsider and plant a mass of them in the front beds. I can't wait!