Backyard Peonies Are Back - March 2024

Over the years, we've had a tough go-of-it with peonies in our yard.  I suppose you can say that we were totally spoiled when we lived in Elmhurst.  We had a number of peony plants that were very productive.  But, in Downers?  Not a lot of luck.   I have long suspect that was a result of too-much shade, so that lead me to a number of years of moving them around.  From the far back to near(er) to the house.  And then, in 2022, I moved a couple of them out to the IB2DWS bed.  

And guess what happened?  We got our first peony bloom in 2023.   Or, should I say 'blooms'.  The IB2DWs peony produced a number of blooms.  And, so too, did the ones by our curved-kitchen-window bed.  

Each year, they emerge in late Winter/early Spring with their redish-purple tips.  Here's the 2023 version when they showed-up in early April.  

Last year, because of the production, I decided to leave them as they were - a mix of front and backyards.  I'm now re-thinking that and have some early thoughts on moving all of them to the newly expanded IB2DWs bed after they bloom in 2024.

All of that preamble to say....that the 2024 peonies (in the backyard) are back.  Below are the early tips peeking through a top-dressing of biosolids in the curved-bed.

I'm pretty sure that this is the white-flowering Duchesse de Nemours White Peony above. 

I'll go grab a photo of the larger peony plant out front