Why I Oughta...

Late July is the beginning of (at least around here) dahlia season.  We're seeing our first few blooms on the various dahlias around the garden.  We also are seeing our second flush of blooms from the Disneyland Roses on the side of our house.  But, this year it is also something else.  Something that is surprising:  peony season.   Yep.  This is what the flowers on our countertop look like right now:  Sarah Berhardt peonies are opening up in a vase . How is this happening?  Peony season around here in late May to Early June.  We cut peonies as fast as we can and they put on a great show for about ten days.  But, this year, I tried something new:  Storing cut peony stems in the fridge when they were at the 'marshmallow stage' before they opened .  Here's a post showing the full process .   Here, below, is a look at the unwrapping process.   We started with a big collection of wrapped stems in Saran...

Peonies are Nat's favorite flower.  But, in our garden, peonies have a very short window.  They all bloom at the same time and the blooms don't last long.  Like a flash of petals, only to fade-away quickly.  That's why I was excited to come across the advice of how to cut and store peonies at the "marshmallow stage" by cutting them, wrapping them in paper and plastic wrap and tucking them in to a long Summer's nap in the cold climate of our fridge.   I wrote this post showing my process back in mid-June .  I cut-up-and-preserved two big bunches of peonies.   This week, I took one of the packages out of the fridge.  I cleaned up the leaves, cut the stems and put them in water.  They perked up and looked like the perfect peonies that we see a month-ago when they are fresh cut from the garden.   Below are a couple photos showing this peony arrangement on our counter - IN JULY.  Yes...July.  That's pretty great....

Peonies are here.  And they don't last long.  With four-or-five peony plants coupled with some travel, the timing of bloom season isn't great this year.  We're getting more peony blooms than ever, but they're all going to waste.  Or...at least they *were* going to be going to waste.  That was...until I came across this person who "Flower Farms" on Tiktok - her handle is Hidden Springs Flowers .  She's a good follow on TikTok, but one video - in particular - taught me something I didn't know:  You can 'extends' peony season by cutting them at the 'marshmallow stage' and sticking them in the fridge.    Here, below are some of the cut peonies where I removed their bottom leaves: Below is the TikTok that she posted that details the process: @hiddenspringsflowers Replying to @user1379406190063 how to store peonies for weeks in a cooler. Make sure to grab them at marshmallow stage before they’ve opened or this won’t work. 🌸 #flowerfarm #...