Short-lived showstoppers to bring glamour to your garden
28.06.2023 - 09:47
/ irishtimes.com
As gardeners, we inevitably learn to prize those hardworking, reliable species that guarantee us a long flowering period and multiple seasons of interest. But essential as these kinds of resilient, dependable workhorses undeniably are, I’d still hate to be without some ephemerals – those glamorous, giddy butterflies of the flower border whose fleeting blooms are all the more precious because they’re so very short-lived.
Imagine, for example, a world without herbaceous peonies, that long-lived ultra-hardy perennial whose giant, ruffled blooms are one of the quintessential flowers of early summer. Their heavy-headed, scented flowers don’t last long at all – not much more than a week – but then part of their special charm is the time spent watching and waiting for their large, plump, spherical buds to swell, ripen and slowly unfurl to reveal themselves in all their decadent beauty.
Fittingly, this long-lived aristocrat of the early summer flower garden, which can be found in bloom from late May until mid-June depending on the particular variety, can be demanding to grow well. Don’t, for instance, make the mistake of moving a peony plant unless you must, or it will often sulkily refuse to flower the following year. And if you must, then do so in autumn when the soil is still warm. Don’t plant it too deeply either, or overgenerously mulch it (the dormant leaf buds should be no more than 2.5cm below the surface of the soil), or it may never flower. Try to give it the very best of cool, rich, deep, moist but free-draining soils (not freshly manured, not too acidic), and a sheltered spot in sun or light shade, with some form of support to protect its flowers from being flattened by a heavy shower or sudden gale.
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