Peonies

And just pondering what I'm going to talk about this week while I'm walking in the Peonies day in day out to put together a nice assortment for the Fluwel website. About the Peony of course, my head is full of Peonies at the moment so why try to think of something else. The Peony has been on my wish list for years to add to our assortment So that you too can enjoy this beautiful Pentecost flower in your garden. Peonies are now widely grown in our area, often by growers where we also buy Daffodils, Tulips and other spring bloomers. There is actually no escape for me and every year there is at least once or twice such an exuberantly flowering bunch of Peonies in the house with its unique sultry Peony scent. It is nice to see that this popular flower has made such a rise in cultivation. About ten years ago, maybe a bit longer, they were hardly or not at all to be found in our area, but after the Peony became more and more popular as a cut flower, more and more bulb growers started with Peonies. Quite an investment, the plants of the Peony are not really available for a bite of pea soup and then the grower has to wait another two years before he can sell a part again. But once the ball is rolling, the cash register starts ringing. In year two, a flower can be cut in the spring and, if desired, a part of the plants can be sold in October. Coral Sunset

Actually, the same is true for you as a gardener; a Peony is a bit of an investment for the longer term. It is not at its most beautiful the following spring, like a Daffodil, Tulip, Allium or Hyacinth. Nine times out of ten, the Peony will show a few flowers in the first year, but you will have to wait a year longer for the real beauty of the Peony. Not a problem at all, because fortunately we all know that a year goes by so quickly. A wise woman recently even told me in firm terms that she was certain that the coming year would go by just as quickly as the past year. So no problem, the Peony is very beautiful in your garden in no time and will probably only become more beautiful after that. Alertness

In recent years I have learned quite a bit about the Peony between the lines, but if you really want to learn something about Peonies, especially regarding the assortment, you cannot avoid a visit to the 'Peony Showgarden Holland' in Lemelerveld. Last month I have been there weekly to look and compare in order to put together a nice assortment of Peonies for the garden. Thousands (yes, really thousands) of different types of Peonies are there neatly planted in rows to be beautiful. The entire commercial assortment but also countless seedlings that are doing their best to conquer a place in the market. What is also very nice about the Peony is that there is a real Peony craze among the many Peony lovers. Collectors will easily pay hundreds of euros for a special new introduction. Unfortunately, that is not the case with the Narcissus, if I really have something special in the Narcissus I can at most get a few tens of euros for a handful of bulbs. Several growers with newer varieties have therefore strongly advised me to also offer a few of those very special Peonies on the Fluwel site. Don't be alarmed, they will cost hundreds of euros per plant. I really wonder if we will sell a few of them there, I still find it hard to believe. Vanilla Schnapps

In a week or so I hope to be able to inform you that the Peonies are available in our Fluwel webshop. Most of the photos have been taken, just write the texts for all the types and give good explanations. As soon as they are online I will let you know. Oh yes, before I stop I would like to tell you that this week on my way back from Lemelerveld I stopped by Allium friend Wietse Mellema in the Noordoostpolder. Wietse is actually a fellow sufferer, just as I was infected with the Daffodil virus, Wietse is a grower, collector and breeder of Alliums. Always nice and cozy to spend an evening gardening with him, to talk a lot, home after midnight. Wietse also drew my attention to a particularly beautiful and good Allium for the garden, the Allium Chicago, obtained from a cross between Allium komarowii x Allium atropurpureum. Allium Chicago really brings out the best of her two parents; a splash of pure fresh purple hue on a beautifully shaped mushroom cap. I immediately put her in our webshop. Time to stop again, see you next week.

Kind regards,

Carlos van der Veek