The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Tag Archives: peony

The peony obsession continues – An angry update

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Woke up this morning at 5:30 to get some work done outside before the brutally hot weather took hold and wouldn’t you know it, the deer (or some creature) sampled one of my peony plants:  ï»¿

Are you f’n kidding me? They managed to navigate my elaborate container blocking scheme?

Luckily that is all they managed to get to but still, are they lingering in the shadows of the woods just waiting for those tasy buds to open up? Damn shady characters.

I will try to remain positive and enjoy the other 5/6 of what I have left (yes, I did the math):

And will not allow any more damage to my prized posessions. Out comes the big artillery:

Make my day punks.

A quick happy birthday to my beautiful bride. You WILL have freshly cut peonies by this evening.

I love you.

John 

The peony obsession continues

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I know I am obsessing too much over my peonies, but after losing them all last year to the deer, I am determined to see them bloom to their heart’s content:

We are so close to seeing it happen and I am going to make it a big friggin event:

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so if I have to block the deer in original and albeit stupid ways, I will:

That’s how much I care.

May I bombard you with peony pics the next few days.

John

How to go from elation to pissed off in 12 easy steps

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I was traveling for work this past week (St Louis, Missouri to be exact) so I suffered through some separation anxiety from my garden.

I considered asking my wife to allow me to Skype with some of the newly blooming perennials but that would have been weird, right? I mean who is attached to their plants so much that they can’t go without seeing them for four days? A real friggin wacko if you ask me.

So early this morning I set foot outside to catch up on all I’ve missed since last weekend (They grow up so fast, sniff) and was immediately taken in by the newly blooming siberian irises (‘Snow Queen’):

Such a crisp and clean color that immediately pulls you in. Just awesome stuff.

From there, I was psyched to see that for the first time in three years, my Spirea ‘Snowmound’ was blooming:

Some times patience does pay off and I’m pretty proud of myself.

But then, out of my peripheral vision, I spotted a long familiar beauty. She stood out like my wife stood out when I first met her in college. A beauty like no other that pulled me in and had me stammering over my words (please apply that to my wife also). I took the requisite 12 steps from where I was standing to view the first peony bloom of the year:

There I was, ogling this “bowl of beauty” and taking photos of her from all different angles like the paparazzi. As I contorted my body into all sorts of odd shapes, I was blind to a development that still has me reeling …

The son of a mutha f’n deer devoured 75% of all my peony buds. They’ve never touched them before, not even one bud/bloom. Are you freaking kidding me? No plant has more of a build-up to their bloom period than the peony and it marks the transition to summer. And you’re going to ruin that for me?

Just a few days ago they looked so promising:    

What a slap to the face. This means WAR. Once again, I was too lax and let my guard down. No more you tick carrying, skittish SOB’s.

I will hunt you down day and night. I will throw bars of Irish Spring at your ass. I’ll drop hot sauce from a helicopter above. It is on … it is on like Donkey Kong.

John

Dreaming of Spring

A peony, some iris and a near fatal encounter with a deer

Posted on by Posted in Deer, Perennials .

Yesterday, I posted a photo of a ‘Bowl of Beauty’ peony in bud and literally an hour later, it bloomed like an SOB. It is the only bloom so far out of three different plants and I dig it because it gives me a chance to ogle the one bloom for the next day or so:

There was also just one Iris sibirica ‘Snow Queen’ bloom as of yesterday and overnight it turned into Bloomapalooza:

Same goes for the Iris sibirica ‘Ruffled Velvet’:

And just in case you didn’t know already, I sort of like my Catmint:

Just to keep on my toes, the deer have appeared in droves the past two days. This young fellow was running around the yard like he was lost and while it was sweet and all, I calmly escorted him off the property and gave him by best intimidating sneer:  

True story, I stepped outside at 5:45 to run this morning and saw a large heap of animal in the backyard with a bird perched atop. I assumed it was a deceased deer and was planning on how to dispose of said carcass but when I got within ten feet, the deer jumped up, I peed myself and the deer ran off. The deer must have been in serious REM sleep when I approached because it didn’t move. When I returned from my run, the deer had returned to it’s favorite place and is most likely, still there:      

I’ve finally learned to keep my camera nearby and ready to go so I can hopefully capture some decent shots of the wildlife. This morning, I was the “bird hunter” and despite taking maybe one hundred photos, these are the only pics that came out OK. Bird photography is not a strong suit right now, but I’ll keep working on it:

Finch in a River Birch tree 

Cardinal on the weed filled playground

Good times for all!
John