Six on Saturday – 5 Peonies and an Iris

# 1 – I have no recollection of planting such a spectacular double peony.  I haven’t played with the colour on this shot – it’s a bit pinker in person but the bright afternoon sun yesterday translated into this marvelous mauve.

I was going to write about vegetables today — all appearances to the contrary I do grow a few in the garden.  I’m not very good at it though so I’ve been putting it off, and when I walked about yesterday and realized that the peonies were at their height of glory I decided to delay once again so that we can revel in the colour, fragrance and mystery of these giant, wondrous blooms.  Plus  a shot of a solitary ‘black’ Iris growing on a hill surrounded by daisies.

If you’d like to see more Sixes from around the world, head on over to The Propagator, who devised this wonderful theme.

#2 – I stumbled across  this solitary Duchesse de Nemours in the back garden.  It’s the only peony I have with a cultivar I know!  I must have planted it years ago in a small garden that has since been totally overtaken by tall grasses and goldenrod.  The photo on the let was taken mid afternoon, on the right a few hours later at dusk.  Lovely how the petals close around the flower, even with such a large bloom.

# 3a – Red peony # 1 – wide open, about six inches across, stout stems. Gorgeous.

#3b – Red peony # 2 – I think the same cultivar but in a different part of the yard, not fully open, but looking great next to a patch of daisies.

#4 – Perhaps my favourite – single and simple with a light, distinctive fragrance.  Perfect in a vase.

#5 – Another pink peony – slightly pinker, more petals, not as much fragrance.

#6 – this lovely tall bearded Iris in the daisy patch.