We are a few weeks past Memorial Day, but I thought it would be fun to share a little history about it.
To previous generations, Memorial Day was known as “Decoration Day” as this was the day flowers were used to decorate the graves of service men. We now honor all those whom have passed with flowers on graves.
Peonies were often the flower of choice for “Decoration Day” as these were often in full bloom.
Peonies remain a favorite for Memorial Day. Peonies are very hardy and live a long time. We have peony bushes at the nursery that are over 50 years old!
The row of peonies in the backyard of our home at Natural Plus Nursery. They are over 50 years old.
We carry several varieties of peonies, all require full sun.
Rare peonies: (These are hard to find. They are more expensive but worth the money.)
· Fern Leaf Peonies – these have lacey fern like foliage and double deep red blooms
· Yellow Peonies – These have proven to be very hardy with very large yellow blooms.
A rare yellow peony
Old Fashioned Peonies : We carry improved varieties of the old fashioned peonies. These are more disease resistant, flowers are larger and more colorful, and blooms last longer than older varieties.
· Kansas: Double deep carmine red
· Karl Rosenfield: Double red blooms
· Raspberry Sundae: Soft double pink/cream blooms
· Sarah Bernhardt: Double bright pink blooms
· Shirley Temple: Double white blooms
The row of peonies in our backyard mean a lot to us. Dave's grandpa planted them and I look forward to seeing them bloom every year. Here are some pics of me with those peonies through the years.
2014: Our first season running the nursery
2015: The June after losing our first son David Holtan.
2017: Holtan joined our family!
The great debate: is it pronounced Pe-OH-ny or Pe-ah-ny?