A wonderful gardening friend recently invited us to come and see his stunning garden. This lovely garden is a beautifully planned oasis, with space for perennials, plenty of bountiful planters, well-tended vegetables, and a quiet corner with a curving stone pathway winding through a collection of lush hostas, my favorite!
But on this particular visit, amid all the beautiful things to see in the garden, the star attraction was the amazing “Bartzella” peony, in full bloom and in all its golden glory with large, frilly delicate yellow blooms. Dozens of them! Blooms as big as your hand! They were so unusual and so breathtakingly lovely that I was at a loss for words (imagine that!). All I could do was keep snapping pictures!
Bartzella is an “Itoh” peony, that is, a cross between garden peonies and tree peonies. I did some homework and information tells us that they are easy to grow and hardy. The plant forms an upright bush with dense green foliage. They like a sunny location in our gardens, and “are much hardier than generally assumed” one source says, and has “above average blooming ability”.
Simply stunning: that’s all that can be said about this amazing plant. We were so grateful to our friend, a very knowledgeable and very generous gardener, for giving us the chance to see such fleeting beauty in his garden. Really, aren’t so many garden treasures here and gone: a life lesson to all of us to appreciate every good and perfect gift that our gardens give us each day, whether a delicate bloom or a memorable fragrance.
Now, some gardening dates to remember. The City of Yorkton “Yorkton In Bloom” competition deadline to enter is 4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 8. Judging will be July 11 to 13, and the bus tour to see the winning entries will be on Friday, July 22, with two tour times: 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. For more information call (306) 786-1776 or (306) 786-1750.
I will also mention that the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society’s annual “Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Show” is on Wednesday, August 10 at St. Gerard’s Parish Complex, and your admission includes coffee or tea and dainties! It may seem like it’s still far into the future, but please mark it on your calendars and plan to join us! It’s a great chance to get together with friends, have a visit, and enjoy the beautiful displays and exhibits. I know there are lots of interested and inspiring gardeners out there, and I’ll give you an example: the residents at Queen Elizabeth Court, Fisher Court, Victoria Court, Heritage Place and Clements Court all have amazing plantings by their buildings, and I admire them every time I drive by. So our hort society hopes these fine gardeners will come to the show in August and share their company and enthusiasm with us! Everyone is welcome!
I found this quote in my browsings, and I know you will appreciate the thoughts. “The man who has planted a garden feels that he has done something for the good of the world.... It is a pleasure to eat of the fruit of one’s toil, if it be nothing more than a head of lettuce or an ear of corn. One gets strength out of the ground.... There is life in the ground; it goes into the seeds; and it also, when it is stirred up, goes into the man who stirs it. The hot sun on his back as he bends to shovel and hoe, or contemplatively rakes the warm and fragrant loam, is better than much medicine. ~Charles Dudley Warner, “Preliminary,” My Summer in a Garden, 1870.
Have a great week, and be sure to be careful in the sun!
