Sunday, January 14, 2007
Dr. Eugene Fox
It is with sadness that we note the passing of Dr. Eugene Fox on January 14,2007 in Edmonton, Alberta. Although he was better known in horticultural circles as a lily collector and hybridizer, and as a past president of the North American Lily Society, Gene was also a peony aficionado and a long-time member of the Canadian Peony Society, and he provided much advice about setting up the Alberta chapter of the CPS. His enthusiasm, generosity, and expertise will be missed.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Marvin Joslin
Marvin Joslin of Stony Plain, Alberta, passed away December 31, 2006. He was a CPS member and although he is best known for his involvement with lilies, he propagated peonies at Parkland Perennials and more recently operated Estate Perennials.
This peony was selected and registered by Marvin Joslin, formerly of
Parkland Perennials (now Estate Perennials) in 1999, to honor its
originator. This midseason Japanese cultivar has strong 38" stems and
is floriferous and vigorous, developing silver-tipped staminodes with
age. Mrs. Jean Ericksen farmed with her husband at Wauchope, SK, and
became internationally famous for her lily breeding. She tried breeding
many other flowers, including peonies. This seedling was given away to
Parkland Perennials when it was still tiny, in the hope that it would
prove valuable because of its prolific blooming parent, also an un-named
seedling which she obtained from a penpal in Ontario.
 |
| `Jean Ericksen` |
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Métis Mystery Peony
The mystery peony discovered at Reford Gardens in Grand - Métis, Quebec was named 'Elsie Reford', after the creator of one of Canada's foremost gardens. After much debate it was decided that this hybrid was a naturally occurring cross between Paeonia mlokosewitschii and P wittmanniana. The peony has been registered with the American Peony Society, at a public ceremony on July 1, 2006. A fitting tribute to an exceptional collector.
Friday, May 5, 2006
Bloom Date 2004
Taken from The Peony - C to C
May 2005 Vol 8 Issue 2
by Michael Denny
It was a very good year for the bloom date project and I want to thank all of those who participated. In 2004, we collected over 1900 observations on the bloom dates of 600 different cultivars. This brings the overall totals to over 7200 observations on about 950 cultivars.
Not all of the observations received this year were for observations taken in 2004. There were several treasure troves of date from earlier years. The publicity in the APS Bulletin helped to locate several individuals who had been carefully measuring their bloom dates in earlier years.
It is important to have many observations on each cultivar. I am pleased that we currently have 10 or more observations on bloom dates for 321 cultivars. For another 154 cultivars, we have five to nine observations. The goal is to have 500-600 for which there are ten or more observations. It should be feasible to reach this goal in the next three years. There is nothing unique about ten observations. In my judgement, this amount of data allows us to have considerable confidence in the bloom date.
There are still many cultivars, 251, with only one observation. I have kept these in the tables but one should view the data for these cultivars with considerable caution. As we obtain more observations on these cultivars, the bloom dates may change significantly. There will always be many cultivars that are not widely grown for which we can not obtain numerous bloom date observations. However if we keep collecting data we should be able to provide information on all of the widely grown cultivars.
Mrs. Anne Oveson from Wallowa, Oregon sent me a hand-written list of over 700 bloom date observations. Mrs. Oveson bred and registered the peonies 'Caroline Rose' and ' Mary Gretchen'. She collected the data from her own garden and from her sister's garden in Walla Walla, Washington. The data are from the years 1999 to 2002. Each sister had from 100 to 150 cultivars and many were common to both gardens. This provided four to eight new observations on the cultivars that they grew in common.
Mrs Oveson's data are the main reason why we have twice as many new observations in 2004 than we had last year. While we can not expect such sources to appear every year, we can continue to add more observations.
Another historical data set was provided by Bruce Powers of Wisconsin who has data from 1996 - 2004. To these we can add an unidentified source from Cut Bank, Montana who supplied data from 2001. These three sources provided one-half of the observations this year. I am trying to obtain data from another Ohio source who may have data for 50 cultivars from 1993 - 2004.
The project depends heavily on a core set of Canadian Society contributors. Val Ames, Brian Porter, Lindsay D'Aoust, Linda Goh and Nick Visser have provided data for three or more years. Another dozen individuals contributed data for one or two years and we thank them all. We can always use new contributors.
As more data are collected there are a number of extensions to the project. First, we would like to introduce a standard system of describing the bloom period of peonies. This will avoid the current confusion that arises when different nurseries and different peony books describe the same cultivar inconsistently. One possibility is to classify peonies by the week in which they bloom with week one being the very early ones and week seven being the latest.
We know that variations in the weather cause most of the variations in bloom dates at a given location as well as the differences between locations. We hope to look more formally at this process.
There is more information about the project at the we site http://peonybloomdate.com The data
are available and may be downloaded and there are several articles.
If you want to collect data this year, we welcome your help. The process is simple. You should only collect data for cultivars whose identity is known and that are mature plants growing in relatively full sun. Record the calendar date of the first open bloom. Keep a list and send them to me at mjdenny@sympatico.ca
May 2005 Vol 8 Issue 2
by Michael Denny
It was a very good year for the bloom date project and I want to thank all of those who participated. In 2004, we collected over 1900 observations on the bloom dates of 600 different cultivars. This brings the overall totals to over 7200 observations on about 950 cultivars.
Not all of the observations received this year were for observations taken in 2004. There were several treasure troves of date from earlier years. The publicity in the APS Bulletin helped to locate several individuals who had been carefully measuring their bloom dates in earlier years.
It is important to have many observations on each cultivar. I am pleased that we currently have 10 or more observations on bloom dates for 321 cultivars. For another 154 cultivars, we have five to nine observations. The goal is to have 500-600 for which there are ten or more observations. It should be feasible to reach this goal in the next three years. There is nothing unique about ten observations. In my judgement, this amount of data allows us to have considerable confidence in the bloom date.
There are still many cultivars, 251, with only one observation. I have kept these in the tables but one should view the data for these cultivars with considerable caution. As we obtain more observations on these cultivars, the bloom dates may change significantly. There will always be many cultivars that are not widely grown for which we can not obtain numerous bloom date observations. However if we keep collecting data we should be able to provide information on all of the widely grown cultivars.
Mrs. Anne Oveson from Wallowa, Oregon sent me a hand-written list of over 700 bloom date observations. Mrs. Oveson bred and registered the peonies 'Caroline Rose' and ' Mary Gretchen'. She collected the data from her own garden and from her sister's garden in Walla Walla, Washington. The data are from the years 1999 to 2002. Each sister had from 100 to 150 cultivars and many were common to both gardens. This provided four to eight new observations on the cultivars that they grew in common.
Mrs Oveson's data are the main reason why we have twice as many new observations in 2004 than we had last year. While we can not expect such sources to appear every year, we can continue to add more observations.
Another historical data set was provided by Bruce Powers of Wisconsin who has data from 1996 - 2004. To these we can add an unidentified source from Cut Bank, Montana who supplied data from 2001. These three sources provided one-half of the observations this year. I am trying to obtain data from another Ohio source who may have data for 50 cultivars from 1993 - 2004.
The project depends heavily on a core set of Canadian Society contributors. Val Ames, Brian Porter, Lindsay D'Aoust, Linda Goh and Nick Visser have provided data for three or more years. Another dozen individuals contributed data for one or two years and we thank them all. We can always use new contributors.
As more data are collected there are a number of extensions to the project. First, we would like to introduce a standard system of describing the bloom period of peonies. This will avoid the current confusion that arises when different nurseries and different peony books describe the same cultivar inconsistently. One possibility is to classify peonies by the week in which they bloom with week one being the very early ones and week seven being the latest.
We know that variations in the weather cause most of the variations in bloom dates at a given location as well as the differences between locations. We hope to look more formally at this process.
There is more information about the project at the we site http://peonybloomdate.com The data
are available and may be downloaded and there are several articles.
If you want to collect data this year, we welcome your help. The process is simple. You should only collect data for cultivars whose identity is known and that are mature plants growing in relatively full sun. Record the calendar date of the first open bloom. Keep a list and send them to me at mjdenny@sympatico.ca
Sunday, August 14, 2005
A Gardener's Obsession
by Blaine Marchand
Taken from The Peony C to C August 2005 Vol 8 Issue 3
My parents didn't garden. My childhood home was filled with shrubs whose blooms were lovely but fleeting. Our side yard was cloistered by long rows of the common lilac that, for a brief period, was a flurry of mauve garlands that weighed down the tips of branches and wove the air with spicy incense. Two side of the front yard billowed in a cloud of soft pink in early June as what my mother called "June roses" came and were spent.
However, each year in May, the Sisters would prepare our class for the annual procession down the hill of Piccadilly Avenue to the small wooded grove beside their neighbouring convent. Nestled there was a grotto fashioned as if it were Lourdes in France. Each morning leading up to the event, time would be devoted to learning the words of the hymns honouring Mary. Every year, the girls whose names invoked the stories of saints - Catherine, Ann and Margaret - were given the privilege of bringing floral tributes to adorn the shrine.
Against their green tunics, the plumes of dark red, of snow white, of flush rose seemed to be exotic birds nestled into their arms. As these girls led the chanting lines of boys and girls, quills of petals tumbled onto the ground over which we walked as we made our way down the gray asphalt and into the depth of wooded shade. Against the dark stones, fashioned to suggest a cave, these peonies were fantastical splashed colour.
It was decades later, when I bought my own home that I first had plants of my own. Within the grass, along the gnarled wire fence were two clumps - Sarah Berhardt and Festiva Maxima, I would later learn. These peonies frustrated me. Having been planted many years before, the large specimens would be top heavy with buds each year. Inevitably just as they were to open, a violent night storm would rattle the windows. In the morning, as I looked out over the yard, the peony blossoms, that last night held such promise, would be strewn across the lawn like shredded tissue paper. Year after year, I cursed these plants until finally, when a friend said how much he loved peonies, I grabbed a shovel and tore them out of the ground.
Little did I suspect that peonies, like all things beautiful, are persistent. They do not give way to the whims and rantings of novice gardeners. They are called perennials for good reason. And so, the next year, rising to the challenge, the peonies threw out shoots and gradually took back their rightful place. Their perseverance won me over. I learned to love their juxtaposition of subtlety and substance.
It was not, however, until my partner and I bought a century-old brick and stone schoolhouse that my obsession with peonies really took hold. The school was built in the high period of Victoria's reign, on the cusp that marked 60 years of her monarchy. As we slowly turned the neglected yards around the building into gardens, we searched through books for names of plants that were of that era. And so, into perennial borders went peonies that evoked that period - Edulis Superba, Monsieur Jules Elie, Albert Crousse and Duchesse de Nemour. Next, the ones we sought out were developed in the early decades of the 1900's. Occasionally, we would buy a peony, regardless of its name or era, simply because we loved its colour or its foliage.
And then we discovered the peonies of Saunders with their spectaclar apricot, amber, buff and yellow. His single peonies, I found exceptionally beautiful. As Saunders was born in Canada and his father was the firs director of the Central Experimental Farm, near the neighbourhood I grew up in Ottawa and a place where I often wandered, they had a special connection for me.
We had begun to collect other plants developed in Canada - roses, apples and daylilies. So, it was not long before Canadian peonies started to take their place in our garden, those of Brethour, Cousins and Lessing. One of our prized peonies is a Menard - the Adrienne Clarkson peony, which we received as a bonus a few years back, before it was named to honour our current Governor General.
A good number of the peonies in our collections came from the annual CPA root sale. And for that I am most thankful. It is a way of obtaining hard to find peonies and to build the finances of the Society at the same time. In the upcoming years, as I start into my retirement, I will be able to return the favour and offer roots fro our holdings. While we now have about 75 different peonies, with three acres of property, there is still plenty of room for growth.
Taken from The Peony C to C August 2005 Vol 8 Issue 3
My parents didn't garden. My childhood home was filled with shrubs whose blooms were lovely but fleeting. Our side yard was cloistered by long rows of the common lilac that, for a brief period, was a flurry of mauve garlands that weighed down the tips of branches and wove the air with spicy incense. Two side of the front yard billowed in a cloud of soft pink in early June as what my mother called "June roses" came and were spent.
However, each year in May, the Sisters would prepare our class for the annual procession down the hill of Piccadilly Avenue to the small wooded grove beside their neighbouring convent. Nestled there was a grotto fashioned as if it were Lourdes in France. Each morning leading up to the event, time would be devoted to learning the words of the hymns honouring Mary. Every year, the girls whose names invoked the stories of saints - Catherine, Ann and Margaret - were given the privilege of bringing floral tributes to adorn the shrine.
Against their green tunics, the plumes of dark red, of snow white, of flush rose seemed to be exotic birds nestled into their arms. As these girls led the chanting lines of boys and girls, quills of petals tumbled onto the ground over which we walked as we made our way down the gray asphalt and into the depth of wooded shade. Against the dark stones, fashioned to suggest a cave, these peonies were fantastical splashed colour.
It was decades later, when I bought my own home that I first had plants of my own. Within the grass, along the gnarled wire fence were two clumps - Sarah Berhardt and Festiva Maxima, I would later learn. These peonies frustrated me. Having been planted many years before, the large specimens would be top heavy with buds each year. Inevitably just as they were to open, a violent night storm would rattle the windows. In the morning, as I looked out over the yard, the peony blossoms, that last night held such promise, would be strewn across the lawn like shredded tissue paper. Year after year, I cursed these plants until finally, when a friend said how much he loved peonies, I grabbed a shovel and tore them out of the ground.
Little did I suspect that peonies, like all things beautiful, are persistent. They do not give way to the whims and rantings of novice gardeners. They are called perennials for good reason. And so, the next year, rising to the challenge, the peonies threw out shoots and gradually took back their rightful place. Their perseverance won me over. I learned to love their juxtaposition of subtlety and substance.
It was not, however, until my partner and I bought a century-old brick and stone schoolhouse that my obsession with peonies really took hold. The school was built in the high period of Victoria's reign, on the cusp that marked 60 years of her monarchy. As we slowly turned the neglected yards around the building into gardens, we searched through books for names of plants that were of that era. And so, into perennial borders went peonies that evoked that period - Edulis Superba, Monsieur Jules Elie, Albert Crousse and Duchesse de Nemour. Next, the ones we sought out were developed in the early decades of the 1900's. Occasionally, we would buy a peony, regardless of its name or era, simply because we loved its colour or its foliage.
And then we discovered the peonies of Saunders with their spectaclar apricot, amber, buff and yellow. His single peonies, I found exceptionally beautiful. As Saunders was born in Canada and his father was the firs director of the Central Experimental Farm, near the neighbourhood I grew up in Ottawa and a place where I often wandered, they had a special connection for me.
We had begun to collect other plants developed in Canada - roses, apples and daylilies. So, it was not long before Canadian peonies started to take their place in our garden, those of Brethour, Cousins and Lessing. One of our prized peonies is a Menard - the Adrienne Clarkson peony, which we received as a bonus a few years back, before it was named to honour our current Governor General.
A good number of the peonies in our collections came from the annual CPA root sale. And for that I am most thankful. It is a way of obtaining hard to find peonies and to build the finances of the Society at the same time. In the upcoming years, as I start into my retirement, I will be able to return the favour and offer roots fro our holdings. While we now have about 75 different peonies, with three acres of property, there is still plenty of room for growth.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Peony 101 -3 Types
By Mary Pratte
Taken from The Peony C to C August 2005 Volume 8 Issue 3
Most peonies in our gardens are of the herbaceous form - the more common lactifloras and hybrids between two or more different species. The former usually produce multiple blooms per stem in various shades of white, pink, and red, while the latter also offer coals, cherries and a few pale yellows, mainly with one bloom per stem. These hybrids also bloom earlier in the season than the lactifloras. All have stems which die back naturally in the fall. Herbaceous peonies have five flower forms - single, Japanese, anemone, semi-double and double. If carefully chosen as to early, mid and late varieties. It is possible to have a succession of bloom over seven weeks.
Tree peonies are shrubs with woody stems upon which the leaf and flower buds sit exposed through the winter. This can make them somewhat tender in colder parts of the country, necessitating protection where there is not reliable snow cover. The buds and huge crepe paper flowers are very elegant, and bloom in a wide variety of colours. The suffruticosa tree peonies include all of the traditional Chinese and Japanese tree peonies as well as 19th century European introductions. They have all of the colours found in herbaceous peonies. Hybrids between the suffruticosa and the yellow-flowered wild Paeonia lutea originally bought yellow into the colour palate, but more modern hybrids, mainly bred in North America, offer an even wider range, including dark reds, pinks and exquisite blends.
Crosses between herbaceous and tree peonies - Itohs or Intersectional hybrids - are still quite rare, and this is reflected in the cost of their roots. With time, prices will decrease, and their wonderful habits will be much appreciated in Canada. While firs hybridized by Mr Itoh in Japan, one might think that they were especially developed for our northern climate! They have herbaceous stems which should be cut back in the fall, but leaves and flowers similar to those of tree peonies. Because the buds are buried underground in the winter, the are much hardier than tree peonies.
Taken from The Peony C to C August 2005 Volume 8 Issue 3
Most peonies in our gardens are of the herbaceous form - the more common lactifloras and hybrids between two or more different species. The former usually produce multiple blooms per stem in various shades of white, pink, and red, while the latter also offer coals, cherries and a few pale yellows, mainly with one bloom per stem. These hybrids also bloom earlier in the season than the lactifloras. All have stems which die back naturally in the fall. Herbaceous peonies have five flower forms - single, Japanese, anemone, semi-double and double. If carefully chosen as to early, mid and late varieties. It is possible to have a succession of bloom over seven weeks.
Tree peonies are shrubs with woody stems upon which the leaf and flower buds sit exposed through the winter. This can make them somewhat tender in colder parts of the country, necessitating protection where there is not reliable snow cover. The buds and huge crepe paper flowers are very elegant, and bloom in a wide variety of colours. The suffruticosa tree peonies include all of the traditional Chinese and Japanese tree peonies as well as 19th century European introductions. They have all of the colours found in herbaceous peonies. Hybrids between the suffruticosa and the yellow-flowered wild Paeonia lutea originally bought yellow into the colour palate, but more modern hybrids, mainly bred in North America, offer an even wider range, including dark reds, pinks and exquisite blends.
Crosses between herbaceous and tree peonies - Itohs or Intersectional hybrids - are still quite rare, and this is reflected in the cost of their roots. With time, prices will decrease, and their wonderful habits will be much appreciated in Canada. While firs hybridized by Mr Itoh in Japan, one might think that they were especially developed for our northern climate! They have herbaceous stems which should be cut back in the fall, but leaves and flowers similar to those of tree peonies. Because the buds are buried underground in the winter, the are much hardier than tree peonies.
Saturday, July 2, 2005
les Jardins de Métis, QC
July 2-3, 2005
2005 Events of the Society
Peony Display at les Jardins de Métis, QC
Flowers dried in silica gel on display with some of Mrs Reford’s garden journals, circa 1936.
Interesting peonies in bloom in the gardens in early July, some identified, others not yet…
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| Peonies welcomed visitors to the Villa Estevan |
Peony Display at les Jardins de Métis, QC
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| Patricia Gallant, head gardener at the Reford Gardens, joins Mme Lapointe after her interesting talk. Mme Lapointe holds one of her earliest peonies – ‘Le Printemps’ – on July 3rd! |
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| Christine works her magic to make each bloom look beautiful! |
+helps+with+the+set-up.JPG) |
| Freda Godby (Ottawa, ON) helps with the set-up |
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| Director of the Reford Gardens, Alexander Reford, and Mary Pratte, CPS President with ‘Festiva Maxima’ from his private garden. |
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| Yvan Maltais holding a painting he donated as a door prize, along with the happy winner! |
The tables were filled with flowers, and set off by the stunning photographs of Louise Tanguay on exhibit in the exhibition hall
Peonies grace both the inside and the outside of the Villa Estevan. On
the porch, attached to curtains, and even on the brunch table.
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| One woman was inspired to draw what she saw… |
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| The unusual flowers of ‘Green Lotus’ (herbaceous) |
Flowers dried in silica gel on display with some of Mrs Reford’s garden journals, circa 1936.
Interesting peonies in bloom in the gardens in early July, some identified, others not yet…
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