4-28-22 VERMONT: Just before coming up this trip, we bought four Itoh peonies from the Farm in NJ. They are two feet tall with leaves and flower buds and look beautiful. I want to plant them on the pond bank, but I’m very worried about frost damage. The one I planted last year is only showing red buds. They are hardy to Zone 3, we are Zone 4 here, but that applies to plants surviving the winter, not plants already at the level where local plants would be in June.
Yesterday was cold, rainy and windy and in the forties. This morning it was 30°, windy with a few snow flakes dancing in the air. Yesterday the peonies sat out in the driveway, one blew over, but I put them in the garage last night, clustered around a bucket of pond water to keep them slightly warmer and out of the wind.
The ten-day forecast, for what it’s worth, shows over-night lows in the forties after this weekend. What to do? BTW, Itoh peonies are hybrids of regular peonies and tree peonies and have magnificat flowers. They are very expensive. Itoh is the name of the man who bred the plants.
Otherwise, I’d like to do some outside chores, but it’s too cold and nasty. There’s a washout next to the spillway of the new pond that will need some prompt attention. Part of the split rail fence needs some new posts and rails. A small section of the terrace wall has collapsed. Same Sun solar company was here yesterday to evaluate the feasibility of roof-top solar panels on the house and/or barn. The neighbors have lots of lambs. There are large broken branches to be composted. And the list goes on.
New blooms: daffodil, forsythia, hellebore, hepatica, primrose.
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