My Itoh peony (Paeonia x ‘Bartzella’) produced two buds this year (doubled from one its first year), so I brought one inside to enjoy. Our warm temps are pushing all blooms toward fruition a bit too quickly for my liking. A bit like speed-dating!



In the vase: white foxglove (Digitalis purpurea ‘Alba’), creamy yellow foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora), white mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’, catmint (Nepeta racemosa), white yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare).
Again because of the heat, I picked another vase of peonies (P. lactiflora) to enjoy inside. Foliage is bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare).
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts the weekly garden meme In A Vase On Monday, featuring flowers from our gardens. Click the link to join the fun or see what others are sharing this week.










Goodness, so many excellent choices. The peony is exquisite. The mountain laurel is classy. The foxglove is stylish.
🙂 Thanks, Tony.
😍💕
Thanks, Rupali!
Very beautiful Eliza, they stand out very well 🤗❤️🙏
Thanks, Mark
A real beauty Eliza 💐
Thank you, Val!
So lovely to see 🙂
Thank you, Anne!
what a beauty
Thank you, Catherine!
A nice variety of blooms. I’m dreaming of having peonies.
Thank you, they will reward you for years to come. 🙂
I can’t wait, but first I need some beds…next year.
Fall is their planting time… with lots of compost and lime. 🙂
Thanks.
Hi Eliza. Your vases are the high spot of my day! Absolutely beautiful. I can sympathise with the heat getting to them. We’re stuck in a marina with no shade and 35 Deg. I too am wilting, going past my best!!! But there are some lovely lavender flowers planted all around port, loads of them,and I feel the need to pick a few stems for my own rather more modest vase. Stealth flowers! MJ
Thank you, MJ. Glad you liked the flowers. Hope the heat abates at least 10 deg. Enjoy your stealth vase. 🙂
The yellow Peony is gorgeous! All white Foxgloves look so different than my pinky and lilacy speckled ones. I just learned a few days ago that Foxglove plants die, after they flower.
Thanks, Alice. Technically, foxgloves are biennials, dying after blooming. But I always deadhead them after blooming, and I’ve had some return to bloom again. But its always good to have seedlings to ensure continuous bloom every year.
So gorgeous! A walk through your garden must be a beautiful way to start the day. 😊
Thanks, Pepper. The walk through tends to happen late in the day. Morning is for chores! 😉
Love the peonies and the arrangements. The wispy green of the fennel foliage is a pretty contrast.
Thank you, Tom. Fennel makes a great filler. I really adore peonies, but they always seem to go over too quickly!
Dear Eliza
Beautiful bunches of flowers. So summery.
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you!
Gorgeous peony and your arrangements are always masterful, Eliza! The heat has hit SoCal, too.
Thank you, Jane. I wait all year for peonies to bloom and the time always flies by!
All the flowers are gorgeous, Eliza. That Itoh peony is a treasure.
Thank you, Susie. I took a chance with that Itoh, sited it carefully, and it has rewarded me. 🙂
That is a special yellow peony taking center stage in your beautiful vase.
Thank you, Donna. It has been sweet watching it unfold, an amazing flower.
That yellow/cream colored peony is a beauty. While I don’t think our weather has been as hot as yours, it has been much warmer and more humid than is normal for June in Maine. Back in the day, June was cool and rainy. Didn’t get 80-degree weather until the end of July., and then only for a short time.
Thank you, Laurie. I’m afraid those cool days are gone. We’ve already had to run the AC, something we never even had back in the day!
Alas. Because we are farther north than you are, the temps are quite as hot, but it is far warmer than it used to be. I remember bundling up in June and at times even turning on the heat. Those days are gone, as you noted.
Gorgeous
Merci!
Wow, such beauties, I really think the yellow peony is superb! You have also made such a delightful arrangement with the foxgloves and other supporting blooms. The other peonies are gorgeous too.
Many thanks, Noelle!
💛😌💛😌💛😌 My new fave colour— lemon yellow! I have a large basket of lemony petunias with white verbena
Sounds pretty!
Your peonies are beautiful, Eliza, I especially like the dark one in the second vase, but like the first arrangement for its airiness, with the well-chosen accompaniments. My Clematis recta is currently flowering for the first time, which I am very happy about, although it is very floppy
Thank you, Cathy, I was really pleased to see the yellow Itoh in bloom.
Your peonies are gorgeous!
Thank you, Sandy. One of my faves for sure. 🙂
What a display! Chelsea Flow Show’s got nothing on you, Eliza.
Aw, shucks… thanks, Julie!
If only one of my peonies would bloom once! Actually, I think both plants may have bit the dust at last during the severe February heatwave we had this year when I was unavailable to care for my garden 😦 We shall see if either is resurrected next year.
They do prefer cooler temps. The hot temps this past week pushed them hard. If only this week’s cooler weather could have flip-flopped with last week’s.
Lovely arrangements, Eliza–those peonies are stunning! They’re not something I could grow, so I’m always happy to see them in other places.
Thank you, Tina. Peonies definitely are not fond of hot weather!
I particularly love the first vase! Beautiful.
No problems with ants coming along for the ride?
Thank you, Dale! I always shake the peonies upside down before bringing inside, no ants allowed. 😉
I bet you do! Ant do love these blooms 🙂
So beautiful! Enjoy the ‘Queen’ of the garden even it it’s short-lived in the heat.
Thank you, Monika. Fleeting, they are, but a joy to behold.
Beautiful. It is a great time in the garden…(Suzanne)
Merci, Suzanne. June is my favorite month in the garden. 🙂
Good analogy 😊. Lovely photos of these beauties!
Thank you, Belinda!
Ohhh (garden squealing) I love Peonies! Gorgeous and all the creamy whites display them so well. Do they shatter in the heat?
Thanks, Amy. The hotter it is, the faster they go over and drop their petals. The heat we had last week made things go too fast!
A really good reason to make vases!!
Your Peonies are gorgeous, Eliza! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank you, Beth!
Beautiful! ❣️I love the colours and airiness of the first vase especially… the Clematis is a lovely addition, as is the catmint.
Thank you, Cathy! June is such a grand month!
Beautiful vases Eliza – happy to see more peonies! We’re at about the same stage, although our temperatures seem cooler, barely breaching 70 degrees yesterday. I started foxglove this past winter but they didn’t do well at all, so I bought a few plants and even they don’t seem inclined to send up any flower spikes. Hoping for next year. The sprays of small white cascading flowers are the Clematis? How unusual and perfect for your vase!
Thank you, Chris… yes, that is one of the few non-climbing clematis, but the do tend to sprawl without support.
My peonies are basically spent at this point, but oh how I do love them for that short period when they outshine everything in the garden. Beautiful to look at and the fragrance is amazing. Beautiful arrangement.
Thank you, Judy!
Beautiful flowers and arrangements!
Many thanks, Denise!
Last year was the first time I ever saw a yellow peony. Now I want one!
They are truly a lovely flower. Go for it! 👍🏼
Beautiful combinations! 💗
Thank you, Bela!
So very beautiful!
Thank you, Flavia!
Such a beautiful celebration of the garden’s fleeting season. Even in the rush of warm days, each bloom feels like a quiet gift simple, delicate, and deeply joyful.
Exactly so, appreciation and joy in the moment.
You certainly haven’t lost your arrangement chops in my absence. Beautiful art, Eliza. I purchased a yellow Peony…a new fangled Intersectional… but it has been slow to develop. Probably will do better next year. You have some nice ones…no surprise that. 😉
Thank you very much, Steve. Thanks for stopping by!
Peonies are one of my favorites! So pretty and fragrant. I love how you featured that beauty right in the center set off by the pretty “back up” flowers.
Thanks, she definitely was the star of the show. 🙂
Peonies are so beautiful!
Agreed, two weeks of glory, far too fleeting. 🙂
I love the apparently lush extravagance of those peonies. It sounds like the heat is pushing the summer garden along at an accelerated pace. Hopefully most plants will last the distance.
Thank you, Carol. ‘Lush extravagance’ describes them well. So far the heat hasn’t been too damaging, so long as it rains here and there, which thankfully it has, we’re good!