August can either be a month where the fruits of our labors and expressions of love come together into a glorious crescendo of all the wonderful colors of the rainbow, or it can be a time when we head out for vacations and ball games, and our yards become neglected barren patches of dried out dirt…
During the months of May and June one of the all-time favorite plants of local gardeners, the peony, is bursting into bloom. There are many excellent peonies available to utilize in our landscapes; including herbaceous cottage types in all sorts of colors (and varying fragrances) and larger growing tree peonies too. I would never scold anyone for growing either of these types (since I do as well), but I want to bring attention to another fabulous peony option… what is known as the intersectional or Itoh Peony.