I couldn’t help but notice the other day while driving around town, that lavender was coming into bloom. That of course got me thinking about growing lavender, choosing varieties, and how to actually use the plant other than just to look at it. It turns out lavender has been in production for over 2500 years and there is quite a bit of info out there to share…
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.