A huge trend in gardening over the last decade or so has been cultivating your very own homegrown fruit. The pandemic intensified this practice, and it seemingly continues to become more and more popular for our patrons at Sunnyside, season after season. While most all endeavors in the garden are gratifying to me, there is something extra special about growing your own edibles, including fruit. Whether you are adding to an existing garden or starting anew, some planning and a few points to ponder will help you to grow fruit successfully…
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.