Say Hello

I bought an Itoh hybrid peony last spring, waited until the foliage declined in fall to plant it out in the middle of the lawn, put some leftover flooring bricks around it and called it a formal design element in my garden.

It's still small, and there are only two blooms on it so far this spring, but say hello to 'Bartzella'.

Hello, Bartzella!

It will get much larger and will eventually be covered in dozens of big fat yellow flowers in future years, but right now I am so pleased with how well 'Bartzella' has settled in and how good it looks in its first year here.

There's a bit of flame red at the base of the flower to give the clear sulphur yellow some complexity.  It's a big peony, but sturdy and not prone to flopping. Itoh peonies are a cross between herbaceous and tree peonies, which seems like kind of a miracle.

Hi there!

The bright yellow flowers are easily seen as you come up the driveway, even though there are only two of them and the plant is still small. What a welcome this peony offers.

I'm used to planting small trees, waiting ten years, and then posting about how nice they've finally become. This peony is such immediate gratification -- so big and full and beautiful in one year, with a promise of even better things in future years.  Say hey to a really rewarding plant.