In A Vase On Monday – Fragrant Pair
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share an arrangement using materials collected from our gardens.
Recently I identified a peony that has been perplexing me. When it bloomed for the first time several years ago I expected to see the dark red flower of Paeonia lactiflora ‘Black Beauty’ (Nightlife Peony). A rich pink double bloom, lovely in its own right, greeted me instead.
The plant, I believe, turned out to be Paeonia ‘Madame Emile Debatene,’ hybridized by Dessert-Doriat in 1927. I cut this and several other peonies in bud and have been storing them in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Today this one appeared eager to make its way out of cold storage and into the world.
Paeonia ‘Madame Emile Debatene’
The peony is paired with a branch of gardenia, laden with promising buds.
In A Vase On Monday – Fragrant Pair
Materials
Paeonia x ‘Madame Emile Debatene’
Gardenia jasminoides
Vase
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Rectangle Blue Zen (6.75L x 3.75W x 2H inches)
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us a chance to express our flower arranging passion. Visit her to discover what she and others found this week in their gardens to place In A Vase On Monday.
pbmGarden 
Beautiful, and one of my favorite spring flowers. 🙂
Thanks Judy!
Lovely! And your Gardenia looks so healthy!
The gardenia is full of buds. Can’t wait for them to burst open.
Beautiful peony! I am so envious. I will have to try putting some off my peonies in the fridge next year. My were here and gone so fast because of the high temps we had at the beginning of May.
Thanks. This technique works pretty well. We’ve had high temps too. Just as the peonies were about to open our weather turned severe–cold and rainy. So this way at least a few were protected.
Simple and elegant, Susie, as befits the beauty and dignity of both plants. Peonies remain my own garden’s holy grail.
Thanks Kris, hope you find a way to fulfill the peony quest. (By the way your comments recently were going into spam folder. Sorry it took so long of me to realize.)
It’s a stunning flower and wonderful with the glossy leaves. Ours have lasted quite well this year but that’s a clever tip.
Thanks Alison. The refrigerator trick worked great for extending the peony season.
Very pretty! I didn’t know you could keep them that long in the refrigerator! It looks so fresh! How long do the buds take to open once brought out of the cold?
Cathy, one of my peonies opened within minutes of bringing to room temperature. The other opened more gradually to fully open with 6-8 hours. Quite a variation.
I will have to try this! 🙂
I love the simplicity of this, Susie, and what a glorious pink the peony is. Do tell us more about storing them in the fridge – and whether you can do this with other blooms too
Cathy, I haven’t tried the cold storage for other flowers than peonies. Really worked well for them. Pick at “marshmallow” stage, place in water, cover loosely with plastic wrap. Bring out when you’re ready. This one was beginning to open some in the fridge and it popped open quickly after being brought to room temperature. Another one took 6-8 hours to fully open.
Such a perfect bloom! Nifty vase, too.
Thanks Eliza. The vase is so versatile, I reach for it often.
Beautiful peony.
I like the form of this peony.
Proof positive that “less is more”.
Thanks Ricki.