"Cheddar Charm"'s first bloom.

Herbaceous Peony "Cheddar Charm.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

I hadn't realized that the petals start off light pink. When I first saw it starting to open up, I freaked out and thought it was the wrong plant!

We actually planted "Cheddar Charm" two years ago. Last year the only bud got bud blast. This year it's doing much better!

"First Arrival" has arrived!

Intersectional Peony "First Arrival.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

That's a funny name for a late blooming peony! But this is not an ordinary peony: it's an intersectional peony, a mutant cross between an herbaceous and tree peony. Quite a few of them are yellow, which is a very rare color for an herbaceous peony. "First Arrival" is not yellow...at least, it isn't supposed to be. Maybe it has cream centers because it's an immature plant?

It has a cute mounded habit and big, lovely flowers that unfortunately don't smell that good.

Another Bloomer.

Griffith Buck Rose "Winter Sunset.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

We have a lot of new flowers blooming today. I love the color of "Winter Sunset", but it's too bad that the flowers open up so quickly! I haven't tried smelling it yet, because it's a bit too close to the ground. XD

I ended up cutting flowers off "Prairie Star" and "Folksinger" and putting them in a cordial glass. The flowering canes were half-broken, and the flowers were starting to get beat up. Thankfully both roses have another bud on an undamaged cane set to bloom in a few days. "Folksinger" is an especially beautiful rose.

No sign of thrips on "Prairie Star." I always worry about the white roses. It's good to know that thrips aren't endemic in my yard!

I counted seven flowerbuds on "Julia Child." It's not called a floribunda for nothing!