Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Peas & Peonies


We had a couple of beautiful warm days and now today I think I'm living outside of London.  It's 60 degrees and a true mist is coming down.  This cool start to summer has been heaven for our peas.  The Blue Podded Shelling peas are getting huge.  They're reaching to almost 6 feet tall and just began to bloom!  Beautiful, I can't wait to see the purple pods that they produce.  

It's amazing that here in the "great white north" my tulips have just begun to die back and all of the late spring and early summer flowers have all begun to bloom at once!  

Mild, cool growing followed by the warmth allowed some of our Peonies to burst out of their huge buds.  My first year with these flowers was last year and I'm hard pressed to find many that are as beautiful as these are.  We have burgundy and white ones and the white have a wonderful fragrance.  It's only fitting that they first bloomed on Sunday afternoon.  I took this cutting and the picture not long before Charlie fell.  I did a little research and they are named after Paeon, who studied under Aesculapius, the Greek God of medicine, who was known for healing.  I think I'll surround my little boy with these blooms while they last. 

I'm trying to think of things that Charlie will be able to participate in this summer while he's recuperating.  The 4th and fireflies seem to be synonymous words.  It seems that we always have our first fireflies the week preceding the 4th.  I hope that this year's coolness doesn't delay them.  Catching fireflies is a favorite summer activity and one that he should be able to enjoy.  What suggestions do you have to keep an active 6 year old boy with a broken arm busy?  (keeping in mind that we're indoors most of the 5 months of winter and really need our vitamin D :)

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