The peonies are doing well this year and all but one plant has a profusion of buds. One of the bushes (second left) seems to have decided to take a year off blooming. I started with three bushes and two seem to have cross bred to create the bush that now grows on the left most side. It seems to be a cross between the one on the second left and the first one on the right.
The leaves when fully grown more closely resemble the bush closest to it on the left while the flower definitely has more characteristics of the one on the far right. When they are in bloom I will post more pictures. The third plant second from the right is always slower to get growing in the spring but attains a good size and lots of blooms.
This little fellow only just came up this year and it will be interesting to see its parentage as it gets bigger. It takes a few years before the plant is large enough to make any assessments. It will be moved when it is big enough and strong enough to handle it as it is growing next to my star gazer lily of which there is only the one. Everything has had a feed this spring and next will be weeding and adding new top soil.
At the base of the black lamp pole is a clump of dragon's blood the remnant of a much larger clump of ground cover. Given time it will spread throughout the garden.
