Are you "Quietness?", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

I hope so! The flower shape and habit looks right, but this first time bloom is purple, not pink! It could be the weather...

It's rather pretty just the same. But damn, I was really looking forward to a sugary pink rose...

Griffith Buck Rose "Prairie Star.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

"Prairie Star" and "Quietness" both bloomed today. I'm a little confused by "Quietness," because even though the flower shape seems right the flower is really purple! I'm hoping it'll be more pink with the next flush...otherwise I might start worrying that I was given the wrong plant!

Anyway, isn't "Prairie Star" beautiful? It's listed as a yellow blend, but it's really peachy-pink in the center fading to white. It doesn't smell like much, but the flower shape and color is absolutely exquisite. I heard from a few sources that it has some problems with foliar diseases, but when it comes down to it, doesn't everything?

I'm including this with "Folk Singer" and "Prairie Harvest" as one of my favorite Buck roses. I could love "Quietness" too, as long as I can be sure that it is "Quietness." That flower form really is something...

"Coral Sunset" in its faded glory., a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

I know that Kristen posted this one in her blog, but I admire this peony so much I wanted to post it too! This is probably my favorite of the new peonies. At first I thought it looked too much like "Coral Supreme" but after this flower opened up all the way I realized how much more beautiful it is. That deep orangey-pink color! Those heart-shaped petals! And over the course of a few days it fades so beautifully, changing from dark coral to peach to, finally, lemon yellow looking to the world like it hasn't aged, but transformed.

Not much of a fragrance, though.

Did I post this flower already? If I did, well, you get to see it again!

Twin Moons., a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

Our peony "Moonstone" has been blooming for the past few days. It's really one of my favorite peonies, even though this is only its second year in the ground. It has strong stems and flowers so huge you have hold them with both hands. It also has the loveliest fragrance, like honey and melon, unlike most of the fragrant peonies that smell like cinnamon chewing gum. Our Chinese tree peony "Blue Butterfly" smelled the same except not as strongly.

Unfortunately, our lawn doesn't look so hot in the background.

Of our many peonies, I consider "Moonstone", "Paula Fay", "Coral Sunset" and "Cheddar Charm" to be my favorites. If I were to recommend anyone a peony to add to their garden, however, I would suggest "Moonstone" over the others. It really is perfect in every way!

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!

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.

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!

I'm still in love with "Marianne.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

I wish I didn't have to keep showing my stupid hand in the photos, but people have to do it with the nodding Austin roses all the time!

Unless something knocks me off my feet later in the season, I'm dubbing "Marianne" my favorite rose in the garden. This looks like a confectionary flower. I keep running outside to gawk at the little shrub even after the sun has started to set. A mosquito bit me hard in the elbow.

Bad news bunny., a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

And I found two of them. They hadn't munched the roses yet, but they certainly didn't seem in a hurry to leave. One of them even started hopping toward me at some point. What is the world coming to?

It's not as bad as finding RRD or a dead body in your garden, but rabbits are among gardeners' biggest enemies. Boo...time to buy more Liquid Fence...too bad that stuff is very expensive and smells awful.