presiDent’s colUmnWinter – Under a blanket of ‘down’ we keep warm; under a

blanket of snow, peonies and perennials escape the bitter

cold. Our comfort also comes from loved ones and friends

during this winter season and Christmas season. How

blessed we are to be comforted!

To take the chill off an early morning, hot cereal, be it

oatmeal porridge or ‘Sunny Boy’ cereal , warms some of us

and nourishes us for the morning. The previous packaging

of Sunny Boy cereal portrayed a ‘Sonny’ with a pleasant and

warm smile, but the current packaging has only the warmth

of an ochre background.

‘Sonny’ was a name a few mothers called their sons which

could include the sunshine that was brought into their

mother’s life. Sunshine that streams in the southward facing

window in winter is very comforting, and the warmth is

cause for a nap after lunch. Then the T & T Seeds

Catalogue which arrived in late November, is picked up

again to continue the search for new offerings including a

couple of Itoh peonies, ‘Julia’s Rose’ and a ‘Double Red’ as

well as a couple of lactiflora peonies, ‘Top Brass’ and the

cherry rose blooms of ‘Bunker Hill’.

Featured on the display shelves of Adelman Peony Gardens

in 2011 were two ‘Sunny’ Peonies – ‘Sunny Girl’ and ‘Sunny

P R A I R I E P E O N Y S O C I E T Y

next newsletter:

march 2013, VolUme 14 • nUmber 1

newsletter article DeaDlines

march newsletter - March 1, 2013

please send any information to:

Brian Porter - 7119 Steer Avenue, Regina SK • S4X 2W2

bjporter@accesscomm.ca

President: Doug Bradford (306) 543-8189

Vice President: Jim Doolittle

Treasurer: Brian Porter (306) 543-8259

Secretary: Susan McKay (306) 586-4222

Director: Julio Salazar & Brian Porter

Social Convenor: Rose Miller (306) 586-2265

Upcoming programs

Continued on page 2

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February 14 Potluck Supper & Program 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Wildflowers of Romania – Brian Porter

Regina Floral Conservatory

1450B 4th A venue

aPril 11 annual General Meeting 7:30 – 9:30 pm

Program – Contest: Identifying Peonies

Regina Floral Conservatory

1450B 4th A venue

May 9 Meeting 7:30 – 9:30 pm

Cherry Lane Garden Centre

Grand Coulee

June 13 Government House Tour 6:30 – 9:00 pm

Meal and Tour of Gardens

Government House Historic Property.

June 21-22 annual Peony Show

Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre

Boy’. Both are hybrids with ‘Sunny Girl’ being offered for

sale in Adelman’s 2012 Catalogue. ‘Sunny Girl’ has large

butter-yellow, full double flowers so large that the stems

need support.

My Christmas wish is that ‘Sunny Boy’ will be offered for

sale in 2013. ‘Sunny Boy’ is an early midseason herbaceous

hybrid, full double of a medium yellow color with red flares

at the petal base.

May the Warmth and Peace of Christmas be with all of you.

Doug

peonies at honeywooD By Judy Harley, Manager,

Honeywood (Dr. A. J. Porter) Heritage Nursery Inc.

Honeywood Lilies and Nursery was always best known for

its lilies. However, visitors to the nursery in the 70’s, 80’s

and to the end of the 90’s were often awed by the sight of

the peony fields in bloom. Bert Porter and Allan Daku had a

collection of approximately 150 named varieties of peonies

growing throughout the nursery grounds. Some were

planted neatly in rows and some were scattered making a

walk through the nursery then and now, very interesting

indeed.

Looking at planting records Allan kept from the 80’s,

peonies were planted in fields given names to identify their

location. In 1985 they planted a ‘Peony Row in the N.W, Blk’

actually made up with Rows 1a, 1b, 1 and 2 with 58 named

varieties such as; ‘Primevere’, ‘Schwindt’, ‘Krinkled White’,

‘Tourangelle’ and my favourite name….’Kickapoo’. One of the

old peony fields was planted in the N. Blk sometime in the

early 80’s with 20 rows containing many of the old named

varieties such as ‘Mons Jules Elie’, ‘Marie Lemoine’, ‘Kansas’,’ La

Lorraine’ and ‘Myrtle Gentry’. The most modern fields were

planted on the South side of the nursery….. one being the

‘Telephone Block’ containing lilies, peonies, daylilies and

asparagus; another one, the ‘South Willow Block’ was made up

of lilies, peonies and raspberries (black, yellow and red).

When we started the restoration process in 2001, the peonies

were still growing in a number of the old fields, through the

grass and deadfall. The grass in the N. Blk was thick and tall

with the peony blooms putting on their display above it. We

were not too sure what to do with this field in particular. I

thought we could simply move the peonies out of the grass

and into a cultivated field… after 3 hours spent digging and

then cleaning one root that proceeded to fall apart in my

hands… that idea was shelved.

All of the peonies were labeled, so as not to lose the names, I

simply pushed the labels into the ground (where they still

remain) and we mowed the entire field. The peonies are still

growing and blooming in this field we simply mow around

them during the summer and mow the entire field before

winter.

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Sunny G ir lSunny Boy

The ‘Telephone Block’ showed the most potential as a site

to relocate the peonies needing a new home. In the fall of

2001, the lilies from this field were all dug and moved to

new ground. Over a number of years peonies have been

moved from various sites around the nursery to join the

original plantings. Sometimes there were labels to move with

the roots, but most times the labels were lost.

Over a number of visits to Honeywood, Brian Porter has

helped to put names to a number of the ‘Unknowns’. So

now we know that the beautiful single pink is ‘Seashell’, that

great very soft pink double is ‘Jeannot’, the hot pink semi-

double is ‘Madame Butterfly’ and my favourite, the Japanese

peony…is ‘Sword Dance’. Peonies such as ‘Felix Crousse’,

‘Sarah Bernhardt’ and ‘Festiva Maxima’ planted en mass

make this field a sight to behold when everything is in

bloom. There are still a number of beautiful varieties looking

for a name such as the big ragged double pink, the huge

creamy white that looks like a big rose and the one with

soft pink guards and creamy yellow center.

Due to the past few years of wet weather, even the dry

sandy soil at Honeywood is water logged. In the spring we

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Growing Field

Sword DanceMadame Butterfly

will have to move the remaining peonies from the ‘South

Willow Block’ because they are sitting in water and fighting

with cattails for a spot in the sun.

We all know that Peonies are extremely hardy; over my

years at Honeywood seeing where some of the Honeywood

peonies are growing after all these years, I am now totally

convinced of that fact. In spite of grass, moles, too much

water or no water the beauty of the peonies in bloom

continues to awe visitors to Honeywood.

Contact info:

Honeywood Heritage Nursery Inc

Box 48

Parkside, SK, S0J 2A0

Ph: 306-747-3301

www.honeywood-lilies.ca

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Pink GuardsC reamy Rose

Flooded Field