Not gonna lie, I was transplanting the berry hedge all day and completely forgot it was Monday until about 9PM. However, this being Finland at the height of summer, we do not know the meaning of night, let alone darkness. So I zipped back out and cut a vase full of peonies and photographed them outside real quick.

Just in time, too, because I heard the rumble of thunder in the distance just as I stepped out the door. For some reason, the first thunderstorm of the year always comes within the first week of my peonies blooming, like they just can’t wait to soak and shatter my flowers after all the time I spent waiting for them. So rude.

They didn’t succeed, however, and here is my lovely peony assortment for this week’s vase! SoSers will notice most were mentioned in my post there, but there’s a newcomer in the mix as well.

1. ITOH Hybrid ‘Lollipop’ — the cream ones with the magenta stripes
2. Paeonia lactiflora ‘Bowl of Beauty’ — the one with the dark pink outer petals and the floofy white inner ones. It also smells lovely.
3. Herbaceous Hybrid ‘Lemon Chiffon’ — the creamy yellow double
4. ITOH Hybrid ‘Love Affair’ — an all-white double with amazing fragrance
5. Paeonia lactiflora ‘Garden Lace’ — the one with light pink outer petals and a fluffy yellow center

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Find more Monday vases over at Cathy’s Rambling in the Garden.