Cutting Peonies with Lucy

Recently, we moved my tree peony and I am not sure it liked it. Peonies do not like to be moved so I do not think mine will be blooming at all this year like it did last year.

A few years ago we planted a few various types of peonies and this year they bloomed beautifully. I took Lucy outside with me to cut a bouquet, have a look.

Lucy was curious about the peonies, but I had to tell her back up since peonies are poisonous to dogs if ingested.


Maybe she loved the sweet smell of the blooms.



It is an old wives' tale that peonies need ants to bloom, it is not true. In fact ants are attracted to the sweet nectar produced by the peony buds. There is a simple solution to rid your freshly cut flowers of ants.

I filled the sink with cold water and gently place the peonies in the water.


I love the beautiful pink hues on the flowers.


I only filled the sink with enough water to submerge the flowers beneath about an inch of water. This can also be done in a bucket.



You will see the ants begin to jump ship...


The peonies wanted to float so I gently placed a plate on the stems.


After the flowers were ant free I drained them and placed them in a vase full of cold water. Here is Lucy posing with our bouquet of beautiful peonies.