Peonies, Tomatoes, and the Chelsea Chop

How is it that Dee and Carol can go from peonies to Wallis Simpson to tomatoes and then the Chelsea chop in one episode? Well, just listen and you'll find out!

Flower: Peony, a wonderful long-lived perennial flower that both Dee and Carol and millions of other gardeners grow. Peony’s Envy is one site that will give you a good overview of peonies. Another source is Song Sparrow Nursery.  And peonies are edible! At least the flower petals are. The petals taste lovely fresh in salads, or lightly cooked and sweetened. Carol learned this when she read Flower Chronicles by Buckner Hollingsworth, published in 1958.  Shout out to our friend, Ellen Zachos, the Backyard Forager.

Vegetable: Tomato  - The Queens of the Garden.  There are whole books written on tomatoes, like Epic Tomatoes by Craig Lehoullier, that will blow your mind with all the varieties. A Proven Winners variety Dee and Carol are both trialing this year is Tempting Tomatoes™ Goodhearted™. Dee wrote in her book,  The 20-30 Something Garden Guide, about how to cage tomatoes and how to grow them. Carol wrote a chapter in her book, Homegrown and Handpicked, about tomato lessons from her dad. For more information on the tomatoes Dee is growing this year, check out her latest blog post, "Tomatoes I'm growing this summer"

Dirt:  The Chelsea Chop. This is the time of year to cut back late blooming perennials like asters, mums, and goldenrod to encourage more blooms and keep the plants somewhat in check. “Chelsea” refers to the big Chelsea Flower Show in London which takes place in late May. Carol calls this cutting back the Indy 500 Chop because it takes place in late May too. This year at the Chelsea Flower Show, they named  Sedum takesimense ‘Atlantis’, the 2019 plant of the year.  

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