Our beautiful white peonies with flecks of magenta − “festiva maxima” − grew quickly this year.

They were nearly as tall as I am, but before we could get a picture to compare, we’ve had storm after storm for days. Lots of rain, rain, and more rain − but the wind really took its toll.

This was the first year we had planned ahead and set up a support cage, which worked well until the weekend. Now, all of the stems except one are bent at the top of the cage. Next year, we’ll need to find a taller one.

Plant source: They came with the house