garden | peony

excuse me sir, but there is an ant on my peony... I remember reading once that you could snip off the unbloomed buds of your peony and store them in your refrigerator for a few weeks and then set them in water to bloom. So, many years ago, I cut several stalks, brought them inside and placed them momentarily on my kitchen counter. Within seconds my counter was swarming with ants. That's when I learned of the eons long relationship of the ant and the peony. Do peony buds need ants in order to bloom? No. The ants flock to the bud in search of tiny droplets of nectar that often lie in the folds of the soon-to-be blossom. The good news is that if you wait to cut until the flower is in full bloom, chances are that the ants will be long gone. If not, snip some stalks, place in some water and keep outside for a few hours prior to bringing inside to allow the ants a chance to depart.