Yes, I Talk to Plants: May 2012

Monday, May 28, 2012

The Peonies of Eugene Lins - Part 1

Not much happens in Cologne, Minnesota. It isn't known for producing many famous people, either. But last year I discovered that one of the peony hybridizing pioneers of this century lived right here. And you may have one of his peonies.

Last fall my husband and I got into geocaching. We were trying to track down a mystery cache and ended up in Cologne Lions Park. We paused in the pavilion and my attention was drawn to a framed collage of peonies. Next to this were several information plaques and I learned, to my astonishment, that nearly 40 varieties of peonies - my favorite plant and so full of nostalgia - were created by a native of Cologne.

His name was Eugene Lins. He started growing peonies on his farm at the edge of town in the 1920s as a hobby. This hobby took off and soon Mr. Lins began hybridizing and propagating those peonies. He named several of them after his wife and daughters: Mary, Mandeleen, Marcella, Ramona, Rosemarie, and Dolores. By the 1960s he created 39 varieties, many of which won state and national awards, and shipped them all over the world. Mr. Lins gained international fame for his world-class peonies. In fact, Lins Peonies can still be found in Europe, Australia, and other countries. They are also displayed at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. And, of course, Lins Peonies can be found all across the little unassuming town of Cologne, Minnesota where they all started. (I'm pretty sure my neighbors have a whole row of them!)

When Mr. Lins passed away in 1967, his family sold seven acres of his estate to the Cologne Lions Club to be developed into a park. Over the years Cologne Lions Park added a pavilion, picnic area, baseball field, and a playground. In 2009 a new feature was added: The Lins Peony Garden.

I couldn't find much information about Mr. Lins or who originated the idea of the this project, but I'm pretty sure his family wanted to commemorate his work. His son, Gene, spent 35 years tracking down, propagating and preserving his father's peonies. One of Mr. Lins' granddaughters made a piece of art depicting each of his peonies. The goal of The Lins Peony Garden is to cultivate and display them for public enjoyment, to preserve a piece of little-known Cologne notoriety, and, perhaps most importantly, to return each of Eugene Lins' 39 peonies to his property.

When I made the discovery of this garden's existence I knew I had to come back in the summer to see these peonies in bloom. Well, the peonies in our yard are beginning to bloom, so I grabbed my camera and set out for Lions Park.

What a sight! The garden boasts three specimens of each variety (currently 27), and stretches for at least 100 feet (30 meters)! Half of the varieties are in full glorious bloom. The date is when that particular peony was created.

Blue Rose (1957)

Confetti (1965)

Festival Queen (1954)

Gardenia (1949)

King Midas (1942)

Lilac Time (1958)
with a little blue butterfly / moth

Mary L. (1949)
named after Eugene's wife

Mercedes (1956)

Old Lace (1945)
note the delicate pink of the lower petals

Valencia (1941)

So these are the peonies blooming right now. I'll be making frequent return trips to get photos of the rest. I will also make a new tab in this blog devoted to the Lins Peonies. I think my favorites (currently, anyway) are Festival Queen and King Midas. I inherited several peonies from my grandmother, the names of which have been long lost, so I'm going to compare them - and the ones my neighbor has - to the Lins Peonies.

I just love how a day of geocaching turned up an entirely different kind of treasure.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

GBBD - May 2012

Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

The stars in my garden this month are the German Bearded Iris (Iris germanica). Unfortunately, I'm not really sure what variety they are.

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The bleeding hearts are just beginning to bloom. I have two varieties: Common Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

The Common Bleeding Heart is much smaller than it has been in recent years. We had an unusually early spring (90*F / 30*C in March?!), which got the plants growing much sooner than normal. Then our Minnesota weather had a reality check in April, complete with over-night frosts, which zapped the tender new growth of the bleeding heart. It came back pretty well, albeit smaller.

The second variety is King of Hearts (Dicentra x perigina "King of Hearts").

Personally, I am not a big fan of this one. It's too small for my taste. I suppose the dwarf nature is great for small areas. And there is something about the flowers that leave a bit to be desired. They just seem sloppy. Maybe it has something to do with how the flowers are arranged on the stem; they're just too crowded. I want my bleeding heart to be more... graceful. However, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird just stopped at every little flower, so the King of Hearts has that going for it!

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The Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) which are being contained quite successfully in the window well are filling the air with their sweet fragrance.

Here are the results of me holding the camera under the leaves, blindly focusing, and snapping the picture. Turned out pretty well!

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Some plants from the April edition of GBBD are still blooming.

Clearly I need to weed the Emerald Blue Creeping Phlox (Phlox subdulata 'Emerald Blue').

There are still a few tulips holding on.

Only two Queen of Night tulips remain. For better photos of this great tulip in its glory, click this link.

There is something weird going on with the parrot tulips. They seem deformed, like they tried to bloom too early and weren't ready. I hope they don't have a virus or something.