Thanks Karen😊 We use long needle pine-straw as mulch, except around and over the peonies. I'm looking forward to spring as well, and maybe I'll be lucky if I get some blooms from some of these new plants.
I was browsing one of the peony websites, can't remember which one, and they recommended not allowing the peony to bloom the 1st year after it's planted. I guess that would help the plant focus on developing, instead of blooming. I had heard that about clematis and roses, but not about doing this with peonies.
Strangely, I'm looking forward to winter, and getting the chill time that these plants need to grow and bloom successfully.
I've also got some bulbs coming from Colorblends, that will be planted in the new bed. Hyacinth City of Haarlem will be planted at the front edge, daffodil Winston Churchill in the bed and around the newly planted lilies (which will hopefully keep the rabbits out of the bed), and tulip Akebono at the back, close to the walkway.
When I planted Nellie Saylor in the back bed, close to Carol and Scarlett O'Hara, I accidentally dug up some daffodil Tiritomba, so I planted those in front of Pink Hawaiian Coral in the new bed. It's a split-cup daff with a yellow perianth and orange corona.
