Peony bushes in a row...

When I bought this property thirty three years ago, the man who was reworking and remodeling this house gutted all of the living plants around the foundation. It was mud everywhere, even up to the back door. After some time the bluebells came up and a very old rose bush came back but also these peony bushes popped up along the driveway. As a history buff I know the some of the silver maples around my house are as old as the house, but one wonders how long those five peonies have been planted there all in a row and which owner planted them. The house is dated 1903 so who knows how old that they are.
Because of family matters going on, I didn't get them mowed off last fall. I don't like to hurry and mow them down after they bloom as they make a great hedge. But by not mowing them down, I had a mess cleaning off the debris. The old stems had to be each clipped one at a time and the leaves are packed in among them. The top two photos shows what is was like last week when I had just finished clearing them. The bottom one shows how fast they have grown in a few short days.
An artist paints with flowers and sometimes that works but sometime they don't use their head. I find the tulips planted next peony bushes works but it isn't a great thing to keep weeds down on the back side of the hedge. I want to leave the foliage of the tulips so the bulb is nourished so the weeds grown up and it has to be hand weeded. I am anxious to show you how it looks when they are all blooming but that is a month away. Thanks for reading...