Peony season has come and gone for another year. It went by so quickly this year.
It begins with just one or two popping open and then one hot day and they are ALL open!
Here is the row I have along the back of the house.
These flowers never cease to captivate me.
I walk around the house talking to them, smelling them, petting them -- definitely acting like a crazy woman.
But how could I not?! Especially when pink and green are one of my favorite combinations!
I picked a bunch on the very hot Saturday we had. I wish I could somehow spread them out over a month rather than a week!
The house was filled with them -- kitchen table, counter, kitchen sink, coffee table, living room, bedroom, bathrooms.....
They just make my heart sing!
I admit that I thought at first the peonies had grown smaller this year but I think it was just comparing them with the giant tree peonies I saw in NYC.
Of course the house was full of ants. The kids think I'm crazy to put up with them but who cares about a few (or more) ants when you can enjoy this beauty?!!!
The morning light would come in my bedroom windows and illumine the pink blossoms in such a stunning fashion. It's never captured in a photo.
I suppose this photo gets pretty close:
I think the light pink peonies all came off two stems in this picture.
I'm not as fond of the "Bowl of Beauty" variety but it does have a lovely effect alongside the other blooms.
Of course peonies would be one of the hardest flowers to paint but I finally couldn't stand it and just had to try.
One of the last blooms.....
And now the very last buds, partially browned from rain and not very big, are sitting on my coffee table. The last goodbye until next year......
8 comments:
I really enjoyed your post about your peonies. I'm like that with my garden and flowers also. Someone told me one time, if you bind the flowers together lightly (rubber band) and hang them upside-down outside (for a short time) before bringing them into the house, the ants will crawl off. You may already know this, but the ants are instrumental in helping the buds open. I have my blog closed down right now, but do venture out into blog land to read occasionally. Have a wonderful day. Heather
Lovely!!! so very nice! I am so wishing I could go to the rose garden in Brooklyn but my schedule is just not allowing for it right now. So it is! so glad you have such a nice home and places to garden and enjoy such beauty! :)
Did you know that in Ireland
peones have been called piano flowers. It seems it came from a linguistic misunderstanding. Peone and piano be similar sounding words.
I too have peonies in the house right now. The fragrance just fills the rooms and seems to make you slow down a bit just to get one more wif. Your painting was beautiful!!
My aunt picks her peonies and keeps the unopened buds in the fridge. They keep for weeks, and when she pulls them out and puts them in water, they bloom. Some year I'm going to make room in my fridge to enjoy them longer. They are one of my favorite flowers too!
So lovely! Mine are JUST blooming.
Oh that was a rush just look at all those gorgeous flowers! I, too, read that ants are critical to peonies' well-being - but I can't remember the explanation. I have some peonies on my blog at the moment. I love 'Bowl of Beauty' myself, and would like to know what kind your light pink ones are, if you know. Sarah Bernhardt? I know just what you mean about how impossible it is to capture the colour, though I think you have come very close. I just can't get enough of them! Thanks for sharing.
I get so excited about peonies, too! I love to bring them into my house, in spite of the ants. I can hardly give them up at the end of the season. So, what I do, as they are starting to fade in the vase is hang them upside down to dry. Once, I cut off the stems and filled a pretty glass jar with dried peony blossoms. This year, I have them standing upright in a vase like a bouquet and I like that too. Thank you for posting about your peonies!!
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