Saturday, June 2, 2018

Nature: Peony Week 2018

Peony week was beautiful, as always. Our HOT weather blew them open so fast and, poof, the week was over. 

This year I did take a friend's advice and pick a bunch of buds to keep in the fridge so I still have peonies blooming and a handful more to come!


Laura is my little gardener-in-training. It's fun to have someone to admire the garden with.


I was pleased with how my bushes performed this year. The bush on the patio produced about a dozen blooms which was quite a bit more than in other years. I think I have 5 new starts from a friend's garden and most of those did not bloom except for one brave bush. Next year maybe they will all bloom, including the new Coral Sunset that I've planted!


 The beauty of these flowers is just breathtaking.


 I can hardly go a few hours without taking a photo of them. The contrast with the blue is just perfect.


Hosta leaves make the perfect backdrop too!


Having peonies makes me feel like a very wealthy person for one week of the year :).


The round shape of these blooms made me want to squish them like big fat marshmallows.


And here is a perfect portrait. I wish I could paint peonies to look just like this. Someday!


Here's a ballerina-looking bloom.


My sister Emily had the great joy of having a daughter born during peony week last year. How special is that?! Actually, my peonies were planted in hopes we could use them for Emily's wedding (I think she didn't get married for 5 or 6 years after we planted them and she married in October so our plan failed -- but giving birth to a girl might just be even better than a wedding for peonies!)

This year I made baby Olivia a doll for her birthday:


These double peonies are amazing!


One of my favorite pictures from peony week:


The peonies change color as they age:


I spent a good bit of time trying to paint the peonies. Every year I hope to improve a little and then one of these years I'll capture them the way I want to!


The June lilies are budding, the blackberries are growing, and the roses are blooming! I'm glad there's still life after peony week!

2 comments:

Mabel Jane's said...

How awesome is it that God created peonies! I love your peony photos and water colors. Just beautiful.

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