This is my first year ever to grow my very own peonies. In fact, I dont think I’ve ever even bought any from the store or a florist. I have lusted after them in photos of beautiful bridal bouquets. I would certainly have chosen them for my own wedding but you cant get them in September. Mostly I’ve just admired them from afar. But not any more.
I was simply amazed at how fast they bloomed. Those buds went from hard tight little numbs to full blown in an afternoon. It turns out that these showy bloom are almost as quick to wilt and die. They show up in an explosion of wild color and drama, dazzle everyone with their beauty, fill the house with their presence and signature scent and then fall to pieces a few days later. Not unlike a few drama queens I’ve known.
These gorgeous pink and white peonies were the first to bloom. I grabbed my garden sheers, did my best to shake off the dozens of ants drawn to their sweetness, brought them into the house, waited for dozens more ants to crawl out into the sink and be washed down the drain…. and then finally stuck them in a pretty blue-green glass vase.
I loved having these beauties next to me in my office. The world is already full of cliche flower photos, but I couldn’t help myself. I had to pull out my camera and capture their ephemeral exuberance. (It’s a good thing I did, because they dropped all their petals the very next day. I miss them already. Luckily I have my very own peony bush outside with little buds that will burst into more glorious blooms in the near future.)