It’s difficult to pick a favorite flower, but it’s quite likely that the peony is it for me. From the happy childhood memories it has informed, to the stalwart and powerful presence it retains in the garden for decades, the peony is a popular perennial for a number of reasons, perhaps most notably for its floral fragrance and form. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect bloom.
“It always seemed to me that the herbaceous peony is the very epitome of June. Larger than any rose,
it has something of the cabbage rose’s voluminous quality; and when it finally drops from the vase, it
sheds its petticoats with a bump on the table, all in an intact heap, much as a rose will suddenly fall,
making us look up from our book or conversation, to notice for one moment the death of what had
still appeared to be a living beauty.” – Vita Sackville-West
And now I’m making a rare request and asking that you forget the words for a bit. Focus instead on the photos – and the form of the peony at hand. It is worth pausing to examine the petals at hand.
