I wait for them to open up; first a tightly wound bud, then the petals pealing away like yarn from a skein, to reveal their true identity. If you have been reading about life on the Cutoff for a few years, you surely know how much I adore tree peonies. If you are new here, waiting for these beauties to open are among my most cherished rites of spring.
These light pink ones opened up yesterday. They were stubborn buds in the morning, but, by late afternoon, they bloomed, filling me with appreciation for their sunny disposition.
From Mary Oliver’s “New and Selected Poems” I found her poem, Peony. The opening lines are perfect.
This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers
Here I am, up at almost 1 am, gawping at your peonies. I am inviting myself to visit, just so we can sit in the garden together and stare.
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You are welcome here anytime, Andra, but, especially during peony time, which I know are a favored flower of yours. There’s still time to come on up, for these are just the first of the peonies to bloom.
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I’m up too… I can almost smell those, Penny! Thanks for sharing.
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Do come, Karen. We can have a peony party and get drunk on their beauty.
You are most welcome.
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They are so beautiful Penny, and so are the lines from the poem. Thank you for bringing this loveliness into my day.
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I was just sitting in our living room, looking out our big window, acknowledging our good fortune at having these blooms, Juliet. I wish you could hold one in your hand, for this variety bears the size of small dinner plates. You are very welcome.
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That is so enormous! I’d love to drop in and have a cup of tea at your place and hold a peony in my hand.
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Just wish I wasn’t so far away… as I’d be inviting myself round too. They look beautiful Penny. J
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I wish you weren’t so far, either, Janice, but you are welcome here anytime you traverse the big pond between us. These are so lovely – and the regular peonies have yet to open, maybe next week.
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Those are utterly stunning. We have a couple of peonies in the garden but they don’t flower as beautifully as yours. They seem a bit tempermental so I wonder if our soil is not quite right for them.
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I wish I could take credit for their exuberance, Cath. This variety are a treasure. You might need to amend the soil a bit, but, if they are fairly new plants, I know they need a while to take hold.
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I panted a tree peony more than a year ago, nearer two years as far as I remember. But the thing won’t grow. How long does it take for the plant to show what it can do? I’d be glad of a few inches even.
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The tree peonies are slow growers, Friko. We were fortunate to move into a house where they had already been established. They have actually grown several inches since we’ve been here (well, really more, but, the deer like to trim them, sigh). The one pictured here is actually close to four feet high and gets more sun than the other two. I wouldn’t give up on yours. It is worth the wait for the blooms you will get are spectacular.
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I know that poem …. and remember the feeling. We used to (way way back when we were first married and living in Eastern Washington) hope that the peonies would bloom for Memorial Day…. as yours did.
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Isn’t it a resplendent poem, Sallie? I love it and plan to post more of it once the herbaceous peonies start to show off, which should be soon as the armies of ants are all over them right now. I can only imagine how beautiful your peonies must have been in the Eastern Washington climate. It is interesting how we associate certain blooms with holidays and celebrations, isn’t it?
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A perfect start for my weekend. Hope yours is filled with even more garden surprises.
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Pleased to hear it, Marilyn. You would be interested to know that Midnight comes ’round most mornings now, circling the island of flowers where these are growing, then sits for a spell, eyeing a sparrow’s nest, which he has kindly left alone.
Enjoy your weekend – and I’ll see about sharing more garden surprises.
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Your pink peonies are simply gorgeous, Penny. I would be crazy for them, too. 🙂 They don’t grow well in our climate and that is a real loss. I do see them in the florist’s displays and I never fail to admire. I will simply admire yours. 🙂 I hope you enjoy a long weekend of breathing in all the spring blooms there on the Cutoff. It amazes me that these beautiful flowers were just waiting for the snow to make a final bow, and then they were ready for their performance. These are breathtaking!
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They need the cold winters we provide, and which I try to remember when I’m freezing my you-know-what off. These are a woody variety and, I kid you not, Debra, the blooms are the size of dinner plates. More blooms to follow on the herbaceous one soon.
We were really fortunate to move into this house and have the peonies bloom the first spring we were here. I did not know about tree peonies before that – and now recommend every gardener in our climate zone get them.
Enjoy your weekend, Debra. I am planting all weekend, hoping to read a bit, and, well, you know – I’ll try to breath lighter 😉
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Stunning. Our white peonies are just a day or two from opening but even then they won’t be as pretty as your pink ones.
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Oh, Claire, I do love white peonies. We had one in our other house, I think it was called Festiva Maxima, and while it wilted rather swiftly, it had the most memorable fragrance. Thank you.
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Peonies remind me of my mother so I planted some and I’m so excited to have them budding this year! Your’s look so lovely!
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I saw you had a photo of one – and what a sweet way to be reminded of you mother. I wanted to comment on it, ran out of hours in my day, but, if you should come back to see this, don’t fret about the ants on the buds. They are what help to open the petals.
Thank you.
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I didn’t know that! It makes me feel a lot better 🙂 Thanks!
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You’re welcome. It seems everyone’s first encounter with ants on peonies is a worrisome one at first (including me some 35 years ago). Your flowers will be gorgeous.
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I love peonies. I believe Zelda Fitzgerald used to wear one in her hair.
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Oh, did not know that, Nicola. How fetching she must have appeared. I love peonies, too – and these tree peonies are the prelude to the herbaceous ones, which will open soon. Life is grand.
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Dear Penny, Mary Olivier is such a knee observer of nature and when you quote her I know that she’s truly seen something because you, too, are a knee observer and relate to her words. Thank you for sharing the opening of the peonies, the photograph, and the poem. Peace.
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What a great phrase, Dee – and a nice thing to say in your words describing “a knee observer of nature”. Thank you so very much – and, you are very welcome.
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Those are so beautiful, Penny, and I love the telling lines by Mary Oliver.
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Aren’t they such wonderful lines, Perpetua? Actually, as I wait here for the herbaceous peonies to start their show, I am hoping to include yet more of Mary Oliver’s poem. Than you.
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