Peony Passion

The white Peonies above are a testament to the longevity of these beauties.  The blooms in the photo were cut from a plant that my Great Grandmother had in her garden, making this plant over 100 years old.  My Mom was given cuttings from my Grandmother’s plant, where she lovingly grew it for years in Tennessee.

It’s been 4 years but I recall vividly the day my aunts drove to town, to help my Mother carefully dig up these peonies, along with many other plants that they had so lovingly shared with each other.  It was a dreadfully cold and wet day, which had me thinking that surely they would leave well enough alone.  They didn’t and proceeded to work in the cold rain until the plants were safely in new pots, ready for their trip west.  The peonies were placed in my garden, along with a beautiful bleeding heart plant, from my Aunt Charlotte’s garden.  A gift from one sister, to another and it was then that I understood the true love for gardening.  It isn’t enough to love it, you must share it.

These pink peonies are from a plant that I bought locally, just 3 years ago.  The story for this peony plant is just beginning, but I hope that someday, it will have a place in one of my children’s gardens and will have produced not just beautiful, fragrant blooms but a rich story, to go along with it.

The blooms start out as tiny little balls, no bigger than a quarter but looks can be deceiving because in less than 24 hours, they can blossom to the size of a dinner salad plate!

They are a very ancient flower and have a long history.  The peony is named after Paeon, a student of Asclepius, which was the Greek God of medicine and healing. It is said that Asclepius became jealous of his pupil, so Zeus stepped in and saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower.

Peonies tend to attract ants to the flower buds, so it’s a good idea to look each bloom over, gently blowing off the ants.  I forgot to do this with my first cuttings and found myself having lunch with a fleeing army of ants, across my breakfast table.  For every ant you see, there are three that you don’t, so beware.

My Mother, along with her sisters all swear that the ants help with the blooming of the peonies.  I’ve now read plenty to the contrary but since I’ve learned most of my gardening, at the hands of these special women, I’m going to defer to their expertise and leave the ants alone, until its time to bring the blooms in, for my enjoyment.

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~ by quinntessentiallyme on May 6, 2010.