Happy Tuesday!
Today we celebrate the peony. This ancient flower was first celebrated in China, then Japan and finally made it's way to Europe and the New World.
Sue's single peonies.
The fragrance of this flower can be detected from far away. Often as I walk the dog, I can smell the flowers long before I find the plant.
The flowers symbolize a variety of good things: prosperity, good luck, compassion, love, honor, healing, and even bashfulness. People often have specific memories or sentiment when it comes to the peony.
This lovely peony sent by Sue came from the garden of her children's great grandmother. I've read that peonies have a lifespan of 20 years but I think that is a conservative estimate. Sue has had this peony--and it's moved with her--since 1968:
White peonies symbolize purity and new beginnings.
Another case in point are the white and fuchsia colored peonies in my garden. They came to me by mistake. When we first moved into the house, there wasn't any garden at all. My husband and I were busy with out careers and I hired someone to mow our lawn. Along the back alley, I noticed that there was a patch that the young man hadn't mowed.
When I walked up to the edge of the yard, I found that he had mowed around two stalks--which turned out to be two different colors of peonies. They had been mowed over by the previous owner for at least 17 years. Neighbors told me that the woman that owned the house prior to him had peonies all along the alley. When she decided to move, many of the neighbors were told to help themselves to the flowers. Somehow the tubers from these lovely flowers managed to survive for over a decade.
Our quilting foremothers loved the flower as well. Not only were peonies used for wedding bouquets and other events, quilt patterns celebrated the beauty of the plant:
Peony quilt pattern, 1945 Anne Cabot
1941 Household Arts
Sometimes peonies just remind of us a simpler times. Sue said her pink peony (above) reminds her of a prom dress she wore 😀.
The pink peony is believed to represent delicate love, gratitude or admiration.
Sue has quite a collection of peonies including the lovely red one below featured in a bouquet!
Wishing you a happy peony day!
I love peonies, they smell so good! The rain finished ours for the year but they were lovely while they lasted!
ReplyDeleteWe had dark red peonies on the farm where I grew up. One of my favorite flowers.
ReplyDeleteI love the story of those surviving peony stalks! They are my favorite flower. The house I grew up in was built in 1940 and had a row of peonies next to our driveway that came up every year. They were the white ones with a touch of red like that of Sue's grandmother. I've never successfully grown peonies and still long for them!
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