“She was pure, it was true, as he had never dreamed of purity; but cherries stained her lips.”
― Jack London

In this year’s theme of ‘firsts’, here’s yet another. The first white peony made its appearance in  my gardens this morning. These white peonies hold a special place in our family, having been passed do from my wife’s grandmother.

It’s an interesting blossom, being a beautiful pure white, with a tiny red fringe on the inside petals. I have yet to discover the particular variety. We also have another variant, similar to this one, but with splashes of red in the interior petals rather than the fine fringe.

I love these heritage peonies for a number of reasons: they are extremely hardy, once established, they have an intense wonderful fragrance, which fills the morning air, the blossoms are long lasting and make beautiful floral arrangements for indoors. Finally, once flowers are shed, the foliage is lush and green and changes to a deep crimson in the fall.

Late spring and early summer is a great time of anticipation in the garden. Watching blossoms going from bud to flower overnight is almost magical. Knowing our family ancestors have also experienced these moments makes it even more special. Common expressions among my family generally have a theme like, “Oh, look! Grandma Fretz’s peony is blooming, just in time for Fathers Day.”

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
2.0 sec, f/32.0 ISO 100

High Resolution image on 500px

for more images like this, please visit my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/EdLehming
or my website (some images available for purchase)
http://www.edlehming.com