Pink peonies are my absolute favorite flower. They look like little balls of strawberry ice cream with layers and layers of soft fragrant flavors. Peonies are not available all year round…which is probably what makes people love them all the more. The end of peonies season is sadly here…if only they could last the whole summer.

Artist, Carmelo Blandino’s paintings of peonies help to make the season last longer… His paintings have intensity, color, and movement that make the viewer want to rub their nose all around it hoping to catch a whiff of the floral fragrance.

Peonies seem to be a nostalgic kind of flower. The best peony gardeners tend to be older growers…they might tell you that peony growing insures old age. These expert older gardeners might have their peonies in a bed with other old-fashioned flowers like gardenias, sweet peas, marigolds, hydrangeas…the kind of flowers that makes you nostalgic for your grandmother’s garden. I think most grandmothers stop and smell the roses…especially if they planted them.

 

The fattest and most scrumptious of all flowers, a rare fusion of fluff and majesty, the peony is now coming into bloom. ~Henry Mitchell

Nancy Reagan was known to be a romantic. It seems suiting that her favorite flowers were white peonies.

Nancy Reagan was not alone in her choice of flower, peonies are favored by brides all over the world because of their beautiful ruffles and feminine colors…it is the most romantic flower. They make a stunning addition to any bouquet. They were in my bouquet and I can still picture and smell them…heavenly.

 

If you’re planing to grow peonies, it’s helpful to know that like children, young peonies take time to develop. They usually need a few years to establish themselves, bloom, and grow. When planted in spring, peonies may not bloom for two years or more. The eyes of the root should be planted facing upward, no more than 2 inches below the surface of the soil. Peonies that do not sprout in the spring may have been planted too deeply or may have been damaged by frost if they were planted too late in the year.

Carmelo Blandino wrote this poem about flowers he paints and inner beauty. I imagine peonies in particular when reading it…a heart as a peony. See what you think…

Courage

It takes courage to live a life.
Without courage the flower would not allow itself to stand up and bloom.
We need courage to be attentive to life and to live by its truths.
To remain resolute in keeping the four corners of your life straight regardless of what others say about you.

Without courage the petals wouldn’t open, and then it’s great inner beauty would never be seen or manifest in the physical.