Passion for Peonies

The Peonies have started to bloom at Mom and Dads..

Lovely shades of pinks and white..

Some of the peonies in their gardens are transplants from both of my grandmothers gardens.

Symbolic of prosperity, peonies were also said to conceal mischievous nymphs within their petals, earning the meaning of Shame or Bashfulness in the Language of Flowers

 

I had fun with this Peony photo shoot and  took many photos, especially of my favorite one..I think you might notice which one that is.

I found this lovely poem by Mary Oliver about peonies… I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Peonies
Mary Oliver

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

 

and they open —
   pools of lace,
      white and pink —
         and all day the black ants climb over them,

 

boring their deep and mysterious holes
   into the curls,
      craving the sweet sap,
         taking it away

 

to their dark, underground cities —
   and all day
      under the shifty wind,
         as in a dance to the great wedding,

 

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
   and tip their fragrance to the air,
      and rise,
         their red stems holding

 

all that dampness and recklessness
   gladly and lightly,
      and there it is again —
         beauty the brave, the exemplary,

 

blazing open.
   Do you love this world?
      Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
         Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

 

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
   and softly,
      and exclaiming of their dearness,
         fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

 

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
   their eagerness
      to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
         nothing, forever?