Peony's

As I've commented in earlier posts this year, everything seems to be coming in late.  Usually the Peony's are blooming by Memorial Day. 

But they are just coming alive in mid June out here in the Denver area. 

There are so many varieties, it's amazing.

I just love their beautiful fluffiness.

I always think of our Moms when the Peony's come in to bloom. My Mom tells me when we lived in Iowa, (which was the first 6 yrs of my life), we had a 60 foot hedge of Peony's  in the back yard.  I remember the house, but I don't remember the flowers.

My husband's Mother also use to nurture them in their family garden in Baltimore.

I have ten Peony plants, and I look at each one everyday that they are in bloom.  It is a short window as flowers go, so I appreciate their beauty while I have them.

Two of my white plants, have an odd characteristic.  Each flower has a few of what I call 'blood spots' on some of the petal edges.  It's almost as if a paintbrush dipped in red paint was waved over the petals and dripped as it passed from above.