Paeonia

This year is the first I've been home to enjoy the splendid beauty of my garden in spring. Our busy life has often had us in far away places at this time of year. While my calendar is brimming with events for the remainder of the summer, I can for a brief moment, enjoy the fruit of my many years of labor in my garden.

The Peony has been a lifelong favorite of mine, I suppose in part because my mother always grew them. They are such a harbinger of spring. Their bountiful aromatic blooms arouse some deep seated memories of my youth, carrying armloads of them to St. James School for the annual Maypole celebration. 

As a child I had been told that the peony blossoms unclench in the spring only with the help of ants. Without ants to scurry over them and lick up the sticky nectar at the edges of the petals, peonies would simply droop and die. Ants "kissing open" peony buds is a common story, and an appealing one. Symbiosis is one of the loveliest and amazing things about the natural world. Peonies feed ants, and ants help peonies unfurl. The harmony is there for us to witness and enjoy.