While rhododendrons and azaleas fill spring with early color the peonies patiently wait their turn to share the gardener’s palette with vibrant colored blooms and bright green foliage. Lorelie and Lee invite you to join in appreciating peonies!
Late spring months are the glory time for peonies! They offer brilliant spots of color in private gardens and entice visitors to public gardens all over the world to enjoy their beauty and fragrance.
the applause
of one and all shower
the peony
~ Issa
The peonies do not allow
The rain-clouds a hundred leagues round
To approach them.
– Buson
In the stillness,
Between the arrival of guests,
The peonies.
– Buson
Peonies have a 4000 year history, beginning in ancient Asia. Their roots and seeds were used in traditional medicine, and Chinese nobility considered them symbols of wealth and status. After their cultivation in 11th century Japan the new varieties of bloom inspired artists and poets, who would focus on single flowers or small arrangements.
Ultra-pink peony
Silver Siamese cat . . .
Gold-dust butterfly
Buson
what peonies!
one poem per flower
will not do
~ Ryumin
The long-lived and hardy peonies thrived in medieval Europe, where monks cultivated them for medicinal uses in cloistered gardens. In 19th century Europe impressionist painters as Monet and Renoir featured peonies in their art. This long history is evidence that “the peony is more than a pretty face” !
Facing the candle
The peony also burning . . .
Motionless as death
Kyoroku
CREDITS:
Photographers: Lee Lageschulte, Lorelie Olson
Writer: Lorelie Olson
Graphic Designer: Tim Olson
