Thank you for bringing back this post Sue.

The peonies are truly blooming already.

http://www.scenthive.com/2009/...poem-by-mary-oliver/

Peonies: A Poem by 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?

PEONIES AT DUSK

White peonies blooming along the porch

send out light

while the rest of the yard grows dim.
Outrageous flowers as big as human

heads! They’re staggered

by their own luxuriance: I had

to prop them up with stakes and twine.
The moist air intensifies their scent,

and the moon moves around the barn

to find out what it’s coming from.
In the darkening June evening

I draw a blossom near, and bending close

search it as a woman searches

a loved one’s face.

Jane Kenyon

http://poemsandprose.blog.co.u.../09/peonies-8545789/

The peonies are in full bloom at the moment.
Enjoy them, they don't last.

Love,
yoko


a peony
What a peony . . .
demanding to be measured
By my little fan!

Kobayashi Issa

Look at this immense peony, my friends. My neighbour Miranda brought them home from her house in the countryside and I took pictures.

I am in awe of the beauty of this flower. Time to refresh this fantastic thread!


Love and joy.

Margherita

What a magnificent peony.

Thank you kindly for this wonderful picture.
I love peonies and they are just starting to bloom here.

This is a Japanese tree peony,
but it does not compare with the magnificent bloom that you posted for us to enjoy.

Love,
yoko

Thank you for the beautiful big Peony Margherita. I have never seen anything like it, and thank you yoko for your picture.
Peonies are all out blooming at the moment, but like all early flowers they don't last too long.

Love,
Vicky