For the love of flowers...

I adore peonies!
 These beauties have been gracing my house for the past week:

I did not grow up with them as garden standards because they don't thrive in the climate of my hometown, but I was lucky enough to have several of them already planted in the garden when I moved into this house. They are so frilly and lovely and they smell so wonderful!

 The stems are never strong enough to support lush heaviness of the blossom heads so I always cut bunches of them to have in the house. It's a waste of an exquisite peony bloom to allow it to languish face down on the dirt in the garden!

And so, for a fleeting week or two as spring slowly folds into the heat of summer, I have vases of these wonderful flowers bringing joy to every room!