Enjoying the Short Season of Beautiful White and Pink Peonies

All photos taken by me this morning.

Suddenly, peonies are blooming everywhere around me. Within one or two days, I saw them develop from tight, spherical-shaped buds to lush, fluffy flowers, making them hard to miss with their voluminous blooms and vibrant hues.

So for today, I will share three photos of peonies. I was reminded to do so by my calendar, where I typed in many months ago that I should post a photo in The Planet newsletter every Wednesday, but I am never very good at sticking to one concept. Sometimes I wrote such long text on Wednesday that the photo was hardly relevant anymore (a risk I might reencounter today). On other days I didn't write at all, or I wrote about climate or nature and only just before posting had to find a picture. 

But today, many months after my firm commitment to start a Wednesday photo post tradition, the stars aligned; I made some beautiful photos, or at least photos of beautiful flowers, and was reminded by my calendar to share them with you. 

So here is another one:

Of course, I had hoped for a colorful bumble bee on the white flower; however, you'll get a fly instead. But look at the stunning beauty of these flowers; you're not the first to admire them. More than 2000 years ago, they were already cultivated in China, where they became a symbol of wealth, honor, and nobility. Over time, peonies made their way to Japan, Europe, and North America.

Symbolizing romance

You often see white peonies at weddings and anniversaries since these are often associated with purity, innocence, and new beginnings. And, just so you know, next time you are in the flower shop: pink peonies are said to symbolize romance, femininity, and grace. So you get these for expressing heartfelt emotions and celebrating love in many forms. Or, you simply forget about all this and just admire them for what they are. 

My favorite is the white one, not sure why, it may be the purity of the color white or the match between white and yellow that I like in nature (but for example not so much in the choice of clothes) better than the pink-yellow combination that to my taste is even a bit too daring for nature.

Whatever the choice of color, these flowers are a work of art, and they are somewhere in my top ten, but not high enough on that list to throw tulips and sunflowers from their top positions. I love the peonies' colorful petals encircling the central disk, often ruffled and lush, like having visited a daring hairdresser. The petals come in a range of hues. I looked it up for you, and an online flower shop described several options as pure white, blush pink, vibrant coral, and deep magenta. Pure white it is for me, thank you. 

Duchesse de Nemours peonies

And these pure whites I saw today are probably the ones known as Duchesse de Nemours. This peony variety was discovered in 1856 by the French breeder Calot, who inherited an extensive collection from the Comte de Cussy. More than 150 years later, it is still trendy, especially for wedding bouquets. It's also known for its intense, pleasant fragrance, admired by humans and little black flies. 

There are several varieties of pink peonies; the most well-known is likely the light-pink-colored Sarah Bernhardt. It was discovered in 1906 by the French breeder Lemoine, who named it after a famous French actress. It's not my color, but if you buy this one, remember that these ones sometimes have difficulties opening up. If you notice that, add a little sugar or 7Up to the water, and you should have a full bloom for about ten days. 

Flower stories are often full of connections to my home country of the Netherlands. The Sarah Bernhardt peony is no exception. Sarah's mother was Judith Bernard (I typed that correctly, I know about my infamous typos like Audrey Hepburn bringing food to d(r)owned pilots in the Second World War, sorry for that, but in this case, the "h" and "t" were mysteriously added in long-forgotten history). Judith's daughter took her name since her father's name was unknown for a long time. History is full of stories of children of courtesans that take the family name of the mother. Only much later, it turned out that the father was an attorney in Le Havre, and his family paid for Sarah's education. Meanwhile, her mother was successful in her career. She rose to the top ranks of Parisian courtesans, consorting with the rich and the famous, including the half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III.

Alexander Fleming

If you prefer a two shades darker variety of pink, you might want to check out the peony known as Dr. Alexander Fleming. Again a Dutch connection (and there is an Alexander connection if you like). This flower resulted from a cross between a Sarah Bernhardt and a Bunker Hill in 1950 by a Dutch breeder called Blonk. It is -no surprises here- named after the Scottish microbiologist who discovered Penicillin and won a Nobel Prize. Fleming may have liked to know that peonies were used in traditional Chinese medicine, which makes the choice of naming a flower after him only slightly more understandable. 

There are even more links to medicine. In Greek mythology, it is believed that the peony was named after Paeon, the physician to the gods. Legend has it that Paeon used the flower's healing properties to heal Pluto, the underworld god. The gods, in turn, transformed Paeon into a peony to protect him from jealousy and harm. It all makes so much more sense now. 

Peonies were especially popular during the Victorian era when flowers were often used to convey secret messages and sentiments. Peonies played a significant role in this "language of flowers." Giving someone a white peony was seen as an expression of deep regret, while pink peonies symbolized a budding romance. It will have been good for Calot's business of white peonies, while Lemoine, who developed the Sarah Bernhardt only in 1906, may have missed some of the good years. On the other hand, both missed the age of social media. Peonies are considered to be the Instagrammer's flower of choice. The hashtag #peonies has been used about 2.8 million times on the app.

Well, that's it for today. All you ever wanted to know about peonies. As a final note, I failed again in posting only a photo on Wednesday; I'll try again next week when that old reminder pops up again in my agenda.

I might go to a peonies garden tomorrow to see more varieties. Still, I don't want to develop this into a newsletter about flowers, even though they are prime examples of writing about the beauty of nature. I hope this was somehow useful or at least entertaining. So next time you encounter these magnificent blooms, take a moment to appreciate their intricate petals, indulge in their intoxicating fragrance, and remember the fascinating stories that make peonies genuinely extraordinary.

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Notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Bernhardt

https://www.mypeonysociety.com/stories/three-classic-peonies/