Friday, May 8, 2015

...I saw the miracle and my whole life changed...



If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. 
~ Buddha

Peony
My morning was off to a good start. I had finished a chunk of work by 8am and just needed some coffee so I could start reading the pile of end-of-semester papers when my fella informed me that we're out of coffee. I just don’t understand how that could be but figured I would simply take a short walk to get a cup of coffee… but the walk passes the garden center and there was the most gorgeous peony. The Chinese name for the peony is sho yu which means almost beautiful. *Almost*??? The flower symbolizes prosperity and beauty and you often see them in wedding bouquets.
      
I decided that I had to buy the peony but then there were some fox gloves… and well, I did need a hanging basket for the front street light… and, I am supporting local growers.

But seriously, it took me about an hour to purchase and plant my new friends and my mood has elevating dramatically… not that I was in a bad mood but still.

This is my first peony. I tried to grow them from bulbs last year but they didn’t sprout. I have always loved the peony and its origin story. Paeon was the Greek physician of the gods. He is mentioned in both the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Originally he was a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. When Asclepius became jealous of him, Zeus saved Paeon by turning him into the peony flower. Oh those Greek gods! I like to think of Paeon as a small peony with a tiny head in the center :p

You may think this is a weed but no! It is a perennial hibiscus!
geranium
Around this time six years ago, I packed up my life and moved into a tiny apartment with a tiny balcony. That tiny balcony felt like a tree house since there were trees all around. I started gardening there. Now that I am in a townhouse, my garden is much bigger than the balcony garden but still small in comparison to those with homes larger than a townhouse. And today I get to grow plants in the ground and not just pots… but I’ll always be fond of those first days of freedom and dreams. Those flowers reminded me of who I always was and they changed my world reminding me that sometimes it’s better to walk away and start again.  
  
Fox gloves
Old English





It's raining scotch broom in the backyard!

14 comments:

  1. SWOOOOONNNNNNN! Peonies are some of my favorites! I used to love taking care of Mom's old blooms. Like clockwork the would send up shoots at the very first hint of spring. By my birthday in June they would be in full, glorious bloom. She had the same pink ones that you just bought -- the big, pink flowers that smell deliriously yummy and pull and strain on the stalks with their heaviness.

    Sigh ... I can't help but be a little envious of your garden. I miss mine (and Mom's) and I have no room to plant here at the apartment. I don't even have a space for pots. Not even a window box. I feel like a fish out of water and it stinks. I would always plant something special for Mom in honor of Mother's Day. Mother's Day ... so weird. Hug your Mom extra smooshy for me, dear friend. Tell her it's from me even though she doesn't know me.

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    1. My mother would ADORE you! She'd adopt you in a second and then you'd receive all kinds of silly gothy presents because she's known for saying things like, "hey, did I give you those Dracula bead earrings" and "where are those darn bats that I bought you".

      Franny, what's your (how we say in the South) Momma's name?

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    2. :) Aw, that would be so cool. My Mom's name is Carol Ann (Reiss) Zawadzki.

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    3. I shall call this little pink peony Carol Ann after your mom :D Perhaps your new Mother's Day tradition is inspiring friends to plant peonies!

      HUG! It is weird and I'm sorry and VIRTUAL HUG and I can't even imagine it.

      In NOLA, we'll have a drink, toast your momma, and maybe you can tell me a fun story about her,

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    4. Aw, thank you! :D She would have LOVED that! Hmmm ... maybe I will. And thank you for the hugs. It is weird, but I'm not trying to think about it. I've already had a deeply emotional reaction to this year's Mother's Day postings, commercials, etc. I need to figure out something to do in honor of her on Sunday. Something she would "get."

      Funny stories ... oh my god. We only have a few days! HAHAHAHA! Mom was tons of fun. :D

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  2. A garden center is a wonderland of dreams and possibilities.

    One can never have too many peonies. My first ones came from my husband's grandparents' garden in West Virginia in the early 1990s. As Steve's dad was readying the house for sale, I asked if I could take a couple of shovels-full of peonies from a huge hedge of them along the back fence line. My FIL was concerned that I would leave a mess for him to have to clean up (typical ... but I digress). I promised that he would barely be able to tell that I'd been there and he relented. Those peonies, some hot pink and some pale pink, have been moved four times since then, to every place we've lived. They even spent a few months in a pot while we were in a rental waiting for one of our houses to be completed.

    My FIL asked me at the time, "What do you want those for? They're just old pee-OH-nies." I didn't even try to make him understand that those flowers were a precious link to family ... and nothing is more important than family.

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    1. Connie, I just love it! Heritage Baby! Plus I'm so glad that you mentioned that they can be easily transplanted. One hesitation is that we're not planning to stay in this house forever (which was MY originally plan before I knew Johnathan existed). My question when planting anything now is "how deep are the roots" Literally! I know, I know... I can't take it all with me and it just means that I get to start new in a bigger space BUT I grow very attached to things. I just want the possibility that some of my foliage friends can come with me.

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  3. Peonies can be transplanted, but they resent it. Each time I moved ours, it took them a couple of years to settle in and be beautiful again.

    Can't take it all with you, but it's comforting to take at least a part of the things that are important.

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    1. Hmmm. I always resent moving and it usually takes me a few years to settle in and be beautiful. We're going to get along just fine.

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  4. My Momma always said it takes THREE years for a Peony to be happy and bloom. I still love them none-the-less.

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    1. I like doing things in 3s so maybe the peony is for me :D

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  5. Fox gloves!!! I need to get some, thanks for the reminder. And that peony is gorgeous!

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    1. I LOVELOVELOVE when bumble bees crawl up in the fox glove petals and then have to wiggle their way out.

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  6. Such a true quote! We should spend more tine realising the magic of nature!

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