The first peony to bloom in my garden this spring is the Paeonia lactiflora hybrid 'Monsieur Jules Elie' (Crousse 1888). This is only its second spring, so I expect even greater things of it in future years. It's a "bomb" flower type (and yes, it is the bomb [duck while tween daughter hurls object at mother for inappropriate use of no-longer-courant vernacular]). I recall from last year that it's nicely fragrant, although I'll have to get over this Memorial Day weekend cold before experiencing it again. The color is a pink that rings as clear as a bell. As you can see, the full flower is ravishingly voluptuous (...or is it voluptuously ravishing?), but I prefer the beauty of the bud (as seen in the background) just before it explodes into full bloom.
I think this is like the one I was stealing from the neighbor's yard~the fragrance was intoxicating!
Posted by: avril | June 01, 2004 at 12:05 AM
Oh, how beautiful it is. Peonies are
my favorite flower and I too love the bud
just as much as the full bloom.
Posted by: Leah | June 01, 2004 at 01:39 PM
Very nice indeed. And I see from the other buds that you will have plenty more flowers from this one this year. BTW, I know exactly what you mean about how nice the bud is before it blooms full scale.
BTW, I'm confused - is "da bomb" out now?
Posted by: Robert the Llama Butcher | June 01, 2004 at 02:46 PM
oh yes, Robert the Llama Butcher, hopelessly out....but who's really keeping track?
Posted by: avril | June 01, 2004 at 04:10 PM
Woo-hoo--(I'm pretty sure they still say that these days)--a peony lovers' party! Thanks for all the compliments. Yes, my daughter confirms the sad news about the expression "da bomb"...something tells me that watching those three-year-old reruns of Lizzie McGuire to try to keep up with the young folks isn't going to work for me for much longer.
Posted by: Chan S. | June 01, 2004 at 05:07 PM