I got to my garden this morning after yet MORE rain, and found that my tree peony, a gift from my dear friend and former roomie, Chuck, was OUT and in full bloom:

Now, I have to admit, I am a fool for peonies. They look like big, slutty, drunken, over-the-hill roses. They have none of your typical rose’s pretensions. They don’t act all dainty and demure. They don’t pretend to have too much class. They’re like your fun, crazy aunt. The one who spiked your drinks at holiday parties when you were twelve.

And the ones in my garden are as big as your head. They’re freakishly huge for the size of the plant itself. It’s a tree peony, so eventually the tree will catch up to the size of the blossom, but for now it has to be spiked. It’s got two more big blossoms about to pop, and the limbs aren’t yet big enough or strong enough to support the weight.

Talk about big-headed and acting all demure. All my neighbor’s poppies, and the ones that have sneaked under the fence, are doing their best to pretend like they aren’t about to burst into absolute fabulousness any minute now:

They look humble here, but they’re just pretending. You’ll see.

The Fenway was buzzing with activity this morning. Everyone was out taking care of business. In the last two weeks I think I’ve had maybe two opportunities to get out and garden. The good news is that aside from some scattered thunderstorms tomorrow it looks like next week is going to be gorgeous.

5/20/06

Categories: garden snapshots