I've been a little bit obsessed with peonies lately. I love their colours, fragrance, and the memories they evoke of my mother and her fondness for them.



I think it rather marvelous that a peony can be planted and still happily add beauty to its surroundings decades later. Some people manage that very same thing. Not me, I've been a bit grumpy lately.




Today, however, is a new day. A four mile walk on a lovely pathway, a good round at a cardio class, and a freshly picked bouquet of peonies have brightened things up around here. Also, it may be raining, but there are a couple of planter boxes in the basement with new coats of blue stain. I'm wondering if it is the stain that is holding the old wooden planters together!





 

This weekend was the annual Peony Festival in my area. There are over 300 varieties of peonies in the gardens. In its 8th year, the free event now attracts many visitors from this region and beyond.





Although spring came early, plenty of the peonies were still in bloom and, happily, the sun was shining.


A few artists had stalls featuring watercolours, painted screens, bits of jewelry, sculptures and other assorted wares. These dancers sprang up, unannounced, on the grass. Whether the language I heard being spoken by their leader was Mandarin or Cantonese I don't know, but they danced to the accompaniment of a single drum. (The peony is a flower of great cultural significance in China.)



One woman, who was also watching the dancers, mentioned she had lived in the area for 24 years and that it was her first time being in this park by the creek. Does your home area often any places or events you wish to explore this spring/summer?