yI know, I complained about them last spring in “Double, Double, Toil and Trouble.”
https://floweralley.org/?s=peonies
Maybe they have changed…or I have changed.
My plan was to cut some of each type of flower to bring into the house.
My mother was coming. She cannot walk the gardens anymore,
so I wanted her to see the blooms up close by bringing them in.
I have those eleven vases, you see.
https://floweralley.org/?s=eleven+vases
My daughter and I went shopping on Friday evening. A violent storm hit while we were away.
Hundreds of my flowers were beaten down by the rain and wind.
Instead of cutting flowers for my vases on Saturday morning, I was cutting them to clean up.
By Saturday evening, only a few iris were left. There were a few Columbine stems.
The only flowers worth their weight were those double peonies.
The very one that I complained about staking last spring.
Bowed, but held in the storm.
They filled one vase the iris another and that was enough.
Sometimes it takes just the right flower.
Not the large number, just a few.
Like friends.
Worth their weight in gold when you need them.
My apologies to my new friend the Duchess de Nemours Peony.
FLOWER
floweralley 
Oh! Comme c’est dommage pour vos merveilleuses fleurs! Cette fleur blanche est magnifique, merci.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely and simple! Wondering if you have a secret for dealing with ants on your peonies for when you bring them into the house?
LikeLike
I dip them in a bowl of water upside down and shake them dry.
LikeLike
And the flowers don’t suffer? Hmmm…thanks for the tip! I have avoided peonies so far here in our NC garden, but with this bit of advice I plan to re-consider them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes you have to do with what you’ve got. It’s part of your talent, isn’t it, to celebrate ‘sotto voce’?
LikeLike
Lucky you getting Peonies to do so well.
LikeLike
Oh, I love ‘Duchess de Nemours!’ I moved mine this winter as it was planted under a tree. It has not only forgiven me, but rewarded me with more buds than ever. Love it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person