Peony

This painting of a single peony (or paeony) flower is overdue. It is one of my favourite flowers. I don’t know which peony this is, but it might be Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’.

The language of the Peony

What makes this flower so special? In the Language of Flowers the peony means Shame or Bashfulness, perhaps a reference to the long gestation of the flowers, the age each tightly furled bud takes to open, and the short time one has to appreciate the bloom itself. Apparently, fairies are wont to hide among the petals: there are certainly enough petals to host Titania’s entire court. Yet how far from bashfulness is this dramatic, convoluted, swirling galaxy of a bloom? In China, it is sometimes called the ‘king of flowers’.The petals of peonies were once candied and served as a delicacy, and they served as medicine in both China and Japan.

The peony and ants

I visited this particular flower several times before it opened and was dismayed to see ants crawling in and out of the bud. It was difficult to see how they managed to get in and out, and I envisaged some dreadful canker inside the bud. Later I learned that ants are attracted to peony buds by their perfume, and act as a deterrent to other insects. Endless fascination.

You might also be interested in this painting of a wild rose.