May 17 2010
In the Time of Peonies – Presence in Nature
Northern Virginia is awash in blossoming peonies of all colors – this spring’s crop seems particularly abundant. As we drove out to Leesburg yesterday, there were entire fence lines of the huge lush blossoms, hanging low as their strong slender stems valiantly struggled to support them.
I love the contrast of their subtle scent and their outrageous size and beauty. When they start to bloom something in me knows that spring has officially crossed a threshold. They make me smile.
For years I have tried to “help” mine with what I saw as “the annual struggle to stand up straight” – so their blossom-faces can smile up at the sun rather than being bowed over as though searching for something they lost on the ground. And each year the ones in my yard do stand a little straighter for a while – reaching a little taller with the help of my modified tomato cages. But in the end, those gorgeous huge blossoms seem to feel more comfortable curving back toward the earth. Hmmm…
Yesterday I got it. I can let go of this crusade. The peonies are exquisitely beautiful just as they are. And I can enjoy them just the way they are, faces up or down. I have a soft white peony bush. Then there are the pale pink and the deeper rose colored ones. They are all fabulous. I think I‘ll quit writing and go out in my yard – allow myself to drink them in – loving them just the way they are.
Enjoy!
