Nature Break: Tree Peonies

Taller, larger, earlier than other peonies.

My tree peonies were spectacular this year. Also called Japanese peonies, these are small shrubs that lose their leaves in the fall. This is different from normal peonies, where the foliage dies back completely to the ground and then re-emerges in the Spring.

In my garden, tree peonies explode in enormous flowers three weeks earlier than do other peonies - at the same time as the lilacs, rather than with the roses. In the photo above, at the top left, you can see the small, tight buds of a regular peony still developing.

I took the above photo, of a different tree peony, in 2020.

This one was taken in 2021. Below, one more from this year :-)