Peonies in April

It's hard to believe that it was just last year that we were trying to figure out how to put the peonies in cold storage so we could save them for Emilie's May 21st wedding.  While we thought we would need to extend the life of the peonies, the weather had different plan.  The cold wet spring delayed the coming of the peonies.

We were able to save one from my Japanese Peony Tree (Hilda says it is a tree because it actually has bark compared to the typical bush)  The peonies didn't end up being ready to well after Emilie's wedding, but this is what my bush looked like at Easter:

We tried to incorporate this one lonely little peony into Emilie's wedding bouquet, but while Barb was working with it, the bloom fell off onto the floor.  We all just stood there in disbelief at the pile of petals on the floor, Barb with her hand over her mouth, and the rest of us wondering what in the world just happened.

It all worked out in the end.  Barb had some other blooms from her bush and a couple from  Jimmy's yard that made for a beautiful bouquet...and the petals on the floor... We picked them up and used them to sprinkle on the runner with the herbs at the wedding.  It worked out perfectly.  Yep...as I always say...every wedding has a story.  I'm glad our stories were minor glitches!