Peonies are famous for their longevity. I’ve never planted a peony, but I’ve seen them around and had a quite handsome large one at my house in Evanston. I never did anything to it (except tried to keep it from flopping over), and it was always fine. I did notice, however, the flower buds would be covered with ants and so I never desired to bring them into the house. An old friend of mine thought peonies were only suitable for decorating French whorehouses, because they are so overdone and blowsy.
I noticed some foliage in the small bed along the front of my house some years ago, and left it alone. I finally identified it in my own mind as a peony, based on the foliage of other peonies around. It never bloomed, and it didn’t really thrive until last year. But this year, JACKPOT! I got two blooms on the two stalks, and they are nice in a blowsy overblown sort of way. The palest of pinks, very nearly white.
This is my thirteenth year in the house. I guess it was worth waiting for.
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