I once upon a time dreamed of growing flowers for my daughter’s wedding bouquet. 

I found two potted peonies on sale—more than 50% off! I knew Hannah wanted peonies in her bouquet, so I bought them.

I imagined them growing and producing beautiful blooms just in time for her wedding—in May, 2016. As we know, she was married in December of 2015. In New England. It was a warm Autumn, but none the less, none of my home-grown flowers survived until December to grace her bouquet.

That was OK. I knew that dream really was more fantasy and fairy tale, than realistic goal. I did however, still dream of having peonies in my garden. Oh! Just the thought made my head spin. I still had those two bushes, forgotten since her wedding date changed. I could still try to grow peonies, couldn’t I? We put them in the ground. I had absolutlely no idea what to expect.

We planted them on either side of the sunflowers, in the Kitchen Window Flower Bed. They are hard to see in this photo, but that is just as well. They did not look happy. In fact, they both became covered in mildew, and over the winter died away. They completely disappeared. They were gone for good.  Or, so I thought.

This Spring, Doug came in from the yard one day and announced the peonies were back. I didn’t believe him at all! There were two areas of growth in the same place the peony bushes had once been, but I was sure they were weeds. Those plants were dead and buried, but I still went out immediately to check for myself. This is what I found:

I have never seen a peony growing, so to me it looked some kind of alien life form. I wasn’t convinced. Doug stood his ground. A couple of weeks later, they began to look like the real deal.

 

The peonies have exceeded my wildest dreams. They’re amazing flowers! I photograph their progress almost daily. I lose myself in those layers of petals—I’m just a little jealous of that ant. Here is a random selection of some favorite shots.

 

It’s still hard for me to believe there are peonies growing in my yard. Honestly, they are a dream come true. My Kitchen Window Flower Bed is a dream come true, too. God is good! I am so grateful to Him for His creation, and His generosity. He does things so well, so bountifully!

“I will sing to the Lord because He has blessed me so richly.” Psalm 13:6, TLB