The Peony.
For years my favourite flower has been the orchid, although I guess that is technically a plant? ... I don't really know the difference, but what I do know is that the Peony is incredibly beautiful and it makes me happy when I see one, or am lucky enough to have one in my house.
Even in it's bud form, before the blooms open - like this one hiding in the left corner- are pretty cool looking. They are like a little ball, with layers and layers of thin petals, that feather out - like tissue paper. This is a snapshot of some that I had put in my sink, after coming home from the grocers. They are still in the plastic here, as are the roses, but it looked so pretty just like this that I actually left it in my sink until the next day.
I put three stems of pale pink peonies, fully open, in this rock-crystal cachepot that I have. Although nothing can look bad in this bowl, I think these look especially lovely. Below, I put also just three in a small jasperware vase and it fills the entire thing up.
In this arrangement I did, peonies and hydrangeas share a clear vase, in which I put tiny clementine oranges. These colours here are perfect. Hot pink and orange always look good together, don't they?
Speaking of hot pink, this colour is unreal, isn't it?
I took this snapshot with my phone while in one of my favourite local antique shops, Antique Row. Isn't this such a simple yet sweet and pretty little arrangement? Two flowers is all it took, a peony and a rose. Lovely! The peony is not a cheap flower to purchase, and it is usually priced per stem or in groups of three, but it opens so large, that you don't need a lot and I think you get a lot of look for your money.
