How old is your peony?

[Smart Red]

I love the blooms and it's to bad they can't be used medicinally.. . . . .

In medeval times the seeds were eaten according to my research for my final "test" for Master Gardener status.
"Here, peonies nod neighborly
And brighten up the way
Unknowing that their fruiting seeds
Will serve as snacks one day."

While others wrote their test answers, I set mine to rhyme.
..............English Cottage Garden

Helter-skelter flowers grow
In radiant disarray
And call to deep within one’s breast,
“Come pause a while. Come stay.”

The scent of lavender and rue,
Of hyssop, tansy, sage,
Imbue the air with soft allure
That serves to set the stage

For riotous blooms of color
From plants of timeless age
Whose tops sway gently in the wind
And once were all the rage.

Here, peonies nod neighborly
And brighten up the way
Unknowing that their fruiting seeds
Will serve as snacks one day.

There, tall, blue-spired delphiniums
Stretch up to kiss the sky.
How did they come to grow just there?
I’d never question why.

Lovingly tended cherry trees
Espaliered by the gate
Become a treat for beasts and me
Provided I’m not late.

My garlic’s playing hide and seek.
Leeks dance with Columbine.
Sir Parsley partners Queen Anne’s Lace
And brews up dandelion.

A drift of noble hollyhocks
Sway regally in the breeze,
The trailing rose beside my door
Grows up to meet the trees.

Beside the spice-sweet scent of pinks
That edge a shady nook
Amid the busy buzz of bees,
I’d sit and read a book.

It's flowers growing where they may
With not one “Beg your pardon!”
This world of colors, scents, and sounds -
My English cottage garden.

 

[ninnymary]

That's a beautiful poem @Smart Red!

Mary