Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Monday, May 30, 2005
Peonies and Memorial Day
Peonies were the Memorial Day flower in northern Illinois when I was young. I think I must have been in college before I learned that there were other kinds besides the double white, pink, or red ones that were a standard feature in almost every yard, especially if the house was older. And it was well after college that I learned of the fern-leaf types, when I saw one growing in a cemetery in Watertown, Wisconsin, where I was doing genealogical research.
Here in northern Viriginia, they're usually finished blooming by now (at least mine usually are), but not this year. We took a walk at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens yesterday afternoon and the peonies were in full bloom. I especially admired one named 'Tom Eckhardt', but having neither camera nor paper, I had to remember the name. Which, of course, I didn't. Well, I remembered part of it - Eckhardt - and so Googled for Eckhardt and peony, and I turned up a very interesting site. HelpMeFind.com is a database of rose, clematis and peony information. I can't vouch for the quality of the information, but it lists Song Sparrow as a source for 'Tom Eckhardt' and I don't see that variety currently listed in the Song Sparrow online catalog.
No new photos today, but here are some links to beautiful pictures of peonies:
- Rare Books from the MBG Library
- NYPL Digital Gallery (check out the urinal decorated with a peony design)
- Library of Congress: Japanese Print
- Library of Congress: Sam Garner's Peony Garden (who was Sam Garner?)
- Smithsonian Institution: Freer & Sackler Galleries (when did they combine these?)
- The British Museum
- Artcyclopedia
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