Peony

Peony…takes me to my childhood, when, to earn some money wewould ask mom if we could pick some of her peonies fora bouquet. She always said yes. We would go around the neighborhood, knock on doors and ask “would you like to buy some flowers?” In my home in Naramata I was happy to have them appear the first spring after we moved in. They grew bigger and more fragrant than I ever remember my mother’s being but the memory that links my mother to a peony is larger than life today.