Tree Peony

I fell in love with Tree Peonies—a misnomer, since they don't get more than six feet high—at first sight. I can't exactly remember my initial experience with these Asian beauties, which tower over the more typical garden peonies and often have much bigger flowers, but I suspect it was when I discovered the Cricket Hill Nursery in Thomaston, Connecticut. The nursery specializes in these amazing plants, but the prices, well, they were out of my budget. Still, on a wedding anniversary trip to northwest CT a couple of decades ago, we stopped at White Flower Farm and bore witness to one of their slightly less expensive tree peonies in full bloom. The sight was so stunning that we simply had to get some. Fortunately, the local Agway carried a few basic varieties for about ten bucks a plant. They weren't the authentic name-brand Chinese suffruticosa peonies, but, in full bloom during our own flower festival, they're not bad in their own, generic right.