Peonies!

It's Golden Week in Japan and the whole country is on holiday. Golden Week is a collection of 4 national holidays all within a one-week period and many companies and business close for the duration. This year an additional holiday has been added to celebrate the beginning of Reiwa, a new era for a new emperor. For many, this means a total of 10 days off and the news has been full of stories about cranky people who don't know what to do with all their time off.

Well, it's not a problem in this household! We've been running errands, spring cleaning (hello, clean curtains!), and doing odd jobs around the house. They are mostly things that don't get done during the usual weekly routine so it feels great to check them off the to-do list.

Of course, we've also managed to get out a bit. We usually stick close to home during Golden Week because traffic tends to be horrific but on Sunday we took a chance. We spent most of the day in Kyoto (light traffic both ways) and dropped by Kyoto Botanical Garden in the early afternoon to see what there was to see.

As usual, I made a beeline for the native plants garden but as we wandered through the area we could see very colorful flowers off in the distance. Roses? No! Peonies! That area of the garden included many peony varieties and it was a riotous collection of colours and shapes. Most surprising was the size - some were larger than dinner plates! I had no idea peonies could grow to be so large! Ah, such gorgeous flowers!

I so enjoyed the unexpected treat and returned home determined to grow more peonies. Okay, I'll confess. I only have one peony plant at present, and it has only bloomed for me once. That was last year after 5 years of continued efforts. (The secret was more fertilizer.) Regardless, I am determined! I need more peonies in my life!

Here are some of the beauties I saw at the Kyoto Botanical Garden. Perhaps you need more peonies in your life as well? (^.~)

(Click on the thumbnail to see the full image.)