They were past their best in the main, dried out, some even a little crispy, but many of the peonies at the February exhibition of botan at the Hachimangu shrine in Kamakura were still fritillatedly resplendent.
I do like peonies – both in luxuriantly madame frou appearance and bittersweet odour (though as a stridently artificial note in perfume it is generally hideous ) – and they are probably d’s favourite flowers.
I have good memories of them growing up when some really choice fists of puce peony would unfurl fragrantly on warm early summer evenings, wood pigeons cooing in the rafters of Dovehouse Farm; to me they represent an ineffable resting elegance and an integral part of my mum’s carefully – but ramblingly – curated back garden where I would lounge about reading fairy stories or dreaming under laburnum.
This year – a tough year ! (I have not gone into so much, and probably should) has still been good in terms of relationships : I have a blossoming relationship with a Japanese lady in our neighborhood who has helped me in so many ways I feel very indebted ( a lost wallet here, facilitating a medical referral there..) : what could I possibly do to return the favour?
‘Can you make me an English garden?’
So there you have it. We have been assembling rosemary, lavender, lupins, Christmas roses, anemones and hyacinths : I have suggested peonies as well – she was surprised, as they are such classically popular Japanese flowers- but wouldn’t you say they are part of the Classic English garden? I would say hollyhocks, foxgloves… irises? She buys the plants and we go round and plant them (well, I stand there with my stick and help him choose the best position)- and slowly the garden is taking shape.
What are the quintessentials ?
Also: primroses, geraniums, hydrangeas, delphiniums, sage(culinary and ornamental), thyme, poppies, irises, hollyhocks ( in summer) and all the David Austen roses.
Penelope Hobhouse wrote many a book on the English garden. I would peruse them wistfully knowing that the closest I would ever get to an English garden in drought stricken California was a Mediterranean version. Nowhere near as verdant and lush as the Anglo but still aromatic.