Memories are funny things, aren’t they? It is interesting to me what will trigger a memory and what I have come to love because of its connection to some of my sweetest memories. For example, peonies and gardenias are my favorite flowers. They make me nostalgic for the South I remember from growing up. I have some very specific memories and people linked to these lovely blooms. This piece is about appreciating and reveling in that connection.
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Ahhh, the sweet smell of remembering. Love this and brought back so many memories.
I am mesmerized by your memories of summer in the South. I love peonies and gardenias too. Just so you know, Trader Joe’s in Petaluma had a lot of peonies this week.
What a lovely piece, Akasha. Thank you for sharing your “South” with us. By the way, ants are critical to the ability of peonies to open. No ants; no open blossoms on a peony bush. The ants’ exploration of the tightly bound bud is what causes the petals to loosen and separate and, finally, to unfold entirely. It makes having peonies in the house a challenge because you can bring the ants in with the flower if you aren’t careful to shake the flower gently outside to knock the little critters off. But they are wonderful “helpers” toward these beautiful blossoms. My sister has wonderful peony bushes in her backyard — white with a blush of pink in the middle and deep magenta. So beautiful. Now I’m full of my own nostalgia for my childhood — no peonies or gardenias there, but fireflies and tiny frogs in the slough next to my grandparents’ house, the smell of hot tar on newly surfaced streets and a stick to dig into it to blow on it and eat it as “gum” because it made our teeth white (my grandfather’s wisdom there — we’re lucky we didn’t get cancer!!), wild wheat (also in the slough) which we stripped from its stalk and rubbed in our hands to get the chaff off and then put the kernels in our mouths to make chewing gum. Ah, the joys of childhood summers. Thanks for the memories, Akasha.
I feel just the same way you do Akasha about the beauty of these two lovelies. Peonies and gardenias….truly nature’s gift.
❤️