Susan's Herbal Notebook

Plant Lore, Garden Mysteries, and Herbal Magic
for the Cultivated Gardener

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Peony: Blossoms that Blush

According to Greek legend, the peony began as a beautiful nymph named Peonia. Apollo rather liked this innocent young girl, who was a bit of a flirt. One day, the two of them were carrying on in their usual bantering way when Aphrodite happened along. The goddess was not amused. She stamped her foot and called Peonia a brazen hussy, a harlot, a strumpet. Apollo thought Aphrodite was over-reacting, but he didn't think it was a good idea to tell her so. Peonia, who hadn't meant any harm, was so distressed and shamed by Aphrodite's unjust accusations that she blushed bright red. She was still blushing when Aphrodite changed her into a flower--the plant we know today as the peony.

The Chinese tell a similar story. It seems that there was a solemn young scholar who admired peonies and grew an entire garden of them, all pure white. He was watering them one day when a pretty young woman appeared and offered her services as a gardener. The scholar was swept away by her innocent smile and delightful laugh. He hired her on the spot, even though she didn't have a resume. Under her tender care, the white peonies flourished, growing larger and more beautiful than before, while the young scholar--always so sober--learned to laugh and enjoy his garden in a new and delightful way.

One day, the scholar learned that his teacher, a famous monk, planned to drop in that afternoon for a cup of tea. Afraid of his mentor's disapproval, the scholar hid the girl in a closet while the two men drank tea and discussed academic affairs. As soon as the stern-faced old monk had gone, the scholar ran to fetch the girl. Bbut the locked closet was empty. She had vanished into thin air. He searched everywhere without success, until he came at last to the garden. There, he saw that all his white peonies were blushing red with the indignation and shame that the girl must have felt. He knew that her soul had fled into the flowers.

The Victorians, who were in some ways more censorious than the old Chinese monk, associated the peony with the shame of an illicit relationship. According to the elaborate language of flowers that was developed in the early nineteenth century, the red peony's blush represented the fiery cheeks of a guilty and dishonorable nymph. Perhaps for this reason, red peonies fell out of favor with proper Victorian matrons, who preferred to grow pure white ones.

This story has no moral, only a happy ending. However the peony began, it is still one of our most beautiful plants. And that's what counts, when you're a gardener.