Peony Love

Like all of us in Bend, I've been searching for signs of spring. Yes, the crabapples are in bloom and the lilacs are starting to peek out, and that's 100% better than the brown dirt cowboy sticks we were looking at last month. But the one thing I really love, the thing I wait for and that stops me in my tracks at the market (because we don't really grow them all that well in our own gardens) is peony season. So there I was, with a strict cash budget at the store, and these bundles of gorgeous peonies were calling out to me: pick me! no pick me! What is it about them? The layers and layers of delicate petals? The amazing colors, from palest whisper pink to watermelon red? The fact that they start out all round and tight, then go to this sort of lettucy, blowsy wild pouf? I don't know, but I love 'em. The season is short, friends, so go out and get some today. I found these at Newport Market, and I bet the florists have them, too. Have you seen them other places? You don't need a fancy arrangement; they work their own magic without filler or anything else. Just give them a good sharp cut under cool water, and plop them in a vase. For these, I like a vessel with a bit of a flared side to it, since they need room for their heads to open up. Happy happy happy.