Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

With the advent of our first heat wave of the season, the last of my Peonies are being pushed to their end. I await their blooming all year and their bloom time always seems to go by much too quickly.

I cut them to bring in to set upon the diningroom table and on the side table next to me to enjoy while I work. Even though they drop their blown petals all at once with a big sigh, which then I have to clean up, I never mind. There is the gift of fragrance in those soft, fallen petals that clings to my hands.

Today’s arrangement mainly features Paeonia lactiflora and Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea). Pinwheels of wild, white Musk Mallow (Malva moschata alba) and Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus) fill around them. Spikes of purple Speedwell (Veronica incana) and green trimmings from Russian Sage (Salvia yangii) provide additional vertical accents.