Waiting all year for my peonies....and then it rains

One of my favourite flowers are my  tree peonies (from my Mum's old garden) - I wait all year for them to s-l-o-w-l-y come into bloom, I count the buds and carefully prop up the branches (in previous years they have broken under the weight of the flowers!).

Sometimes we have a shower of rain but we can cope with that...

Then one day they burst open...

Each one is as big as a plate and I wish I could eat my dinner off them!

Then the proper rain came and it did not stop - I covered them with fleece but the wind just squashed them -  I hate doing this but I thought that I might as well pick them rather them being ruined by the weather!

A bit battle worn and by the next morning the petals had dropped - but in a lovely way I thought!

The petals are nicely scented

I keep this old photo of Bronte and Maille on the mantlepiece - I think that this was my 'Changing Rooms' paint phase, this is the hall from our old house (prior to the green is was bright yellow!).  Just to note that they are both wearing vintage (though back then they were known as second hand..) Marks and Spencers little mackintoshes (dating from the 1960s) Maille's was particularly lovely I remember.  I must still have them as I cannot believe I would have thrown them away....I may have to spend a few days looking for them...

Also posting a photo of our terracotta figure (bought from a junk shop in The Northern Territory one or two years ago...cough, cough).  We were backpacking at the time and we protected it in our rucksack by wrapping it in socks and shoving it into Dom's trainers..she made it home unharmed.

I hope that your flowers are unblemished! Since writing this the sun has been shining away and another peony of my mum's that has never flowered open up in all it glory - I will add a photo of that later