Peony, King of Flowers #SaturdaySnapshot
According to Chinese legend, the Empress Wu Zeitan ordered all the flowers to bloom for the first New Year celebration of her reign. All the flowers in the royal garden participated except for the peony. The Empress forced the disobedient plant into exile. Only a few survived in a garden in the ancient city of Luoyang. When the Empress later fell ill, only a peony root potion could cure her. In gratitude, the Empress lifted the ban. The peony returned from Luoyang and was given the title King of Flowers.
In this piece in the Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Flower Fairies are caring for the peony, helping it survive in spite of the wrath of an Empress.
Flower Fairies lantern at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Lantern Festival
I love the flowing ribbons on the flower fairies!
A Chinese flower fairy of ancient legend
In Missouri, peonies bloom between Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, so you can understand why the plant might be unwilling or unable to bloom for the Chinese New Year. One of the best places to see peonies in St. Louis is along the path in the Japanese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
A peony bloom from late May, Japanese Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
I was reminded of that photograph by the lanterns on the wall in Ridgway Center, the entrance hall for the Garden. These are Paeonia suffruticosa Andrews subsp suffruticosa, a subspecies that has been cultivated for over 2,000 years in China.
Peony lantern, Ridgway Visitor Center, Missouri Botanical Garden
Information for this post was gleaned from the guide, Lantern Festival: Magic Reimagined. The director of the Missouri Botanical Garden approved our second lantern festival in three years with the principle that the exhibit honor the plants in China. The Garden has worked with China for decades, resulting in the Flora of China, “a comprehensive catalog of all Chinese wild plants.”
This is the first in a series of four posts about the flowers that are featured in this year’s Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden. If you find yourself in St. Louis this summer, don’t miss it! I’ll link all four posts to Saturday Snapshot at West Metro Mommy Reads. Check out her post today for photography by other bloggers.
Oh this is just fantastic! I love peonies. St. Louis is on my bucket list.
My white peony gave a few blooms this year. Hopefully more next year. Love the red one you have!
I enjoyed your beautiful peony photos. Thank you for including the legend too. I’m looking forward to the next pictures in this series.
My Saturday Snapshot post is HERE.
I’ve always loved the blowsy beauty of peonies. Beautiful pictures!
Lovely pictures…the flowers are beautiful and the lantern is amazing!
What bold colors! I love each of your photos!
The lantern festival looks like a lot of fun.
Sean at His and Her Hobbies
Very Cool!
Beautiful photos this week, Joy, and an interesting background story as well! I didn’t realize you lived in Missouri – we used to drive through every year on our way home from visiting my husband’s parents in Oklahoma – we always enjoyed MO’s beautiful state parks – camping, hiking, caves, rivers!
Enjoy the weekend –
Sue
2015 Big Book Summer Challenge
This is so much fun! I love these light shows and the legend of the peony is great.
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