THE BOOK OF THE PEONY 



so common." A little further along he breaks 

 through his scholarly reserve with true horticul- 

 tural ardour, and expresses his real regard for 

 the peony by exclaiming, " no flower that I know 

 so faire, great and double." I wish that it were 

 possible for Parkinson to see the peonies of to- 

 day, but I doubt if he could phrase his admiration 

 any more charmingly than he did for the less 

 wonderful peony of 1629. 



As the horses never trot so fast as around the 

 fire in the Winter, so the peonies never bloom so 

 large and perfectly as in one*s vision of the season 

 to come. After one's appreciation of and enthusi- 

 asm for the peony are fully awakened, there is 

 not a week in the year when the flower is not a 

 pleasure. At all times, night or day, Winter 

 or Summer, one can in absorbing study be 

 amongst the peonies and in imagination behold 

 them again in all their sumptuousness. 



When the Spring is here at last, and the earth 

 has its indescribable scent of warmth and sweet- 

 ness, I hasten to my peony garden to see if the 

 first coral tips have broken through the ground. 

 After a few days, becoming impatient, I loosen 

 the soil and dig quietly and gently, until I find 

 the little red points that will soon grow into sharp 



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