Don't touch Mother's Peony's...

I still remember my father saying that when I was a little girl.

'You can look, but don't touch Mother's Peony's'

I would sit out in the back yard looking at the big buds

I liked to watch the ants

I never did touch Mom's Peony's...but I really WANTED to!

They always started to open on my birthday and Dad would bring one inside to me

 'Happy Birthday Sweetheart'

I always remember how happy it made me to have my very own, and to this day Peony's are one of my very favorite blooms.  2 years ago, Mom and Dad brought me a piece of that very same Peony.

Today, the first bloom opened.

Just in time for my birthday