Wandering Amongst the Peonies

Even though the weather is not showing it today, it is getting pretty close to being summer.  That means it is almost time for the peonies to start blooming.

 I figured that I would stop by the Arboretum to see if that was the case.  I'd see a few posts on Facebook and I think I got an e-mail from the Botanical Gardens but still.

 So I went to the Arboretum.  It looks like I picked just about the right time to do that.  It looks like they were pretty close to peak.

 One thing I like about Nichols Arboretum is the variety of flowers they have there.  The peony garden was establish in 1922 and I think some of the flowers here are that old.  I think there might even be a few that are older.
I'm actually going to attempt to identify these but too many of them look so close.  I believe this one is called an Albert Crousse.  It was acquired in 1924.

I think this one may be a bayadere.

These are albiflora, I think.

 It was a pretty subdued lighting night last night, so that made for some true colors of the flowers.  I think these are called Augustine d'Hour.

 I think the multicolor ones are my favorites.  I think this one is called duchess of Portland.

 These remind me of some sort of tentacled monster.  I think this one may be called a fuyajo.

 When I was taking a picture of this one, I didn't notice the yellow in the center.

 I really like this one.

 I was trying to get some different angles.

 Another yellowish one.

I'm not sure what this one is called but I do like it.

 Looking up at them.

 For some reason this one reminds me of a firework.

 A nice pink one.

I think this one is called La Perle.

 Looking at a nice grouping of them.

I think this one may be a cherry hill one.

 I'm not sure what kind of flower this is (I should have noted the card near it) but I think I really like it.

 Looking at them from a different angle.

 As I was taking pictures, I noticed some bees flying around and I decided to get some pictures of them.

I kind of wish this was a little more in focus but I still like it.