A "Budding" Star!

This is one of the buds on my ?Tree Peony? in my garden.

I?m really pleased to see this this year as there is a bit of a story behind this plant!!....

This plant was bought in March 2004. In April 2004 my first daughter Megan was born. On the day she was born, when I returned home from the hospital I noticed that the one and only bud had burst open into, in my opinion, a beautiful showy and impressive flower. Many photos were taken! It still makes me smile when I look back at the early baby photos of Megan, and in amongst them all are all these photos of this flower! In subsequent years the plant has always flowered around her birthday and has become known as ?Megan?s Flower?. The other funny thing is the number of flowers on the plant each year increased to match her age, right up to the age of six!

It was following her sixth birthday that we moved house. Because it now had sentimental value, the Tree Peony had to come too! So after carefully removal it was also re-housed here in Ross-on-Wye! The only problem was, it soon wilted and spent the major part of 2009 looking pretty much dead. I didn?t give up hope though and thought I?d leave it over the winter and see what the spring of 2009 would hold. Lo and behold a few leaves emerged last year... but that was about it.... Still didn?t give up hope though! It then had to endure the extreme cold that we had last winter.... I was wondering whether this would be the last straw, but leaves emerged again this Spring, but even better, so have some buds..... Five in fact!

?Megans Flower? lives on!!