Peony

I have several peony plants in my garden - you may have seen the yellow Itoh peony blossom that I posted on May 14th. The peonies that are just beginning to bloom now are herbaceous peonies, meaning that they die back to the ground in the winter. They are the old-fashioned kind - some with big double blossoms and others are single. I have three in my garden in varying shades of pink. 

This blip is of the one that is fully open right now - I don't know what the name is...lost long ago I'm afraid. But it's a beauty! Although the day dawned with beautiful sunny skies, when I was in the garden rather early this morning, this blossom had a beautiful layer of dew on it, which caught the early rays of sun. If you look closely you'll see a little white crab spider smiling at you, and a couple of other unidentifiable tiny creatures enjoying the luscious of this blossom.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments on yesterday's spotless beetle blip. LoisBiz had the info we needed - it is an Asian Ladybug much like a regular Ladybug (or Ladybird) but with no spots. It voraciously eats aphids. However, it can apparently be a nuisance when it comes to overwintering - preferring your home rather than the outside. Hopefully I will not have a garden full of these!