Piles of Peonies

Okay, I am almost done with the peony pictures. Well I may save a few for the archives. Just can't help myself, they are so beautiful and smell so intoxicating. I think I may have covered this before.
These beauties are from my mother-in-law's yard. She must have about ten plants all in a row, all shades of pink and white. I couldn't resist picking just a few. Peonies remind me of my childhood. My mother had three pink pink plants that lined our driveway. She took extra care putting wire frames around them and fretting over the ant covered buds as they came into bloom. On more than one occassion she would cut one for me to take to my teacher, wrapping the end in a wet paper towel for me to carry in. She would tell me to tell the teacher that this was a peony from our yard. I always thought she was saying "panty". I remember being so embarassed at the thought of telling the teacher the flower's name. I'm sure I just handed it over quickly. I couldn't understand why you would name such a beautiful flower after underwear.