1972… My Father (Pops) purchased the farm from his Mother and step-father. The only catch was, they were staying on the farm; which my Pops was fine with. Part of my Grandmother’s property included a peony that had been in her family for over 50 years at that point in time. Somehow this peony landed at my Gran’s house and she spent the rest of her life ensuring it stayed where it was planted and that NO ONE (without risk of death) ever touch, divide or otherwise mutilate this peony. Gran spent the last few years of her life in a nursing home due to declining health and during this time Pops continued to ensure this peony was taken care of and every year took blossoms over to Gran so she could enjoy them. On November 30, 2015 Gran left this world… on her terms. She was three weeks shy of her 103rd birthday. She lived a long, well-loved life.
Spring of 2016 we dug up the peony. It’s a fern leaf peony and so many family members who had their eyes on this flower were now wanting part of it. It was so compacted and had been in place for 70 (?) years without ever having been touched once it was in the ground. A couple of my Gran’s family received some… Pop’s step-brother received some… one of my brothers… and the rest was planted in my parents flower bed. We thought we found the perfect spot for the biggest piece and planted some of the smaller tubers in other parts of the garden. Seeing how we had to move it in the spring, 2016 was a very stressful year for it and it never bloomed… the first year in my life – I didn’t enjoy the blooms of this flower. 2017 it came up… and I soon realized one of Gran’s hollyhocks had planted itself right next to the biggest tuber along with a resident ground squirrel making this part of the garden an exit hole for it’s underground tunnel. The smaller parts were soon shadowed by the hibiscus. It never bloomed this year either and very quickly, the leaves had died back. Needless to say I was devastated and was certain I had guaranteed the demise of Gran’s beloved flower. So… it’s now Spring (sort of), 2018. Those determined tubers send shoots up this year. Easter Sunday’s forecast was snow and I knew I needed to act fast to ensure we had blossoms this year. So… shortly after Easter lunch, I dug up the tubers. They are loving life in the greenhouse right now; which gives me time to find a better, permanent home of them. See Gran! You can separate them and they will be fine! This poor little peony has been through a lot in the past 2 years. It will flourish, just like my Gran did. And icing on the cake? Seeing how happy Pops was to know his Mom's flower was alive and well...
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