Hidcote Peonies

It has rained at least part of the time during each of the past eight days. All over the neighborhood, peonies fairly bristle with buds, round balls on straight stems sticking up from among the leaves, ready to burst open. Our spate of "English weather" made me think of another May day, spent at Hidcote, a magnificent garden in the Cotswolds. We wandered into the Pillar Garden, where the walkways were lined with peonies. The sun shining through the petals made the peonies look as if they were lit from within. This week I will take a morning walk and enjoy my neighbors' more modest gardens graced with peonies as beautiful as those in an illustrious English garden.