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Posted on Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 8 p.m.

Peony garden in peak bloom at Ann Arbor's Arboretum

By Daniel Brenner

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Ann Arbor locals, families, and flower fanatics appreciated the rare and fleeting spectacle of the Peony Garden in peak bloom, Tuesday at the University of Michigan's Nichols Arboretum.

Volunteer Carolyn Burack said she was enjoying the sights and aromas at Arboretum this week and that she expects the flowers to be in bloom for a few more days due to the cooler temperatures.

The collection of 270 peony varieties are all heirloom plants, which means they are World War II era or earlier.

The origin of the garden dates back to 1922 when University of Michigan alum W.E. Upjohn donated the flowers to the university.

The garden is undergoing a conservation and identification process , but the cultivators and staff encourage visitors to pick up a fragrance hunt sheet and spend time with the flowers while you can.

AnnArbor.com photographer Daniel Brenner was there to capture these images.

Comments

Steve Bean

Thu, Jun 6, 2013 : 2:14 p.m.

The headline is inaccurate (to an extent). The Arb is university property, not the city's.

Kyle Mattson

Thu, Jun 6, 2013 : 11:04 p.m.

Wow, that's pretty impressive. It sure puts the couple buckets of dirt w/ veggies plants on my apartment rooftop to shame.

Steve Bean

Thu, Jun 6, 2013 : 8:09 p.m.

The wording change in the article clears it up. Thanks. Nope, Kyle, I've been in my yard planting native species. Over 100 different ones at this point (plus 15+ types of fruit trees/shrubs/perennial vegetables and lots of annual vegetables :-) ). We do have a few peonies as well, though. Maybe we'll follow Arb director Bob Grese's lead someday and "green" our roof. Experimenting this year with growing squash on it from a basket hanging from the gutter in order to use the space and shade the roof.

Kyle Mattson

Thu, Jun 6, 2013 : 5:26 p.m.

Correct you are Steve, but despite U-M owning the land of it is also located here in Ann Arbor, which is what I think Dan was referring to here. Have you been over to the Arb to check out the flora recently?

LA

Thu, Jun 6, 2013 : 12:13 a.m.

Do they still have a "Peony Party" with music, etc. at the Arb?

mady

Sun, Jun 9, 2013 : 6:01 p.m.

LA, I just DON'T GET why anyone would vote your perfectly intelligent question down!! oh well, guess the haters just gotta hate..

Epengar

Thu, Jun 6, 2013 : 6:02 p.m.

Apparently not this year. They are offering free guided tours though: "Drop-in Tours are scheduled for noon and 7:00 pm on: Wednesday, June 5 Friday, June 7 Wednesday, June 12 NOON ONLY Tours last about 45 minutes. Just 'drop in' - no reservations are needed or taken. Meet at the main sign for the Peony Garden. This is across the sloping lawn from the Reader Center at the Washington Heights entrance. Visitors are always welcome to explore the Peony Garden. For web-based and self-guided tour options, see our Tours section of the website." http://mbgna.umich.edu/peony/peony-tours

Kyle Mattson

Thu, Jun 6, 2013 : 5:19 p.m.

Not sure LA, but on a related note here is the information regarding Shakespeare in the Arb running until the end of the month: http://bit.ly/ZSF7Ki

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