Dazzling tree peonies will reward your patience with fragrance — and awe.

Sometimes a single exquisite bloom is enough to take your breath away. Sorting through pictures of tree peony blooms from the Seattle Chinese Garden, more than once I gasped with delight. But to truly appreciate the cabbage-sized blooms with crepe paper petals and intricate centers you need to see them in a garden, if for no other reason than to experience the spicy-sweet fragrance. 

Seattle plantsman Phil Wood describes the blooms as “Big. Florid. Gorgeous.” His love for tree peonies is a family affair. Wood joined the Garden’s board of directors shortly after he and his wife adopted their daughter from China in 1996. “I wanted to increase my knowledge about Chinese culture,” he says. “Adopting a second daughter from China deepened my interest further.”

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GROW in The Seattle Times