Early June is when peonies bloom in Michigan. I have several peony plants in my annual and perennial flower garden. This year, they all bloomed – Yay! I have solid pink, two-toned pink, red-magenta, and white peony plants. My white and red peonies did not bloom last year, and honestly, I didn’t even know I had a white plant! I can’t remember ever seeing it bloom. So, the work I put into my garden last fall and this spring really paid off! Below are peony blooms from this spring’s flower garden:

I was thrilled to have red peonies bloom in my garden this year, and I was able to take some wonderful reference photos for inspiration to paint. I painted large red magenta peonies on 12″ x 16″, 300 lb watercolor paper, and matted and framed it to 16″ x 20″.  Below is the painting I recently completed. I’m very happy with the results, and just smile every time I look at it.