When we cleared out the old flower beds in our backyard on Saturday to lay new sod, I was shocked to discover this gorgeous peony plant that had been lurking behind an ugly bush.

Let’s get a close up of that gorgeous bloom.

Who knew that something so beautiful could be hiding in our yard??  And these were even the fancy double peonies, meaning that they have extra petals and are super gorgeous – love it!!

I’ve been smitten with peonies for quite some time, and they were even the flowers in my wedding bouquet.

When I got home from work last night, I was delighted to see about 10 peony blossoms hanging their heavy heads out in our yard – I couldn’t resist picking just a few!!  They are such a friendly and gorgeous touch in our half bathroom.

The pale pink color of the blossoms looks fresh and springy against the pale blue of the walls, porcelain sink and chrome accents.

And since I’m such a sucker for peonies, I just had to take a few glamour shots with the macro setting on my camera.

Aren’t the blossoms amazing?  I can’t get over the fullness and texture of these beauties.  While I was marveling over how gorgeous they were, Lexie couldn’t figure out what these flowers were doing on the floor.

I swear, those blossoms are huge – they’re almost as big as my cat!!

Is there a special bloom that you’re smitten with?  What flowers were in your wedding bouquet?  I hope there are some other peony-lovers out there!!

P.S.  I wanted to let everybody know that A Lil’ Welsh Rarebit, one of my favorite blogs, has been nominated for a Blogger’s Choice Award – head on over and vote for Christy if you get the chance!!