The Transformation of a Peony

This morning, my beautiful big peonies were dropping their petals (see the second photo in extras). I quickly took the last photos. The main one is one of the last peony buds to open.
The first extra is the amazing deep colour of the peonies when they were given to me. The transformation is amazing!

These fallen petals tell me that it's time to buy some more blooms. It
also means that my birthday celebrations have come to a beautiful end, though I shall keep the cards up for ages yet!

It has been a very HOT day with some time walking along the lake in another nearby lakeside town. The lake and mountains were hazy because of the heat, so not the best time to take photos.

As I walked along the lake today, I met a gardener who was checking out all the flowering rose bushes to check for pests. When he found them, he gently put some ladybird larvae on the plants to deal with the problem naturally! I wish I'd taken a photo of him!