Tree Peonies
Dolores DeFina Hope Tree Peony Collection
March–May
In early May, a shady plateau above the Rose Garden becomes one of the Garden’s grandest spectacles with the flowering of the more than 100 mature specimens in the Dolores DeFina Hope Tree Peony Collection. Tree peonies, close relatives of the popular garden peony, are actually low shrubs with stout stems and softball-sized flowers. The cultivars in this collection hail from China and feature enchanting names like ‘Lotus That Shines in the Sun’ and ‘Dragon Coiled in the Mist Grasping a Purple Pearl’. They are a not-to-be-missed highlight just before the Rose Garden springs to life.