The Peonies are Blooming at the Rockefeller Preserve – Sleepy Hollow NY

Hi Debbie - I did a longer article on this in 2008.  The initial peonies died enroute. $80k of plants destroyed.  They then resent the plants.  But this year I wanted to remember the Peony monument because of the earthquake in Japan. I was hoping to catch the flowers in bloom and lucked out.  I know you are VERY busy, but if you are anywhere near the Preserve you might want to stop by just to see them at the entry. 

Just a thought: Wouldn't it be wonderful if we sent them something similar  to Japan?  Something uniquely American that would grow there as a monument to who they lost?  They thought of us during a man-made disaster - a natural disaster (made worse by man-made nuclear power plants) is just as bad.

Hi Gail - I didn't know for a long time.  I saw the sign from Japan on the lawn - but they did't make the obvious connection to 9/11 on it.  I guess I need things to be more obvious.  Like stating - "This is a memorial for the victims of 9/11."  But they were blooming like crazy one year and I decided to track the history.  It was late so no one at the Preserve was around - so I did what everyone else does - I Googled it.  Peonies are spectacular.  Only about 1/3 were in full bloom that day. I tried to get a shot of the whole monument.  But the sun was simply too bright and th flowers didn't pop. Those pics were very "underwhelming"  But there were hundreds of buds blooming and hundreds more ready to open.