The Ants Are Coming!

(My favorite flowers. I love to see their lush, decadent blooms come full spring.)

 

Do you know what these are? They are peonies. (This pic is from a year or two ago–this year’s batch hasn’t even leafed out yet.) Do you know what loves peonies? Ants. Ants adore peonies. If you look closely at peony buds, you’ll notice ants crawling over them like travelers over little white globes. Aren’t they busy, busy little things. Folk wisdom says that peonies need to be worked by ants so they can bloom...