I wrote this post about the mythology behind the peony back in the summer of 2007. I remembered it a while ago when I was recommending the book Stories and Legends of Garden Flowers, which is the source of this particular story, to another blogger. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it! — Colleen

How the Peony Got Its Name (Or, Why it Never Pays to Piss Off a Goddess)

More than once, I’ve read comments by my fellow garden bloggers referring to peonies as “floozies of the garden.” I can see it. They’re showy, flamboyant, and once they’re in bloom, they demand as much attention as stiletto heels and bright red lipstick. So I laughed aloud when I read one of the many legends of the creation of the peony.

The story goes that there was this cute little wood-nymph named Paeonia, who was very sweet and very shy. One day, Paeonia went into the meadow to gather buttercups. Well, it just happened that as this sweet, shy wood-nymph was standing knee deep in buttercups, Apollo rode by. He saw her, was totally entranced by the sight of her, and within moments the two were making love in the meadow. Shy Paeonia was embarrassed by Apollo’s passion, and turned her head aside. But when she turned her head, she was met with the sight of the goddess of love, Venus, standing there (undoubtedly with her hand on her hip) with an angry frown on her face. Paeonia blushed deeply, ashamed that the goddess had caught her in the throes of passion with Apollo, and in that instant, when the wood-nymph blushed, Venus turned her into a flower that still bears both her name and her blush, the peony.

I came across this story in an absolutely charming old book (published in 1939) titled Stories and Legends of Garden Flowers by Vernon Quinn. I picked this book up from my local library a few days ago, and I am just inlove with it. As someone who loves mythology and folklore anyway, reading this wonderful combination of gardening and mythology has been a real treat. And I know I’ll never look at a peony the same way again. The little floozy….