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Tree Peony Collection
Three hundred tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) grace the periphery of BBG's Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and the slope of the Overlook. The plants were given to BBG in 2002 by the Japanese town of Yatsuka-Cho "to bring peace of mind to people in the United States" after the events of September 11.
But the spectacular specimens currently on display are not the original plants sent from Japan—and thereby hangs a tale.
An original shipment of 1,050 tree peonies traveled by boat from Japan in the fall of 2002, bound for both BBG and the Rockefeller State Park Preserve in Sleepy Hollow, New York. The tree peonies entered the U.S. at Long Beach, California, but a strike by the longshoremen's union caused the closing of many West Coast ports. As the strike continued, the tree peonies sat in hot, dry containers on a dock in Long Beach. Unable to withstand such conditions, the plants died.
Yatsuka-Cho, renowned for its cultivation of rare tree peonies, generously sent a new shipment the following spring, which safely made its way to BBG.
Blooming in May, the tree peonies from Yatsuka-Cho are marvels of color, scent, and size. The Paeonia suffruticosa 'Chiyo Zakura' has delicate light pink flowers with darts of deep pink at their center; the flowers of P. suffruticosa 'Tama Usagi' are white with magenta-tipped yellow stamens; and P. suffruticosa 'Shimanishiki' bears astonishing red and white candy-striped blossoms. These are but three of the many extraordinary tree peonies to visit at BBG.
Map of the Garden
The Tree Peony Collection is indicated by the orange box. Click on the map to visit other locations in the Garden, or click here to view a larger map.
