ANN ARBOR – It's officially bloom season and the famous peony garden at University of Michigan's Nichols Arboretum is starting its annual transformation.
Soon, nearly 10,000 blooms will be on display from approximately Memorial Day to mid-June. It is North America's largest collection of heirloom herbaceous peonies.
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Admission is free and open to the public.
The peony garden has been a popular attraction for 96 years at the Arboretum -- or as locals call it, "The Arb."
(Credit: Michele Yanga)
"The peony garden has layers of significance that make it both an internationally respected public display and research collection," David Michener, associate curator of Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, said in a press release. "With its historic herbaceous peony collection, tree peonies from Chinese, Japanese and Euro-American traditions and modern hybrids, the garden tells the natural and social history of peonies."
Among the varieties featured at the Arboretum are 70 pre-1950s herbaceous peonies, 37 Itoh peonies and classic tree peonies from Europe, Asia and America.
(Credit: Michele Yanga)
Some of the peonies were planted nearly 100 years ago and are still growing in the same spot.
Visitors are provided with maps and information to take self-guided tours.
For more information, visit the peony garden's website.