You may have heard me mention before that many of my glassware designs are inspired both by my personal travels as well as my love of different countries and cultures. To take that knowledge one step further, we begin a series of blogs regarding our different collections and some background about where the inspiration came from. This week we are focusing on our Polynesian Peony Collection.

The Peony is thankfully well accustomed to our North American climates and considered one of the unofficial flowers of spring, but it’s origins trace back to ancient Eastern cultures, specifically Polynesia.

Polynesia is roughly considered to cover a large triangle of islands from Hawaii, to Easter Island to New Zealand. (Zegrahm Expeditions) Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to visit them all, but a girl can dream! For now I’ve got my own Peony garden right here on Golden Hill!

Peonies are a staple in the gardens of Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji and more. A hardy perennial, it prospers in the heat and humidity of the Polynesian Islands, but as a dormant bulb, it can withstand the harsh North American winters as well.

There are a number of myths and folklore regarding the Peony, one of them tracing it back to a nymph named Paeonia whose beauty was said to have attracted Apollo; Aphrodite became jealous and turned her into a Peony. The Chinese name for “most beautiful” translates to Peony. (ProFlowers)

I can certainly attest to their beauty being one of the reasons we created our collection and customers seem to agree as its one of our best sellers at this time of year!