ANN ARBOR, Mich. – It’s almost that time of the year when 800 peonies at the University of Michigan Nichols Arboretum unfurl their petals for the annual bloom.
Every year in May the W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden sees hundreds of visitors eager to photograph around 10,000 flowers.
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The event is so popular that Arboretum staff even keep track of the peonies’ progress as peak bloom time creeps closer.
Here’s what the May 8 update says:
“The tree peonies in the Arb are having their moment! The tree peonies typically bloom several weeks before our mass bloom of herbaceous peonies and are a nice preview of some of the natural beauty to come!”
Staff wrote that warmer weather has likely sped up the blooming process for some of the peonies but they can’t yet pinpoint the an exact date.
The garden’s herbaceous peonies will likely bloom between Memorial Day and mid-June.
Why are these flowers so special?
The peony garden is made up of around 800 peonies comprised of 350 historic herbaceous varieties from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Varieties have cool names, like Festiva, Golden Glow, Legion of Honor and Queen of Hamburg. Get to know the varieties here.
There are more than 10,000 pink, red, white and yellow flowers at peak bloom.
Nichols Arboretum is open from sunrise to sunset at 1610 Washington Heights.