Several years ago, I bought a single peony bulb from Home Depot for two dollars. I planted it by our front porch. Two years later, the first flowers came up. Each flower is a pale, pale pink explosion with hints of yellow. Each year after, they grew in numbers.

Peonies are much happier in vases all over the house than left outside, where they are too heavy for their stems. They like to be displayed in bud vases and even in plastic cups, and they last for more than week inside. But outside, they drag in the dirt and can't be admired. They are the Sarah Jessica Parker of flowers — showy, dramatic, and better indoors.