The ambience was perfect for online seduction. My garden’s soil was too wet to work with, and staring at the tightly clenched buds of my earliest peonies hadn’t spurred them into blooming. I needed a preview of what was soon to come in my 30-peony garden. I’d long ago advanced to the realization than only a handful of sites gave me what I sought—what I’ve come to call peony porn—gorgeous online images that capture the satiny essence of my favorite flower. The best place to start for photos, hybridizing information, history and much more is Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia. Burkhardt is from Kolkwitz, Germany, and it is his self-described passion for peonies that led him to this humongous yet beautiful database on all things peony. Lovers, breeders, growers and sellers of the peony from all over the world contribute to and learn from this source. It’s where I found out about Zlatana Draskovich, a breeder practically in my own backyard. (see May/June issue of Chicagoland Gardening.) One of my favorite commercial sites belongs to Keith Swenson of Swenson Gardens in Howard Lake, MN. Over the past several years I’ve ordered peony roots from at least eight different sources, and this is one that I give an unqualified thumbs up. Swenson’s web site is one that makes peony lovers weak in the knees and jabbing at the “add to cart” button. Gorgeous peonies are presented in a kind of time-lapse technique, allowing you to see them in their just-awakening and then fully-opened stage, igniting the imagination into what they’ll look like in your garden. Meanwhile, I’ve had my own peonies posing for photos that I will share here with you. — Jean Starr

Photos: Jean Starr