By Hellomagazine

Copyright hellomagazine

Yours is the largest peony collection in the world, with no fewer than 3,200 different varieties. What was the spark that inspired it?

”It all started in 2003. Every year, my mother organises a few days here for her friends, and that time, they brought her a gift of some peony bulbs from Holland. ”She decided to plant them near the house, but the tender shoots were devoured by hares and deer. The climate was tough for them, too. But she didn’t give up, and replanted them in the dry moat surrounding the house, where the high stone walls would protect them. ”It was later, when she wanted to diversify the garden, that she discovered the infinite variety of peonies. There aren’t 25 or even 250different kinds, but thousands. She gradually expanded her collection by travelling to other parts of Europe, then further afield to Canada, Australia, Japan, the United States and China. ”The project was born out of the passion of a woman with boundless imagination and an impressive ability to turn her dreams into reality. To begin with, she received a lot of discouragement from botanical specialists, collectors and landscape designers. ”But she stood her ground, trusting her instincts, and in the end, she succeeded. She says that each peony is an act of love.