D123-2012 Paeonia ???, possibly Paeonia suffruticosa, a tree peony
Native to Asia

Peony Garden of Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)

Warning: This photo has been red thumbed. Viewing it might be harmful!
D123-2013 Paeonia ???
Native to Asia
Possibly a Japanese tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa, but I couldn't see a label.
The tree in the background is a flowering dogwood.  Note also the blooming strawberries at the base of the peony.

Peony Garden of Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)
Paeonia suffruticosa 'Kissed Peach', a Japanese tree peony.
Native to Asia
This, along with several other varieties of early-blooming peonies, grows in the beds between the main peony garden and the Laurel Ridge Trail (seen here in the background).
I've read that specimens of tree peony can live as long as two hundred years.  This one, by comparison, is just a baby.

Peony Garden of Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)
Paeonia suffruticosa 'Kissed Peach'
Native to Asia
The species has the common name Japanese tree peony, but examples of it in Nichols Arboretum have not, at least not yet, taken on a tree-like conformation.  I neglected to test these for fragrance.  Native tree peonies have little or no fragrance, but breeders are developing hybrids of the species specifically to express various fragrances.  Designer peonies, you might say.

Peony Garden of Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)
D123-2013 Paeonia suffruticosa 'Kissed Peach'
Native to Asia
The tiny black bugs in the center of the blossom seem more like beetles than flies to me.  They're definitely not spiders, bees, or wasps.

Peony Garden of Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)
Giant spreading yellowwood just starting to leaf out.
Cladrastis kentukea     Family  Fabaceae

Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)
Miscellaneous unidentified rhododendrons (labels missing or inaccessible)
Can you spy the spider?

Laurel Ridge Trail in Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)
Miscellaneous unidentified rhododendrons (labels missing or inaccessible)

Laurel Ridge Trail in Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)
D123-2013 Miscellaneous unidentified rhododendrons (labels missing or inaccessible)

Laurel Ridge Trail in Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)
D123-2012 Paeonia ???, possibly Paeonia suffruticosa, a tree peony
Native to Asia

Peony Garden of Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)

Warning: This photo has been red thumbed. Viewing it might be harmful!
D123-2012 Paeonia ???, possibly Paeonia suffruticosa, a tree peony
Native to Asia

Peony Garden of Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)

Warning: This photo has been red thumbed. Viewing it might be harmful!
D123-2012 Paeonia ???, possibly Paeonia suffruticosa, a tree peony
Native to Asia

Peony Garden of Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
May 3, 2012
(nex5n)

Warning: This photo has been red thumbed. Viewing it might be harmful!
See photo in original gallery.