Latest news with #peonies
Fox News
3 hours ago
- General
- Fox News
Historic university garden vandalized in apparent anti-Israel statement: 'Don't waste your tears'
Hundreds of the University of Michigan's iconic peonies were reportedly cut in an act of vandalism – apparently perpetrated by at least one unidentified pro-Palestinian agitator. The Ann Arbor school's W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden, located in Nichols Arboretum, is home to North America's largest collection of historic herbaceous peonies, according to The Associated Press – and it boasts about 800 plants with 10,000 flowers at peak bloom. However, about 250 – or one-third of them – were found Sunday morning with most of their flowers cut off. While no group has taken credit for the gratuitous act of destruction, according to the university's Division of Public Safety & Security (DPSS), papers found around the site outlined the apparent motive. "Plant lives don't matter. Human lives do," the papers read in part. "Stop the war. Resist Imperialism." "Palestinian lives deserve to be cared for. More than these flowers," they continue. "Don't waste your tears on the peonies. They are not even dead and will grow again next spring." "Make no mistake, the criminal tactics used in the recent act of vandalism at Nichols Arboretum are wholly unacceptable," read a statement by the university. "We unequivocally condemn the destruction of property and any act of vandalism on our campus," the statement continued. "Damaging a beloved community space intended to foster reflection and bring hope to the whole community is counter productive. We urge all community members to channel their voices through constructive and meaningful dialogue." UMich is no stranger to acts of vandalism by anti-Israel agitators – university President Santa Ono's home and the surrounding area were spray-painted with the words "intifada" and "coward" in October. The Upjohn Garden incident also transpired on the same day as an alleged terrorist attack on a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, that left multiple people injured. The suspect, Mohamad Sabry Soliman, "stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people," according to a federal complaint. The DPSS is actively investigating the matter, which the school describes as a "criminal incident." A Public Affairs representative for the university declined to comment further on the incident when reached by Fox News Digital.
CTV News
6 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Bustling crowds and bus rides are part of the annual peony pilgrimage to Michigan
Peonies are on display at Nichols Arboretum's W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden Monday, June 2, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder) ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It's time to peek at the peak peonies. Visitors are making the annual pilgrimage to the University of Michigan this week to see -- and smell -- one of the world's premier collections of the garden plant, featuring showy red, white and pink blooms of countless shades and varieties. Melanie Millar and her friends visited the Ann Arbor school's Nichols Arboretum on Monday to take some graduation photos. The 18-year-old Millar is set to graduate from a Detroit-area high school in a matter of days. 'I'm here with my best friends — a bunch of girls. … We just came here to get pictures since it's going to be a nice day, and the Peony Garden seemed like a nice place to go to,' Millar said. The W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden features the largest collection of historic — pre-1950 — herbaceous peonies in North America, 'and likely the world,' curator David Michener said. 'Once you come here to the Peony Garden, you'll be mesmerized, and you'll understand why people love peonies,' he said. 'The fragrances, the colors, the forms, it's just intoxicating.' The peony watch is a spectator sport with tens of thousands of visitors arriving at The Arb each spring to behold the unique perennials -- so many that visitors have to be bused in. But there was a somber mood among some Monday. Vandals cut off the blooms of roughly 250 peonies a day earlier, the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security said in a statement. Although no group or organization has taken credit for vandalizing the garden, some papers were left behind, DPSS said. One referenced the war in Gaza, saying: 'Palestinian lives deserve to be cared for. More than these flowers.' 'What would possess someone just to destroy nature and the beauty of it? It's just unfathomable,' visitor Linda J.K. Klenczar said Monday. 'There's no explanation. I don't know if they're going to catch someone who did this. They need to explain themselves.' It's a moving target each year as to when the peonies will reach peak bloom. And one of great interest – with scores of peony-watchers glued to the Arb's Instagram page for updates. 'What makes it so challenging to predict is they pay no attention to the calendar,' Michener said. 'They're driven totally by day and night temperatures.' The campus Peony Garden contains more than 300 historic cultivated varieties from the 19th and early 20th centuries, representing American, Canadian and European peonies of the era. The garden typically features up to 10,000 flowers at peak bloom. Their colorful blossoms draw admirers from Michigan and beyond, but the peonies' beauty is not their primary function. The garden is designed as a support mechanism for academia -- to be a research collection for students and faculty to explore genomics and social issues. Michener and his colleagues at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum work closely with their sister garden in Minsk, the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, trying to understand how ornamental peonies are related to each other and the wild, ancestral species. Michigan's Peony Garden is free to visit and open from sunrise to sunset. For those drawn to the ancient plant's scent, Michener said it's best to show up earlier in the day or later in the evening, when the fragrances are the best. 'It's very colorful. I have a lot of peonies in my backyard, so I have a spot for them. But they're a beautiful flower,' Millar said. Mike Householder, The Associated Press
The Independent
6 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Bustling crowds and bus rides are part of the annual peony pilgrimage to Michigan
It's time to peek at the peak peonies. Visitors are making the annual pilgrimage to the University of Michigan this week to see -- and smell -- one of the world's premier collections of the garden plant, featuring showy red, white and pink blooms of countless shades and varieties. Melanie Millar and her friends visited the Ann Arbor school's Nichols Arboretum on Monday to take some graduation photos. The 18-year-old Millar is set to graduate from a Detroit-area high school in a matter of days. 'I'm here with my best friends — a bunch of girls. … We just came here to get pictures since it's going to be a nice day, and the Peony Garden seemed like a nice place to go to,' Millar said. The W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden features the largest collection of historic — pre-1950 — herbaceous peonies in North America, 'and likely the world,' curator David Michener said. 'Once you come here to the Peony Garden, you'll be mesmerized, and you'll understand why people love peonies,' he said. 'The fragrances, the colors, the forms, it's just intoxicating.' The peony watch is a spectator sport with tens of thousands of visitors arriving at The Arb each spring to behold the unique perennials -- so many that visitors have to be bused in. But there was a somber mood among some Monday. Vandals cut off the blooms of roughly 250 peonies a day earlier, the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security said in a statement. Although no group or organization has taken credit for vandalizing the garden, some papers were left behind, DPSS said. One referenced the war in Gaza, saying: 'Palestinian lives deserve to be cared for. More than these flowers.' 'What would possess someone just to destroy nature and the beauty of it? It's just unfathomable,' visitor Linda J.K. Klenczar said Monday. 'There's no explanation. I don't know if they're going to catch someone who did this. They need to explain themselves.' It's a moving target each year as to when the peonies will reach peak bloom. And one of great interest – with scores of peony-watchers glued to the Arb's Instagram page for updates. 'What makes it so challenging to predict is they pay no attention to the calendar,' Michener said. 'They're driven totally by day and night temperatures.' The campus Peony Garden contains more than 300 historic cultivated varieties from the 19th and early 20th centuries, representing American, Canadian and European peonies of the era. The garden typically features up to 10,000 flowers at peak bloom. Their colorful blossoms draw admirers from Michigan and beyond, but the peonies' beauty is not their primary function. The garden is designed as a support mechanism for academia -- to be a research collection for students and faculty to explore genomics and social issues. Michener and his colleagues at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum work closely with their sister garden in Minsk, the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, trying to understand how ornamental peonies are related to each other and the wild, ancestral species. Michigan's Peony Garden is free to visit and open from sunrise to sunset. For those drawn to the ancient plant's scent, Michener said it's best to show up earlier in the day or later in the evening, when the fragrances are the best. 'It's very colorful. I have a lot of peonies in my backyard, so I have a spot for them. But they're a beautiful flower,' Millar said.
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- General
- Washington Post
Bustling crowds and bus rides are part of the annual peony pilgrimage to Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It's time to peek at the peak peonies. Visitors are making the annual pilgrimage to the University of Michigan this week to see -- and smell -- one of the world's premier collections of the garden plant, featuring showy red, white and pink blooms of countless shades and varieties.
Associated Press
6 hours ago
- General
- Associated Press
Bustling crowds and bus rides are part of the annual peony pilgrimage to Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — It's time to peek at the peak peonies. Visitors are making the annual pilgrimage to the University of Michigan this week to see -- and smell -- one of the world's premier collections of the garden plant, featuring showy red, white and pink blooms of countless shades and varieties. Melanie Millar and her friends visited the Ann Arbor school's Nichols Arboretum on Monday to take some graduation photos. The 18-year-old Millar is set to graduate from a Detroit-area high school in a matter of days. 'I'm here with my best friends — a bunch of girls. … We just came here to get pictures since it's going to be a nice day, and the Peony Garden seemed like a nice place to go to,' Millar said. The W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden features the largest collection of historic — pre-1950 — herbaceous peonies in North America, 'and likely the world,' curator David Michener said. 'Once you come here to the Peony Garden, you'll be mesmerized, and you'll understand why people love peonies,' he said. 'The fragrances, the colors, the forms, it's just intoxicating.' The peony watch is a spectator sport with tens of thousands of visitors arriving at The Arb each spring to behold the unique perennials -- so many that visitors have to be bused in. But there was a somber mood among some Monday. Vandals cut off the blooms of roughly 250 peonies a day earlier, the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security said in a statement. Although no group or organization has taken credit for vandalizing the garden, some papers were left behind, DPSS said. One referenced the war in Gaza, saying: 'Palestinian lives deserve to be cared for. More than these flowers.' 'What would possess someone just to destroy nature and the beauty of it? It's just unfathomable,' visitor Linda J.K. Klenczar said Monday. 'There's no explanation. I don't know if they're going to catch someone who did this. They need to explain themselves.' It's a moving target each year as to when the peonies will reach peak bloom. And one of great interest – with scores of peony-watchers glued to the Arb's Instagram page for updates. 'What makes it so challenging to predict is they pay no attention to the calendar,' Michener said. 'They're driven totally by day and night temperatures.' The campus Peony Garden contains more than 300 historic cultivated varieties from the 19th and early 20th centuries, representing American, Canadian and European peonies of the era. The garden typically features up to 10,000 flowers at peak bloom. Their colorful blossoms draw admirers from Michigan and beyond, but the peonies' beauty is not their primary function. The garden is designed as a support mechanism for academia -- to be a research collection for students and faculty to explore genomics and social issues. Michener and his colleagues at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum work closely with their sister garden in Minsk, the Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, trying to understand how ornamental peonies are related to each other and the wild, ancestral species. Michigan's Peony Garden is free to visit and open from sunrise to sunset. For those drawn to the ancient plant's scent, Michener said it's best to show up earlier in the day or later in the evening, when the fragrances are the best. 'It's very colorful. I have a lot of peonies in my backyard, so I have a spot for them. But they're a beautiful flower,' Millar said.
