The bees and the ants didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but on this they did agree: the sweet nectar on the peony buds was the height of deliciousness. Faintly perfumed, sticky with peony sugar, but not too sweet on the tongue; neither the bees nor, especially, the ants could get enough of it during the all-too-brief peony season.

On a particularly fine afternoon, while ants crawled over the remaining buds, a young bee ventured inside one of the giant blossoms for the first time. Compared with her small frame, the flower was gigantic: soft-petaled rooms full of sweet nectar and one bee-sized room, as she discovered, that was the perfect size to snuggle in for a wee nap.

(May 2023)

Story & Photo © Jennifer Singleton / Read+Purr

This is another vignette in my ongoing series of Tiny Garden Stories: peaceful 1-minute tales, full of cozy vibes, delicious details, and generous dollops of imagination & whimsy. Click one of the first two buttons below to go to (or back to, if that’s where you fell down the rabbit hole) either the Public Garden archive page or (if you’re a Story Club member) to the Private Garden page. Or click the third button to learn more about my Tiny Garden Stories. Want each week’s featured story delivered directly to your inbox? Subscribe to my Substack.