Peonies 2024 3-Cent (Sheet of 20) Denominated Mail-Use Additional Postage Stamps

With their large, showy flowers, peonies have been a favorite in the United States since the 1800s. The U.S. Postal Service features these extravagant flowers on a three-cent definitive stamp being offered in panes of 20. This stamp features three red peonies on a yellow-toned cream background. To create the image, photographer backlit the arrangement of flowers on a light box and combined multiple photographic exposures, resulting in a luminous, transparent look. He also scanned a sheet of aged paper and in post-production added the scan as a background to the floral image. The flowers were grown in his backyard in Berkeley, California. The state flower of Indiana (genus Paeonia), the peony thrives in colder weather — even in Alaska. There are three main types of peonies, herbaceous, tree, and Itoh. Of the more than 30 species of peonies, two are native to the United States. The Brown's or western peony can be found from California to Montana, and the California peony is native to the coastal mountains of California and Mexico. The rest are native to Asia and Europe. Fragrances of the peony can vary. Some are quite fragrant, such as "Festiva Maxima" with its frilly white flowers, sometimes crimson-flecked, offering a rose-like scent, or the famous "Sarah Bernhardt," which has double pink flowers and a sweet, light fragrance. Others have no scent. While they often take a few years after planting to bloom, the large flowering perennial’s bloom can reach up to ten inches wide and come in every color but blue. They are also known for their remarkable hardiness, capable of living for 100 years. They bloom from late spring through early summer, depending on the location and type.