Romanian president Klaus Iohannis recently approved a bill declaring the peony to be Romania’s national flower.
The law stipulates the organization of a Festival of the Peony, both at the national and local levels annually. The festival will mark the peony’s status and will include scientific lectures on peonies and their characteristics, coupled with displays of different kinds of the flower.
Also included in the new legislation are regulations regarding the protection of natural reserves of peonies, the stimulation of the cultivation of peonies, as well as the issuing of stamps featuring peonies.
Local public authorities around Romania are also encouraged to mark the peony as the country’s national flower by setting up public gardens and parks with rows of peonies. County Councils can, for example, create and care for mini-botanical gardens which would have the peony in a place of honor. Unions of artists will also take part in local exhibitions of art featuring peonies.
Back in September of this year, the Chamber of Deputies voted in favor of the draft law declaring the peony the national flower of Romania. The project received widespread support online from private citizens. Adaptable, beautiful, and growing spontaneously across Romania, the peony has over 130 varieties and three distinct species in Romania.
Read the complete article at www.romania-insider.com.