Angela Early’s smile says it all.
The 17-year-old from Greendale, south of Christchurch, has been beaming since being able to see and hold a newly bred flower that has been named after her.
The Angela Early peony was bred by Christchurch specialist peony propagator Paul Simmons.
Simmons and his wife Esther are Angela’s great uncle and aunt.
Angela has Down syndrome, and she is also autistic and non-verbal.
While Angela can not put into words how she feels about the honour of having a flower named after her, she has been able to show her joy nonetheless.
Her mum Christine said when Angela took one of the flowers into her school, Darfield High, to show teachers, she had been “beaming and happy to have her photo taken”.
The flowers are slightly fragrant, as well as “enormous, beautiful, white and fluffy”.
“They were so heavy (Angela) could hardly hold them, that’s when I just gave her one to hold at first,” Christine said.
“Angie enjoys being in the garden at home where we have a large amount of peonies. She loves to give flowers to people,” she added.
Simmons said he had been trying to breed a white peony which flowered early for the same span of Angela’s life so far – 17 years.
“White peonies only start flowering about mid season, compared to other peonies,” he said.
And because Angela’s surname was Early, and he wanted to honour his grand niece, Angela Early had been the perfect name.
