GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Officials with the University of Michigan’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens say vandals have snipped thousands of peonies just as they reached full bloom.

The alleged vandals struck the W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden sometime Saturday night or early Sunday morning, leaving the trails littered with petals and blooms.

Tony Kolenic, the director of Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, delivered a statement and showed some of the damage from the garden in a social media post. • Tony Kolenic, the Director of the University of Michigan's Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, delivers a statement before dozens of peony bushes that were targeted by vandals over the weekend. (Courtesy UM Mattheai Botanical Gardens) • Alleged vandals trimmed the bloom

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