I am fond of the double peonies that flower so extravagantly in June. Over the years the plants give a great deal of pleasure lots of colour and a light and welcome spring perfume. That is not to say the single and specie Peonies are not also worth a place in the garden.

• As plants mature they bulk up well and produce ever larger numbers of stalks and flowers.
• Peonies dislike root disturbance and take a while to settle down
• Provide a rich deeply dug soil well manured before planting and you will be rewarded for years
• Water in dry summers and top dress in Autumn this well rotted compost

Peony Lactiflora ‘Pecher’

• The single varieties include a yellow type Peony Mlokosewitchii
• 6″ White flowers with yellow stamen P. Lactiflora varieties are readily available
• The pink P. Sarah Bernhardt has an AGM award for the large scented blooms
• The strong reds of the common Peony are very good for a cottage garden
• Blooms make good cut flowers
• Float one flower head in a bowl of water for an interesting table centre piece

Tree peonies These shrubs grow to about 4 foot square and are drought tolerant. Do not provide extra water or allow the roots to suffer from too much competition from other trees. P Delavayi bear crimson flowers on 5′ stems whils P lutea ludlowii has yellow flowers. They are reasonably easy to grow in deep loamy soil. In China they are mountain plants so survive our winters quite well. Grafted shrubs are now freely available in garden centres.  I bought two varieties this weekend ‘Yu Lou Dian Cui’ what looks like a white with pink overtones and ‘Shan Hu Tai’ a strong pink. I have nipped out the flower buds that were showing and will wait until next year to see what colours I get.