Paeonias fall into two main categories. Paeonia lactiflora - common herbaceous garden Paeonia, while Paeonia suffruticosa - tree peonies are woody perennials.
Both of the above Paeonia Trees were grafted on to the herbaceous lactiflora. Because H did not bury the lemon one deep enough the original lactiflora grows too. This we should really remove at ground level, but we love it's flowers, and the lemon plant is unaffected by it.
The original herbaceous Paeonia lactiflora
Paeonia delavayi
Paeonia ludlowii
Paeonia Delavayi and Paeonia ludlowii are native to China. The peony is amongst the longest used flowers in Oriental culture and is one of the national emblems in China. Mischievous nymphs were said to hide in the petals of the peony, giving it the meaning of shame or bashfulness in the language of flowers.
Hello Rosemary:
ReplyDeletePeonies are such elegant flowers and yours look extremely beautiful and are growing with such vigour. They are incredibly varied in their colours and forms and do add a touch of glamour to the garden, we feel.
Although we are not fond of dried flowers, a friend of ours used to dry Peonies and mass them in a large bowl. They looked absolutely splendid and lasted the whole year until it was time to pick again.
Hello Jane and Lance - what a splendid tip - thank you very much. I shall have to check out the best way to dry them on the internet. I am always so sorry when they depart until the following year.
DeleteThe original herbaceous Paeonia lactiflora (the magenta and yellow flower) is spectacular! The more that you post about your garden, the more I realize that your gardening instinct must also be fueled by a passion to collect the rare, the unusual and the beautiful. Do you ever give garden tours?
ReplyDeleteHello Mark - that is a pretty good summing up. Yes, it is true, I do like the rare, the unusual and the beautiful, or perhaps I should qualify that by saying what I personally think are beautiful.
DeleteIt has been suggested that we should open the garden, but the spot where we live does not really lend itself to lots of cars, the road is private and not very wide.
What spendid flowers the peonies are. I am learning! I think them just as attractive as the rose . Their colours are so vivid. I think they might be a hardier flower than the rose!
ReplyDeleteI will try to grow some for next year.!
great photos Rosemary.
Happy Sunday val
Dear Val - glad you found the paeonias an attractive flower. If you do try to grow them, it would probably be best if they had a bit of shade in your warmer climate, and give them plenty of mulch.
DeleteThanks for your kind comments Val, you are always so encouraging.
Your Peonia are so beautiful And what a large shrub you have of the yellow onee. Beautiful captured.
ReplyDeletegr. marijke
Dear Marijke - pleased you enjoyed seeing the Paeonia, I look forward to a glimpse of yours now.
DeleteThe Ludlowii is quite large, but he can be cut down in the early Spring. I think this year we forgot.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful specimens with us.
ReplyDeleteI have never grown Peonies and would like to have one in the our garden. Not as big as Ludowii though, I did see him on my garden travels this weekend and he is a very big boy.
You've inspired my shopping gene. Thanks Rosemary.
Paul
Dear Paul - do buy yourself some. I find them easy to grow, although I have heard reports of people saying they can be difficult. The Ludlowii can be a very big boy, but he tolerates being cut down to size! Thanks for your visit and lovely comments.
DeleteSuper flower shots.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip
Dear Filip - so pleased that you enjoyed the photos and thank you.
DeleteI love paeonias! They are absolutely gorgeous! I have been trying to grow a herbaceous bush (Paeonia Lactiflora) in my garden, as I used to have a massive one at the old house, but, the man who cuts my grass gave it a "haircut" with the mower, every time it went near it! I could have cried! Eventually, I had to place a barrier in front of the plant, to make sure it didn't get "attacked" every time it tried to grow! It's been there for two years and all I have is three little stems, obviously still in shock, but at least alive!
ReplyDeleteA paeony tree would be gorgeous! I love all your pictures and now I WANT ONE!
The weekend is almost over, unfortunately! Today I planted sweet peas in my strawberry garden!
BUONA NOTTE!
ANNA
xx
Dear Anna - your poor little Paeonia lactiflora. Give it plenty of mulch and love, as long as it is alive, it should thrive.
DeleteYears ago, I used to admire them, and then I thought, 'what is the use of loving them in other people's garden, you must get some of your own'. Once they are happily established they are a joy.
Sweetpeas in the strawberry garden sounds really pretty - I love sweetpeas and strawberries too.
ciao♥
Hi Mum, these photos are great! I love the dark pink and yellow, and the deep red. Hopefully we can visit while they are still in bloom.
ReplyDeleteHello Youngest Son - this is a surprising and very pleasant visit. I am glad that you enjoyed the photos. All of the paeonias opened today in the lovely sunshine. Great if you could manage a visit soon.
DeleteWonderful shots of your beautiful paeonias.
ReplyDeleteEach one of them are gorgeous.
My paeonias didn't bloom last year, I hope they will this year.
I asked some gardeners what to do. One thought I might have planted them to deep and the other said that sometimes plants don't bloom one year and there is nothing to be done. That's the way nature is.
With all the rain, wind and cold weather we have, they have only grown about 15 cm. I hope we'll soon get warmer weather so all my plants can grow and bloom.
Thanks for sharing from your lovely garden, Rosemary.
Mette
Dear Mette - if they have flowered before I am sure they will come again. The tree paeonias are suppose to be deeper than the herbaceous ones. As I mentioned we did not plant our lemon one deep enough and so its graft parent is also coming up and flowering, which it shouldn't, but they are both happy so we leave them alone. I have a couple of crown imperials, the deep orange ones, that do not flower every year. It is really disappointing having waited to see them for such a long time, and then find they are blind.
DeleteHope the weather warms up for you soon.
I love peonies! I have decided to plant some in our garden... I know they can take some time to flower and one must have lots pf patients but they are so beautiful I think is worth it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for a lovely post Rosemary.
xoxo from Norway : )
Dearest Demie - I do really miss you♥
DeleteYou are young, so you have plenty of time to wait for the paeonia's beauty to arrive after planting in your garden.
If I can show things on my posts that tempt you back, even if only for a short while, then I am happy.
My favorite flowers in the whole world! They were my grandmother's favorite and I never got to meet her. The stories about her are wonderful and I try to grow the same flowers she did. Your pictures are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDear Lisa - that is so lovely that these flowers were your grandmother's favourite. They are beautiful, some of them remind me of ballerinas as they bob around on the branches.
DeleteAwesome photos! The flowers are just gorgeous. All different colours; all lovely.
ReplyDeleteHello Marie - thanks very much. There are many colours that I do not have - lovely white ones with burgundy centres, mauve ones, and lots of shades of pink up to a very deep cerise colour.
DeleteDear Rosemary, These are stunning pictures and even more stunning paeonies. Rosemary, your garden is absolutely the most beautiful. I'm in awe. What dedication and hard work!ox, Gina
ReplyDeleteDear Gina - thanks so much for your kind comment. We really do not work as hard as we should, most of our plants look after themselves now they are established. The weeds, the hedges and the lawns are the biggest jobs. This is such a lovely time of year, as I am sure it is in your lovely garden too - fresh green on the trees, and flowers in abundance♥
DeleteThey are glorious Rosemary. I cannot grow them in this heat in the Deep South. I took yesterday off from the internet so am visiting you today. I hope you had a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteDear Olive - glad you like them. Please send a bit of that heat over here. It is good to have a break from the internet from time to time. Hope you had a happy time with CC and Joe. Take care♥
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteYour peonies look great! You make my day, you now :)
Greetings
XX
Jérôme
Hello Jérôme - so pleased that you enjoyed seeing them.
Deletedear Rosemary,
ReplyDeletepeonies
I love them
but never managed
to let them grow
in my garden
thanks for sharing
they look lovely!!
Patrice A.
Dear Patrice - thanks for visiting. Glad you enjoyed the Paeonias.
Delete