Be Captivated By Perfect Peonies

Big on romance but short on drama, these garden favourites never fail to deliver. Graham Rice explains why peonies are the ultimate border blooms…

- Graham Rice

Rivalling roses in the romance stakes, peonies are a popular choice for bridal bouquets. But you don’t just see them at weddings. These captivating plants marry gorgeous looks with a constitution so tough it’s not unheard of to come across a clump of peonies blooming heroically on a patch of scrubby ground that would have once been part of a garden.

This ability to survive decades of neglect makes them an excellent choice for gardeners looking for drama, fragrance and opulence in a plant that requires zero mollycoddling. Autumn and spring are planting time, but it’s never too early to start planning which of the countless options to plump for.

The most commonly grown peonies are traditional herbaceous types, which can be called lactiflora peonies. There are also tree peonies or woody species, wild types and intersections (Itohs), hybrids that are a cross between the herbaceous and shrubby types.

Tough as old boots, border peonies are native to central and eastern parts of Asia, and first arrived into Europe in the early 1800s. Growing and collecting them became an obsession among rich Victorians and they’ve never really fallen out of favour since.

Tough stuff

Resilient and easy to grow, with deep tuberous roots that store moisture and nutrients, they attract attention from the moment their tight crowns throw up a mass of new upright shoots – in bright red or a vivid shade of bronze – in spring.

The plants quickly put on a growth spurt, reaching 2ft 6in-3ft (75-90cm) tall before bursting into bloom in May and June, each flower measuring up to 4in (10cm) across. Many are scented, but our appreciation of peony scent seems to vary: what is fragrant to one person may be almost unscented to another.