THE BOOK OF THE PEONY 



proportion is one part by bulk of manure (or com- 

 post) to nine parts of top soil — as noted in direc- 

 tions for preparing a trench. In very fertile 

 ground, when the top soil is not shallow and the 

 subsoil is not a hard clay, a deep and thorough 

 spading and the addition of the requisite amount 

 of manure will give excellent results. 



If the flowers are not merely an effective in- 

 cident in the border but are the chief object of 

 one's endeavours, peonies should be placed in a 

 bed by themselves, where they will make better 

 growth than when crowded in with other plants. 

 In planting peonies in a bed considerable space 

 should be left between them to allow for the 

 full growth of the massive roots which develop in 

 the ten or twelve years during which the peonies 

 should be undisturbed. The minimum distance 

 apart at which they should ever be planted is two 

 and a half feet each way. A distance of three 

 and a half or four feet each way is much to be 

 preferred. 



The ideal way to grow peonies, and one which 

 by the expenditure of some time, patience and 

 money can be made real, is to plant them in ground 

 that has been trenched to the depth of two and a 



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