Colour plots. "A crude, hard, flaunting colour," is the accusation 

 Effect of levelled at it by those whose nerves are delicate and who are, 

 Peonies Perhaps, deficient in a sense of the fitting. A jarring note it 

 may be if set in an uncongenial environment, choking and 

 crushing out the more tender beauties of Aquilegias, Tulips or 

 Pansies. But place this flaunting flower discriminatingly at the 

 edge of a shrubbery : plant a mass of it on a grassy bank in 

 close proximity to the soft fresh green of early Spring foliage : 

 or near the margin of a pool in company with Solomon's seal 

 no harm if in partial shade from trees and see what a striking 

 effect of colour may be produced. In the Officinalis section, to 

 which the old double red Peony belongs, there are also white 

 and pink forms of the same flower, both single and double, free 

 growing, so that with this section alone considerable variety and 

 contrast may be attained. 



There are also other natural species, such as Paeonia Albi- 

 flora, P. Decora^ P. Emodi, P. Peregrina, P. Tenuifolia (single 

 and double), and the charming pale yellow P. Wittmanniana, 

 besides others which are rarely met with in cultivation, but all 

 well worth growing in wild gardens, or where space is not a 

 consideration. 



The great advance in Peonies that has taken place in late 

 years has, however, been brought about by crossing and recross- 

 ing the Officinalis and Albiflora groups, the so-called herbaceous 

 or Chinese Peonies, on the one hand, and by the careful selection 

 and development of the Moutan or Tree Peony on the other. 

 Every shade of colour from purest snow-white through cream, 

 sulphur, diaphanous pink, rose, salmon, cherry red, magenta to 

 deep purple-crimson has now been produced : and variety of 

 colour has been almost equalled by diversity of form, for we 



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