698 PJEONIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



P^EONIA. 



late, so that the flowering season is con- 

 siderably prolonged. 



HYBRIDS. Among these there is an I 

 extensive variety of colours white, pale 

 yellow, salmon, flesh-colour, and numer- 

 ous intermediate shades from pale pink 

 to brightest purple. Among the oldest 

 varieties the most remarkable are grancli- 

 flora, double white ; Louis Van Houtte, 

 papaveriflora, rubra triumphans, sulphurea 

 plenissima, rosea superba, Zoe, Mme. 

 Calot, Gloria Patrice, and Prince Troubet- 

 skoy The most beautiful of more recent | 

 date are : Arthemise, atrosanguinea, 

 Virgo Maria, Mme. Lemoine, L'Esper- 

 ance, Triomphe de 1'Exposition de Lille, 

 Jeanne d'Arc, Eugene Verdier, and Mme. 

 Lemoinier ; and among those most 

 worthy of notice are : Mme. Lebon, 

 Marie Lemoine, Henri Laurent, Mme. 

 Jules Elie, multicolor, Stanley, Charle- 

 magne, Mme. Geissler, Bernard Palissy, 

 and Van Dyck. There are also many 

 commoner varieties for example, those 

 varieties of P. officinalis (such as anemonae- 

 flora, rubra, and Sabini), of P. albiflora, I 

 peregrina, paradoxa, and especially of 

 the small P. tenuifolia, with its feathery 

 foliage and large deep red blossoms. 

 There is also a double variety of this 

 species. These as well as the varieties 

 are perfectly hardy, and need no pro- 

 tection against frost, however severe. 



CULTURE. A good moist loam, en- 

 riched with cow manure is the soil best 

 suited to them. They can be planted at 

 any time, but from October to April is 

 the best time. Have the ground well 

 prepared by manuring and by trenching 

 to the depth of about 3 ft., and plant them 

 at least 4 ft. apart in each direction. 

 They must not be expected to flower 

 well before the second or third year. 

 An open position renders them robust, 

 and they need not be shaded from the 

 sun until they flower, when some slight 

 shade will prolong and preserve their 

 delicate tints, and enable them to become 

 more thoroughly developed than they 

 otherwise would. As soon as the buds 

 are well formed, water the plants judi- 

 ciously now and then with liquid manure. 

 When the tufts have become very strong, 

 and have impoverished the soil, separate 

 and transplant them in fresh ground. 



POSITION. Most gardens contain spots j 

 so shaded that few plants will thrive in 

 them. In such places Paeonies would 

 grow luxuriantly ; and their colour would ! 

 often be more intense, while they would 

 last much longer than if fully exposed to 

 the sun. They may therefore be made | 

 useful as well as ornamental, even in I 



small pleasure-grounds, although their 

 proper place is undoubtedly the fronts of 

 shrubberies, plantations, and the sides of 

 carriage drives. Where distant effect is 

 required, no plants answer so well, as 

 their size and brilliancy render them 

 striking even at a long distance. When 

 planted on either side of a Grass walk, 

 their effect is admirable, especially in the 

 morning and about sunset ; and when 

 planted in masses, they are invaluable 

 for lighting up sombre nooks. If grown 

 only for their flowers or their buds, or for 

 the purpose of increasing them, they may 

 be placed in nursery lines in some rich 

 part of the kitchen-garden. 



Besides being used for the garden 

 proper, there are few plants more fitted 

 for the wild garden ; and the most 

 brilliant and one of the boldest things 

 in wild gardening is a group of scarlet 

 Paeonies in meadow Grass, in early 

 summer. This may be managed so that 

 they come into the garden landscape, so 

 to say, and are seen at a considerable 

 distance from certain points of view. So 

 placed, they could not be an eyesore or 

 in the way w r hen out of flower, as they 

 sometimes are in the mixed border. 

 There is a good deal to be done by the 

 tasteful cultivator in considering the 

 positions suited for some kinds of plants ; 

 in deciding, for example, how to arrange 

 plants which are very handsome in spring 

 and early summer, but which do not 

 continue in perfection very long, so that 

 their effect when out of flower, or even 

 their disappearance, shall not mar any 

 arrangement. 



P. Moutan (Tree Peony). This is 

 another noble plant from which we have 

 beauty, for its varieties, like those of the 

 herbaceous kinds, are very numerous. 

 It is quite hardy, and, when properly 

 planted, requires little care ; precious for 

 borders, and is specially suited for iso- 

 lation on lawns. Its blossoms are gor- 

 geous in early spring, and its young leaves 

 assume every shade of colour, from violet- 

 crimson to green. Tree Paeonies are not 

 particular as to soil or position ; they 

 grow as well in sand as in strong loam, 

 though they prefer a good strong soil. 

 If the soil is too sandy, decomposed 

 manure and loam, or if too clayey, manure, 

 sand, and similar materials should be 

 added. Moutans are gross feeders, and 

 amply repay occasional top-dressings of 

 half-decomposed cow manure. Of the 

 scarcer and better varieties nurserymen 

 generally send out plants one or two 

 years old, which are grafted on the roots 

 of P. edulis. In a proper place, dig out 



