^ The Scented (jarden fa 



still speak of a ' paean of praise,' and in this word we 

 retain the origin of the peony's Western name — from 

 Paeon, the pupil of Aesculapius, to whom Leto gave the 

 flower and taught its marvellous virtues on Mount Olym- 

 pus. Pliny, who gives the earliest known description of the 

 peony, speaks of it as the most ancient of all plants, and he 

 details at least twenty diseases for which it was a cure. 



The lovely old-fashioned crimson peony (P. officinalis), 

 which still flaunts its splendour so bravely in garden 

 of to-day, was one of the most familiar flowers in the days 

 of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors. P. officinalis has a quiet, 

 rich charm which gives it a unique place in our affections. 

 Its only drawback is its curiously unpleasant scent. The 

 varieties of P. officinalis somehow lack the fascination of 

 the original red flower. In the Middle Ages it was valued 

 not only for its loveliness, but used, as we know from 

 Langland's Piers Plowman, for flavouring purposes. They 

 also used it in medicine. The seeds were carried as a charm 

 against evil, a custom which survived until at least as late 

 as the last century. In the gardens of our Elizabethan and 

 Stuart ancestors peonies were largely grown ; Gerard 

 gives eight illustrations of the varieties, and he tells us 

 that they were all commonly grown in London gardens. 

 Parkinson in the Paradisus says of them, ' They are en- 

 dezined in our gardens, where we cherish them for their 

 beauty and delight of their goodly flowers as well as for 

 their physical vertues.' 



Yet until recently how sadly the peony had fallen from 

 its high estate ! Cottagers remained true to this glorious 

 old favourite, but for many years it was not so commonly 

 seen in larger gardens. But peonies now have come into 

 their own again, and we realize that this flower is truly 

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