October, 1912 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



93 



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The single herbaceous peonies are unfortunately rather 

 (The Bride, white) 



•weedy" growers, 



Double peonies last a long time and are equally decorative in the garden 

 or as cut flowers (La Rosiere) 



run over ten and a half inches, but they 

 very commonly measure eight to nine 

 inches and over, and that is enough for 

 ordinary needs. 



The plants are rather troublesome to 

 grow, and their culture forms a special 

 chapter not for this moment. As to 

 varieties, all of the single ones that I have 

 seen are fine, and many of the doubles also. 

 The sorts of Japanese origin run somewhat 

 finer in quality than those which have been 

 originated in Europe; nevertheless many 

 of the latter are superb. Some of our own 

 peony growers now offer the tree peonies 

 in their catalogues, and the Japanese roots 

 can be had through the Japanese importing 

 houses. 



While the tree peonies are still going on 

 -j- and they last from late in May till 

 tjoward the middle of June — we have the 

 varieties of P. officinalis mentioned above; 

 and of these there are a few fine ones, be- 

 sides the old double crimson. There are 

 single crimsons with clusters of golden 

 stamens that make grand garden plants; 

 one of these is called Lucida, another 

 Sabini. There is a deep mahogany colored 

 sort called striata elegans in which the 

 stamens have been transformed into narrow 

 petals, giving the flower a very unusual 

 character. Finally there is a charming 

 p'ale cherry red variety known as Otto 

 Froebel, which I first saw at Highland Park 

 in Rochester. 



With the earliest officinalis varieties 

 comes in the little fern-leaved peony, P. 

 lenuifolia. This never makes much of a 

 plant but is always acceptable on account of 

 its brilliant crimson-red color. 



. Of the other species that bloom at this 

 season I have seen none that are good 

 enough in color to deserve a place in the 

 garden. Among those I have thrown away 

 are P. decora, P. triternata, P. corallina. 

 Such things belong in botanical collections 

 where shades of red and purple are left to 

 fight it out among themselves. 



And now the decline of the tree peonies 



and the officinalis sorts usher in the grand 

 season, the full tide of the Chinese kinds. 

 Of these much the earliest to bloom are 

 some of the singles, of which I especially 

 like The Bride, single white. Imagine 

 forty or fifty shining white water-lilies in 

 a bouquet, and you have a picture of it. 



This root will make a good plant 



Nevertheless let the beginner be warned 

 against filling his precious space with single 

 peonies. There are a few good ones, and 

 among those of the so-called Japanese type, 

 which are practically singles, there are some 

 fine things. But single peonies, generally 

 speaking, are weedy growers, the blooms do 

 not last long, they smell bad while they are 

 on, and in the end they go the primrose 

 way to the dump heap; or, much worse, 

 stay in the garden and take up space that 

 should be given to better things. The 

 Bride comes in with us about June io to 15, 

 and immediately afterward the earliest 

 doubles begin to open. Of these — Edulis 

 Superba, one of the very first, is always 

 worth having for its perfume. Not every- 

 one knows the pleasures the peony 

 offers to the nose. There are peonies which 

 cannot be distinguished from June roses 

 unless they are seen. And there are others 

 the peony lover thinks smell quite as 

 deliriously, as tea roses, though with an 

 odor all their own. 



I name now a few varieties for early, 

 midseason, and late, grouping them at the 

 same time by color. 



Of the early whites there is still nothing 

 better than Festiva Maxima, though this 

 variety is now seventy-five years old and 

 there are many that have been produced 

 since. Of other early whites I like Can- 

 didissima for its honey-sweet fragrance, 

 but no early white that I know except 

 Festiva Maxima can rank with the aris- 

 tocracy of this noble flower. 



The mid-season whites offer two or three 

 of the finest blooms in the list: Baroness 

 Schroeder and Duchesse de Nemours 

 (Calot). There is another variety under 

 the name of Duchesse de Nemours, which 

 was originated by Verdier, but it is quite 

 inferior. To these two must be added La 

 Rosiere, a flat semi-double flower in creamy 

 white, with a group of yellow statems in 

 the centre. The blooms come in great 

 clusters of five or six on a stem. While this 

 is not a fine exhibition variety and never 



