indefinable charm that may not be described. Inthe 
first and second editions of “Peonies for Pleasure” 
we included in the six points of excellence “Time 
of Blooming,” but as this point is a relative one as 
to the garden and not as to exhibitions it is dropped 
from the latter. 
However, in judging Peonies for your garden 
“Time of Blooming.” is the most important of all 
points that should interest you. 
You ask why in judging a Peony for the garden 
we place time of blooming the most valuable point 
ofall. Weanswer: Could we possess, say, a flower 
as fine as Festiva Maxima that bloomed one week 
earlier or one week later than that sort, then we 
would have the most valuable point possible in 
a Peony. 
A MONTH OF PEONIES 
Would you not rather have a month than a 
week of Peonies? Say, by planting, of whites, the 
early, early midseason, midseason, late midseason, 
late and very late, you could have a month of 
continuous enjoyment with the choicest blooms you 
ever beheld, would not that be preferable to one 
week of such bloom where you confined yourself 
to kinds that bloom at one and the same time? 
To illustrate, suppose you confine your planting, of 
White Peonies to Festiva Maxima you would have 
the best flower of that color blooming, at that time, 
but after your Festiva Maxima has done blooming 
your neighbor who has planted with Festiva Maxima 
other choice white varieties that are just as hand~- 
some and grand as that variety will prolong, her 
blooming, season three weeks longer, would that 
not be much preferable to your plan? Do you get 
that? Letus repeat, for this is important, by plant- 
ing a succession of the early, midseason and late 
varieties you can enjoy Peonies for one month in- 
stead of for only a week. 
Many persons come to Peony fields while in 
bloom and choose the varieties they desire, then 
when they bloom next year they have a week of 
Peonies. What they should do is to make several 
trips, or better still just “camp out” in the fields 
and enjoy a month of the grandest flowers imag~ 
inable. 
A Month of Peonies, or How to Select 
Varieties 
The time the Peony blooms for the average 
person is one week, for the reason that his selec~ 
tion of varieties embraces kinds that bloom at one 
and the same time. 
No P. eony grower that we know of has gone 
into this important subject, to our mind the most 
important of all in Peony culture. We here 
append a list of the different colors kept separate 
that will supply you the choicest of bloom that 
you may fairly revel in for a month. 
Page Four 
A Month of White Peonies 
Avalanche Madame Calot 
Crown of Gold Madame de Vermeville 
Duc de Wellington Madame Emile Lemoine 
Duchesse de Nemours Marie Lemoine 
Festiva Maxima Mireille 
James Kelway Monsieur Dupont 
A Month of Blush or Flesh Pink Peonies 
Albert Crousse L'Indispensable 
Dorchester Mademoiselle Leonie Calot 
Eugenie Verdier Marie Stuart 
Floral Treasure Officinalis Rosea Superba 
La France Tourangelle 
La Perle Umbellata Rosea 
A Mouth of Deeper Pink Peonies 
Claire Dubois 
Edulis Superba 
Elwood Pleas 
Livingstone 
Madame Forel 
Mathilde de Roseneck 
Fragrans Modele de Perfection 
Gigantea Monsieur Jules Elie 
Grand:flora Sarah Bemhardt 
A Month of Red Peonies 
Adolphe Rousseau Gloire de Touraine 
Augustin d’Hour Lord Kitchener 
Berlioz Madame Bucguet 
Docteur Boisduval 
Felix Crousse 
Meissonier 
Officinalis Rubra Plena 
Rubra Superba 
REMEMBER that these months of Peonies in the 
different colors may be repeated in most cases by 
other choice varieties. In other words, you need 
not confine yourselves to these lists alone to make 
Francois Rousseau 
up your month of Peony bloom. Also remember 
when planting Peonies, do not be stingy, but plant 
liberally and your reward will be commensurate. 
DESCRIBING PEONIES 
Another matter that has been discussed and 
that some decry is the using, of adjectives in de- 
scribing, a Peony. Dear friends, that is where we 
shine, for we make the statement without fear of 
successful contradiction that no person on God's 
green footstool may convey to another his im~ 
pression of a Peony flower without the use of 
adjectives and plenty of them. Try without their 
use to describe Monsieur Jules Elie with its enor- 
mous ball of loveliness before you, and you will 
be compelled to admit at once that it cannot be 
done. No, the stoicism of an Indian in describing 
Peonies will Get you nowhere; don’t be an iceberg, 
thaw out. 
“Neither inability to make rhyme; lack of se~ 
guence in thought; carelessness with the king’s 
English, or absence of sentiment will bar us from 
using adjectives in describing, Peonies. We step 
right in and air our muse; nobody has to read it 
unless desired and it gets it out of our system.” 
To satisfy yourself on this point try to convey, 
in cold type, the beauties of a Peony flower so 
that anyone may form an impression of what it is 
like in color, form, fragrance, etc.; then you will 
realize how futile the attempt. Overpraise? Why, 
Miss Ella V. Baines, Springfield, Ohio. 
or ee a 
