A S THE approach of autumn makes 
/\ itself felt in the air, the foresighted 
/ gardener begins to revolve in his 
mind all those things that should 
still be done for the improvement of his acre 
before the trees shall have shed their last 
leaves and become nothing but “bare ruined 
choirs where late the sweet birds sang.” 
-And in his autumn meditations no perennial 
plant better deserves consideration than the 
Peony, which should go in now wherever it is 
to go, and not in the spring; for it is doubtful 
whether spring planting is any better than 
planting in the subsequent autumn. 
The purpose of this article is to give several 
different selections of Peonies from among the 
multitude of named sorts, having in mind the 
varying needs and desires that go with gar- 
dens of varying sizes, and pocketbooks of 
varying depths. I call my first list 
PEONIES FOR A MODEST PURSE 
It is a mistake to suppose that all the best 
Peonies are of recent origin, and therefore 
high in price. Many sorts that have been 
on the market for half a century, and are now 
quite cheap, are still so good that the}' should 
be in every collection, and some are still 
stubbornly contesting with the newcomers 
their right to be considered the finest in their 
class. There is, then, no difficulty in choosing 
from among the low priced sorts a group of 
half a dozen whose quality is extra. I name 
such a group, purchasable generally for 50c. 
apiece or less : 
Duchesse de Nemours fCalot), white 
Festiva ma.xima, white 
Jeanne d’.Arc, cream and pink 
Mile. Leonie Calot, pale pink 
Philomele, pink and yellow 
Marie Lemoine, white (late) 
If it were desirable to extend the list along 
the same price level, I should add Candidis- 
sima, Delicatissima, Dr. Bretonneau (Guerin) 
Due de \\'ellington, though their quality is 
perhaps a little below that of the others. 
Every one of the varieties given will be a 
delight not only out of doors but in the house 
as well. It is, I believe, a general rule that 
flowers of a doubtful color are safer out of 
doors than inside. The sunlight often does 
wonders with reds that are “off” a shade. It 
IS, therefore, no matter for surprise tha^ the 
things that pass for Peonies in many gardens 
—flowers of a clayey magenta red even under 
the best daylight — should be atrociously ugly 
when cut and brought into the house. But 
of the above varieties there is not one but 
will unfold new wonders of delight if some of 
its blooms are brought indoors. 
Indeed many of the delicately colored Pe- 
onies will fade out if left even for a day in 
burning sunshine. For all such the right 
course is to take a few blooms from each plant 
just as they are expanding, and bring them 
indoors to mature. I here they will be able 
to develop their full beauty of color, and you, 
the grower, will come to know the quality of 
each sort as you never would learn it under 
the open sky. 
If we may continue *his list to include a 
second half dozen, selling a little higher in 
price, say from 50c. to ^i.oo apiece, I should 
name as of unexceptionable quality, these: 
Madame Emile Galle, flesh pink 
Eugene Verdier, flesh pink with yellow 
Carnea elegans (Calot), pink and cream 
Madame de Galhau, pink 
Madame de Vatry, pale pink and cream 
Richardson’s Grandiflora, pale rose pink (late) 
And if more were desired at this level of 
price, it would be safe to add : Eugenie Verdier, 
Gloire de Charles Gombault, La Rosiere, Mon- 
sieur Dupont, Triomphe de I’Exposition de 
Lille. 
This gives such a collection as any one might 
be happy to own. But there are some buyers 
who are not happy in following suggestions 
made under a price limit, and for such, I give 
now a list of 
BEST PEONIES REGARDLESS OF COST 
There is, of course, for those who are relieved 
of the sad necessity of counting their pennies, 
a wider field to choose from, but even a list 
made up “regardless” would have to include 
a good many of the sorts already named, un- 
less now high price and not high quality were 
to be made the sine qua non. When we come 
to banish price considerations altogether and 
make our selection for quality alone, much will 
depend on the space to be filled and the num- 
ber of different sorts desired. In a list of the 
fifty best Peonies, I should include all or al- 
most all of those named above, in addition 
to other more costly kinds. But if I were 
restricted to ten or a dozen kinds, a good many 
of the cheaper sorts would have to yield place 
to more recent and highly perfected blooms. 
W ith regard to these late introductions, it is 
to be remembered that many of them are still 
only on trial. It takes years for a Peony to 
really establish itself in the good opinion of 
growers, and not infrequently a variety that 
looks very well when staged as a novelty, 
will turn out to be a disappointment to many 
of those who try to grow it. 
I therefore omit from this list some of 
the newest of the new, letting in only such of 
them as have gained a firm foothold. Later 
on I shall say something of a few of the other 
most recent claimants to fame. 
Regardless of anything, then, except the 
sheer beauty of the flower, my choice of the 
very cream of what we now have would in- 
clude these sorts: 
Therese, perhaps the grandest Peony in 
existence. No flower lover who has seen 
well developed blooms of Therese could 
ever forget them. The flower is flat, 7 or 
8 inches across, looking like a loosely 
formed rose, and of a delicate and lovely 
pale rose color. 
o'i 
Le Cygne, probably the finest white yet pro- 
duced; a magnificent bloom that is 
rapidly becoming a great favorite. 
Madame Emile Galle, most delicate shade of 
flesh pink. One of the finest for color. 
Albatre or Avalanche, two varieties almost if 
not quite identical; white with flesh centre. 
Marie Crousse, an unusual shade of pale pink, 
almost a salmon color. 
Grandiflora (Richardson), finest of the late 
pinks, ver>" flat flower, pale rose color, 
delightfully fragrant. 
James Kelway, palest flesh white, loosely 
formed flower of exquisite beauty. 
Venus, light pink, very high built bloom on 
extra tall stems. 
Duchesse de Nemours (Calot), pale ivory 
white, with green marks near the centre; 
a grand old favorite. 
Jeanne d’Arc, a fine big bloom of mixed petals 
in pale pink and yellow, with large pale 
pink guard petals. 
Philomele, a charming plant for the garden. 
The flowers consist of a row of broad 
pink guard petals, and tlien a mass of deep 
honey yellow narrow petals in the centre, 
with sometimes a tuft of broader pale 
pink ones in the very heart of the bloom. 
Marie Lemoine, late; white with much yellow 
interspersed. A grand sort. 
Eugene Verdier, rather dwarf growing; a 
magnificent bloom; the body of the color 
pale pink but yellow lights come through 
from the base of the petals adding a 
peculiar richness to the color. 
Madame Boulanger, the best Peony known to 
me that could be claled mauve. The 
color is a delightful shade of very pale 
mauve rose. 
Baroness Schroeder, a grand white, and one of 
the best standard sorts. 
Mile. Leonie Calot, pale flesh pink of the finest 
quality. 
Milton Hill. This sort, like the variety Grandi- 
flora, was raised by John Richardson in 
Dorchester, Mass. Milton Hill is only 
now beginning to be recognized at its 
true worth. The color is shell pink, 
deepening toward the centre; but there 
is in this flower a quality of color that is 
beyond the power of words to describe. 
Carnea elegans (Calot). The full beauty of 
this sort will be known only to those who 
mature blooms indoors. It is very sensi- 
tive to sunlight, and the flowers fade 
quickly in the open, to a toneless white; 
indoors they preserve an enchanting com- 
bination of flesh color and pale yellow. 
To the above list there will be new ones to 
add as time goes on; many growers would no 
doubt resent the omission of some of their 
favorites from the list as it stands. I speak 
out of my own experience and for no one else. 
In none of the lists so far given have I 
included a deep red or even a full pink. That 
is just because I have tried to tell the truth, . 
and I do not consider any of the Peonies in the j 
deeper shades of pink and red to have the high 
