32 
The Garden Magazine, September, 1920 
A. M. BRAND 
Who is bringing us some fine 
varieties out of the West, his 
success in the darker shades 
being especially notable 
(left) 
E. J. SHAYLOR 
Carrying on the fine tradi- 
tions of Massachusetts he 
has recently won a special 
prize with Mrs. Edward Hard- 
ing, a lovely double white 
(right) 
very quickly. The buyer too becomes wary of any grower who 
puts out new kinds that are not of distinguished merit. I 
could cite a case in point from recent history if I wished — but 
suffice to say the Peony fraternity is now pretty closely organ- 
ized; and any one who gets “stung” is likely to pass the word 
around for the benefit of his fellow members. 
It is true however that America is now the central Peony 
market for the world. A keen and well-informed Peony special- 
ist who visited flower shows in Paris and London recently, 
comments on the fact that the finest new varieties do not appear 
there upon the exhibition tables. Why not? “All the stock 
sent to America.” In some cases practically the entire stock 
of new varieties originating in Europe has been bought up by 
American nurserymen, so as to have control of those varieties 
in this country. Thus we see what the Peony has been doing 
to America. What has America been doing to the Peony 
the while? 
The Pioneers 
T HIS country has a very creditable record to show of fine 
new kinds raised by enthusiasts, undaunted by the prospect 
of a long wait before their hopes should be realized. The first 
of these was John Richardson (1798-1887), who lived at Dor- 
chester, near Boston. His garden was a small one and we may 
be sure that the number of seedlings raised by him was small — 
very small in comparison with the acres of seedlings in some 
modern plantings. Richardson however possessed a mysterious 
art, or vision, which enabled him to choose the right parents 
from which to breed; for on his small plot of ground he produced 
a few varieties that rank very near the top of the list. 
I name what I consider his three finest kinds; Grandiflora, 
Milton Hill, and Walter Faxon. The first of these is the finest 
of all late Peonies, and one of the most beautiful and fragrant 
varieties of the whole season. It comes when almost all the 
other Peonies have scattered their petals on the ground; when 
the Peony lover wanders about in his disconsolate looking gar- 
den. thinking of the glories that have departed. Then is the 
time when he comes on his plant of Grandiflora, bending over 
almost to the ground with the weight of its huge, flat, pale 
rose-pink flowers. It is Peony season still, and here is material 
for a glorious bouquet that will fill the house with fragrance for 
at least another week! 
Milton Hill is of another shade of color, a very pale pink 
leaning toward heliotrope or mauve — a subtle shade, not 
permanent out of doors; but when the flowers are brought inside 
before they are fully expanded, and are allowed to develop their 
full beauty of color protected from the bleaching influence of 
sunlight, then Milton Hill shows itself the equal in beauty of 
any variety we possess. Color, form, size, fragrance — it has 
them all. And in Walter Faxon, Richardson scored a triumph 
where success is most difficult to achieve — for it is unfortunately 
true that most of the full pink Peonies are not so clear in color 
as we should wish. They tend too much toward a heavy 
opaque purplish-pink. But in Walter Faxon we have a pink 
that approaches salmon color; and while the tint is not very 
deep, its quality is of a most desirable character. If it were 
possible to carry the color of Walter Faxon into deeper shadings, 
we should indeed have the deep pinks that we are all waiting 
and longing for. 
The fame of a raiser of flowers rests on the best sorts he pro- 
duces — not on his failures and mistakes; the good he does 
lives after him, the evil is “oft interred with his bones”. If 
some of the Richardson sorts therefore are not so high in quality 
as those 1 have mentioned, nevertheless by virtue of his best 
Richardson enjoys a fame as a creator of new Peonies that has 
not yet been attained by any other American. It should be 
added that he did not, in his lifetime, put any of his seedlings 
on the market; so the responsibility for their selection really 
falls on others. 
Of a later generation and also working in the neighborhood 
of Boston — a region always sympathetic to horticulture — was 
George Hollis (1839-1911). His work began at about the time 
when Richardson’s ceased. In his later years he put out a large 
number of seedlings, many of which have not ver)' well with- 
stood the test of time. Still, some fine ones did come from his 
hand, among which we may name Loveliness, Maud L. Rich- 
ardson, and Standard Bearer. Hcllis was the real enthusiast. 
He lived in and for his Peonies. They were his joy all through 
his later years, his consolation in his last years of illness. “ My 
children” he called them. They were all he had. 
Modem Workers 
T HE fine tradition handed on by Richardson and Hollis has 
been maintained in Massachusetts by later plant breeders. 
In our own time good things are coming from the hand of E. J. 
Shaylor at Auburndale, and from the Messrs. Thurlow at 
West Newbury; while the distinguished scientist Charles S. 
Minot of Harvard, was active in Peony culture as an amateur. 
