186 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
of the Pea order (Legummosae). They will thrive in ordinary 
soil in sunny positions, and may be planted in autumn or 
spring. Easily increased by seeds sown outdoors in April, 
or division of the roots in spring. The few species grown in 
gardens are: O. pyrenaica, sky-blue, summer, 6in., Pyrenees; 
O. campestris, creamy-white and purple, July, 4m., Scotch 
mountains; and O. uralensis, purple, summer, 6in., Scotland 
and Europe. 
Paaonia (Paeony). — The paeony, or peony of our fore- 
fathers, is one of the oldest of our cultivated garden flowers. 
Botanical historians tell us that the plant derives its name 
from Paeon, a physician, and erstwhile disciple of ^Esculapius, 
the god of healing. The story goes that Paeon cured Pluto 
of a wound received from Hercules, and when this fact became 
known to ^Esculapius it aroused feelings of jealousy within his 
breast to such an extent that he secretly killed Paeon. Pluto, 
out of gratitude to Paeon for saving his life, determined to 
perpetuate the latter’s memory for all time by changing him 
into a flower, henceforth to be known as the paeony. Botani- 
cally, the flower belongs to the Buttercup order (Ranuncu- 
laceae). 
There are two distinct sections of paeonies — the herbaceous 
and the tree or moutan. The former are fleshy-rooted peren- 
nials which die down to the ground in autumn and put forth 
new leaves in spring. The latter are more or less hard-wooded ; 
that is, they have woody stems which live year after year, and 
cast off their leaves in autumn. These are dealt with in the 
Hardy Tree and Shrub section. 
Of the herbaceous paeonies there are several species. One 
— P. corallina — is reputed to be a native of England. In 
reality, however, it is not indigenous to this country, but is 
really a native of Southern Europe, the Caucasus, and the 
Himalayas. P. officinalis is a European species, a native of 
the Alps, and it is from this and P. albiflora, a native of 
Siberia, that the present race of garden varieties of the paeony 
has really sprung. Both the last-mentioned species were 
introduced into England in 1548. Several other species are 
in cultivation, but, with the exception of P. tenuifolia, a fine- 
leaved kind, we do not propose to mention these. Paeonia 
officinalis is known as the Double Crimson Paeony, and P. 
albiflora as the White Paeony. The latter is very fragrant, and 
it is owing to the intercrossing of this species with the former 
that we obtain the delicious perfume which distinguishes many 
of the present-day varieties. 
With so infinite a variety of colours, and the fact of the 
herbaceous paeony being so perfectly hardy and so absolutely 
easy to grow, it is a source of wonderment to us that these 
