12 
House & Garden 
worth's daffodils, still flash upon 
the inward eye. 
It was not until some two years 
later, when the family bought 
back Grandfather’s old home 
away here in the country and 
once more boasted a fixed habita¬ 
tion, that an opportunity came of 
seeing to it that my dream of 
planting peonies of my own came 
true. We took possession in No¬ 
vember, and by the following June 
the last member of the family had 
set his face toward the north and 
had arrived, burning with enthu¬ 
siasm to be about the improve¬ 
ment and rejuvenation of the old 
homestead. By August I found 
that I had very nearly come to the 
bottom of my always shallow 
purse and knew I could make 
only very limited fall plantings in 
the border I had persuaded them 
to leave room for at the end of 
the newdy made lawn. Before 
starting back for the city and the 
winter’s work, however, I did put 
in some irises, tulips, and a dozen 
unnamed mixed peonies, bought 
from a general seed house. 
Increasing the Collection 
Encouraged by the good be¬ 
havior of these nondescripts and 
the very presentable blooms some 
of them threw out the following 
June, I decided on a bolder ven¬ 
ture. A copy of a peony spe¬ 
cialist’s catalog was obtained, and 
a real beginning was made, that 
next fall, of what is turning out 
to be a never failing source of 
joy each June to the family, our 
friends, and all who pass by. 
My collection now numbers 
over a hundred plants, all named 
varieties, with the exception of 
that first dozen. Having many 
other things besides peonies to 
buy, I would lay out only a few 
dollars at a time on that particu¬ 
lar plant. There was a whole 
summer’s display to plan for, as 
well as one for the month of 
June. Consequently my list con¬ 
tains almost none of the more ex- 
expensive sorts, which, after all, isn't such a 
calamity, as expense never means greater merit 
necessarily, only rarity and, usually, compara¬ 
tively recent introduction. Many of the older 
varieties have never been surpassed and have 
become so plentiful that they may be purchased 
ior from forty or fifty cents a root up to a 
dollar and a half or two dollars. By ordering 
the so-called “collections” made up by the 
various peony growers, from stock of which 
they perhaps have a surplus or an unusual¬ 
ly plentiful supply, one can have a dozen 
first class named sorts for three or four dol¬ 
lars. A root priced at from three to twenty- 
five dollars I call expensive. So far, although 
I am reserving a place for them, they are en¬ 
tirely lacking in my garden. Thanks to an 
honest grower’s advice, my collection though 
limited is well chosen and contains plants 
of the early, mid-season, and late flowering 
sorts. 
Favorite Sorts 
Ever}' peony lover has favorites and is prone 
to list the twelve best, when, in reality, that 
scribable mixture of cream, blush, 
and ivory tints. Henri Murger — 
the latest blooming peony in my 
list, a great full flower like a deep 
pink rose in color and odor. 
Madame Emile Galli —But what’s 
the use! If I keep on, it will 
merely mean naming them all. 
Keeping Records 
The careful keeping of records 
of planting and flowering dates 
and notes of general behavior, 
though at the time somewhat irk¬ 
some, in the end adds greatly to 
the interest and pleasure of gar¬ 
dening, whatever plants one may 
be growing. When peonies enter 
a garden scheme, this becomes al¬ 
most a necessity and absolutely so 
if any measure of a collector's in¬ 
terest should be aroused, for we 
are now dealing with distinct 
named varieties having individ¬ 
ual histories and eccentricities. 
It is impossible to keep these rec¬ 
ords long and be delving into bul¬ 
letins and descriptive lists to see 
if the plants are proving true to 
name, etc., and not become in¬ 
terested in peony history. 
I shall try to give a few of the 
more interesting legends and facts 
I have encountered in various ex¬ 
cursions after information, but 
before going on I must sound a 
note of warning to any peony ex¬ 
pert who may chance upon what I 
am writing. I am not a scientist, 
an historian, nor even a profes¬ 
sional gardener, but a poor artist 
who happens to love peonies and 
is impelled by a passion for the 
diffusion of beauty to assume the 
character of propagandist for the 
novice. Then, O Expert! if you 
find here a thought of your own I 
have cribbed, for the good of the 
cause let it pass in peace. And 
now let us turn to that old legend 
of the flower’s origin. 
The Legend cf Paeon 
There lived, so the story goes, 
in the mythical age of Greece, one 
Paeon, not only court physician 
amongst the gods, but apparently the fore¬ 
runner of the whole tribe of that ilk. Now 
Paeon on a day was called in by the god 
Pluto, who -was a-bed of a wound he had 
received from a shaft hurled at him by mighty 
Hercules himself. This Paeon was possessed 
of a plant having wonderful healing powers, 
a gift he had received at the hands of the 
goddess Leto. This the physician applied with 
marvelous effect to the wounds of the grateful 
Pluto. So far all went well, but soon the vil¬ 
lain of the piece is aroused into action by 
green-eyed jealousy. For Aesculapius, the god 
of medicine and Leto’s own grandson, and 
what makes the deed seem more damnable, 
the one in whose school the physician had re¬ 
ceived his training, in a fit of envy compassed 
the death of good Pa?on. At this juncture 
Pluto interfered and showed his gratitude by 
changing Paeon into the flower he had used in 
working the cure, and which ever afterward 
bore his name. 
From that day almost, if not quite, to this, 
the peony has been always regarded as possess¬ 
ing marvelous healing powers. Some irrever- 
The semi-double type 
is one of the simpler 
of the many different 
forms of peony blos¬ 
soms 
Foliage and flowers 
alike are wholly de¬ 
light fid. Mass plant¬ 
ing is the most ef¬ 
fective 
The anemone-flower¬ 
ed peony has a flat- 
tish head in which the 
petaloids are strongly 
evidenced 
In the semi-rose we find a 
looser blossom head than in 
the true rose type shown 
opposite 
there can be no such is amply proven by the 
fact that no two lists ever agree. I shall, then, 
not venture to say which is best. But I cannot 
pass on without naming a few I should sorely 
miss if they were gone from my border next 
J une. 
Festiva Maxima —the great white one flecked 
with an occasional crimson splash. Monsieur 
Jules Elie —a beautiful pink of enormous pro¬ 
portions. Marie Jacquin —also called the 
Water Lily, which it resembles in form, but 
warmer in color. Felix Crousse —an unusu¬ 
ally pure red, rich and deep. Couronne d'Or 
—a white developing a crown of carmine 
splashed petals separated from the rest of the 
flower by a ring of golden stamens. Marie — 
a beautiful flatfish bloom made up of an inde¬ 
