Perennial of the Month - Archives - May 2006

professional garden designs for people who love perennials

Peonies are great perennials that come up every year, bloom for three weeks and then are neat, green bushes for the rest of the growing season.

We love to include the single peony varieties like "Mischief" in our garden designs. The flowers are lighter in color and do not require being staked.

Shown above is the "Mischief" Peony, which flowers in June in the northern states. The Mischief Peony is a single peony, which is great because they don't need peony supports. They don't fall over in your perennial garden because they are not as heavy as the old fashioned double peonies.

Photo of a Peony - 'Mischief'

This photo shows an example of the "Mischief" Peony in it's entirety. This Mischief Peony is a single bloom peony and does not require a peony hoop. This makes your perennial garden look even better - who wants to see metal supports?

We also love to include a few of the old fashioned, regular peony varieties in our garden designs. However, these types of peonies require us to install peony rings in April. We push them down into the ground so they stick up about two inches. Then, each week we pull the ring up to match the growth of the peony. That way our full, beautiful, flowering peony is protected when it is ready to flower.

Photo of a Peony - 'Raspberry Sundae'

Shown above is the "Raspberry Sundae" Peony, which blooms in June in the northern states. This Raspberry Sundae Peony is a double peony, it does require a peony support to assure that it does not fall over. Sometimes in the back row of a perennial garden you can hide the support from showing by placing other perennials in front and at the side that are just tall enough to hide the support.

Photo of a Peony - 'Festiva Maxima'

Shown above is the "Festiva Maxima" Peony, which blooms in May in the northern states. The Festiva Maxima Peony is a beautiful white, double peony with a little sprinkle of red. It is worth the hassle to use a peony support. This shot was taken from one of our favorite perennial gardens in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Great Resources of Peonies

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