Peony.
When Keats talked of the wealth of ‘globèd Peony,’ he was thinking of the old-fashioned red ones that make such a splendid splash of colour in a garden, but were out of favour at one time because they were considered too flamboyant for people with refined tastes. Your grandmother would have looked disapprovingly at a hoyden whose face was as red as a Peony, and she probably thought the flowers very well in a cottage garden, but not in her own. But in these days of hockey and lawn-tennis Atalanta’s face may be as red as she pleases—no one will call her a hoyden; and the Peonies are no longer globed, but wide-open and wide-eyed, like an Anemone, and lovely shades of palish pink and white. You can still grow the old red one if you wish. It is called ‘officinalis,’ and, like all Peonies, should have four feet of space allowed for the bush it will make in two or three years’ time. Some of the most beautiful new ones are half single, with a mass of golden stamens in the centre, and many are sweet-scented. They should not be planted on an east border, because then the sun catches the dewdrops still on the blooms, and converts them into burning glasses. They will grow in any rich soil and in any position, but if you give them moderate shade their flowers last longer and are more intense in colour. It is a good plan to pinch off the buds of your first-year plants, so that all the strength goes into the roots and leaves. You may leave them undisturbed for years, but if you can top-dress them in autumn so much the better. Peonies form large woody roots, with little knobs or crowns on them. They may be divided in autumn by carefully cutting apart the roots, leaving several crowns on each piece. These should be planted only two inches below the soil.