Double Peonies

Paeonia lactiflora 'Sarah Bernhardt' is the sort of herbaceous peony that never goes out of fashion. From late spring into early summer, it produces generously double, rose-pink blooms with a gentle fragrance—sumptuous in the border, and utterly proper in a vase.

Plant bare roots in autumn and allow this clump-forming perennial time to settle; it rewards patience with increasingly impressive flowering over the years. Best in a sheltered spot with deep, fertile, humus-rich soil that holds moisture without becoming waterlogged.

• Flower: Double, rose pink, lightly fragrant
• Season of interest: May–June
• For: Borders, cottage gardens, cutting gardens; charming beneath roses and shrubs
• Position: Full sun to partial sun, sheltered

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Duchesse de Nemours’ is an enduring favourite: a herbaceous peony of great poise, producing sumptuous, fully double white blooms with the faintest greenish nuance and a refined perfume. In early summer the flowers rise above handsome, deeply divided dark-green foliage, bringing quiet luxury to borders and cutting gardens alike.

Once established, it settles into a long-lived clump and becomes more generous with each passing season. Particularly lovely when threaded through roses and shrubs, where its sculptural flowers feel perfectly at home.

• Flowering: May–June
• Height: 80cm
• Spread: 50–100cm
• Position: Sheltered
• Supplied as: Bare root

Paeonia 'Red Sarah Bernhardt' is a handsome, traditional peony with indulgently full, double blooms in rich deep pink-red tones. It brings a wonderfully composed grandeur to the border, with lush mid-green foliage and a generous, clump-forming habit that looks elegant from spring onwards.

Planted in autumn as a bare root, this perennial settles in quietly and rewards patience—taking a couple of seasons to reach its best. In May through July, the flowers are superb for cutting: generous, romantic heads that sit beautifully in a vase and lend a classic note to arrangements.

• Ideal for: borders and the cutting garden
• Flowering: May–July
• Height: 80–100cm (with a spread of 60–90cm)
• Position: sheltered; full sun or partial sun
• Soil: moist but well-drained loam; any pH
• Hardiness: fully hardy