Luxury 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 'Bartzella' is an exquisitely composed peony, bringing a quietly luxurious air to the late-spring and early-summer border. Its lemon-yellow flowers, gently warmed with a soft red-pink flare at the centre, sit above handsome, mid to dark green foliage with a pleasingly shrubby, clump-forming habit.

Long-lived and dependable once settled, this fully hardy perennial makes a refined partner for roses, nepeta and early summer perennials, and is particularly fine for cutting—fresh stems lending a considered elegance to the house.

• Colour: Lemon-yellow with soft red/pink flare
• Habit: Clump-forming, bushy
• Best for: Borders and cutting gardens

Paeonia 'Coral Sunset' is a beautifully mannered herbaceous peony, prized for its scented, semi-double blooms and effortlessly sophisticated colouring. The flowers open in a poised coral-pink, then mellow with age to softer, creamy tones—an elegant transition that brings a flattering light to late spring and early summer borders.

With deep green foliage and a neat, clump-forming habit, it settles into the garden with quiet assurance and becomes more impressive with each passing season. Plant in a sheltered spot with fertile, humus-rich soil and allow it the time it deserves—peonies are wonderfully long-lived once established.

• Fragrant, semi-double flowers with a refined colour shift from coral-pink to cream
• Fully hardy and well-suited to UK gardens
• Excellent for borders in cottage and courtyard settings
• Pollinator friendly when in bloom

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 'Cora Louise' is an impeccably refined Itoh (intersectional) peony, valued for its generous, saucer-shaped blooms in the most flattering palette: pale pink petals with a richer magenta ring and a warm yellow centre. Lightly scented and held proudly above handsome, finely cut foliage, it brings a composed elegance to borders and the cutting garden alike.

Supplied as a bare root division for autumn planting, this fully hardy perennial settles in steadily, then rewards patience with a truly distinguished display in late spring to early summer.

• Flowering: May–June
• Colour: Pale pink with magenta ring and yellow centre
• Form: Bowl-shaped, saucer-like blooms
• Foliage: Dark green, bronze-tinged in spring and autumn
• Habit: Upright, compact
• Best in: Borders, cottage & informal gardens, city & courtyard gardens, cutting gardens

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