The Mischievous Peony

The Mischievous Peony

I  never had an interest in the massive double-flowered peonies. Their huge globe heads and their proneness to collapse and fall apart after a strong rain or wind were a strong disincentive for purchase – they had no place in a garden that demands upright, self-reliant perennials.  Then there was the colour choices – shades of red, magenta, pink and white with never a pale yellow¹ or a blue to be seen. On the other hand, I had long admired their toughness. You can often see these plants blooming in the most derelict gardens and sometimes even after the house itself has disappeared. However, I pushed them out of mind and ignored them as having no potential for our garden.

Then one day, many years ago, during a late summer excursion to Hole’s Greenhouses in St. Albert, I chanced upon the Peony ‘Mischief’. It was on sale, because the flowers were already spent, but it drew my attention because of the picture on the label.  It was an outstanding bloom, single-looking (but actually semi-double) and a pale pink that was quite attractive. Up until that point pink and red flowers had no place in our front garden (except for the climbing roses at the doorway) but these blooms, as pictured, won my heart over. Because they were not the pompous, blowzy heads of the old style peonies, I imagined they would be upstanding garden citizens. I purchased three of the expensive plants, thankfully affordable at the sale price.

Two of the plants are blooming today at the front entrance, while the third, in a different location, sits with fat buds waiting to explode. A great plant with great blooms that helped change a mind-set.

¹ The unpronounceable, greatly desired but hard to find species (and therefor expensive), Paeonia mlokosewitschii, from the Caucasus Mountains are a lovely pale yellow. Yellow varieties are also available from  intersectional hybrids of tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. The latter may not be hardy in Zone 3b.