Paeonia 'Bowl of Beauty'

Paeonia 'Bowl of Beauty': Pink Saucers With a Lemon Twist

'Bowl of Beauty' wraps fuchsia-rose petals around a fluffy pale lemon centre. It's the two-tone hair colour you were never brave enough to try. COMMITMENT, IN FLOWER FORM.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Paeonia lactiflora 'Bowl of Beauty'
• Common Name: Garden Peony
• Height: 60–90 cm (2–3 ft)
• Spread: 90 cm (35 in)
• Flowers: Large Japanese-form flowers, fuchsia-rose outer petals around a full centre of pale lemon-yellow staminodes
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Deep green and divided, bushy all season
• Features: Two-tone flowers, excellent cut flower

Where to Plant: It's a focal-point peony, so plant it near a path or patio where the two-tone flowers can be seen up close, or in the middle of a sunny border. The wide, leafy clump fills space well after bloom, so give it room.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Bowl of Beauty' in a sunny or part-shade bed with rosy daylilies, violet spikes and golden heliopsis. Hemerocallis Happy Ever Appster™ 'Rosy Returns' adds rose-pink daylilies at 36 to 40 cm from June to September. Veronica 'Royal Rembrandt' brings violet-purple spikes at 46 to 51 cm in July and August. Heliopsis 'Summer Sun' adds golden daisies at 90 to 120 cm from June to September. Miscanthus 'Morning Light' stands behind at 120 to 150 cm with fine, silver-edged blades.

Plant Care: Plant it in full sun for the most flowers. Part sun works, with fewer blooms. Give it fertile, well-drained soil with some compost mixed in. Set the crown so the pink buds, called eyes, sit no more than 5 cm (2 in) below the soil surface. Planted deeper, peonies tend to sulk and skip blooming. Water regularly through the first season, then only during long dry spells. The flowers are lighter than big doubles, but a peony ring placed in early spring still helps after heavy rain. Ants on the buds are normal and do no harm. In fall, cut the stems to the ground and clear away the leaves to reduce diseases such as botrytis. Peonies dislike being moved. If you must divide, do it in early fall, keeping three to five eyes per piece.

History: 'Bowl of Beauty' was raised by Hoogendoorn in the Netherlands and dates to 1949. Its Japanese-form flowers have a ring of normal petals around a centre of staminodes, which are stamens that have turned into narrow, petal-like strips.

Final Thoughts: Spectacular in a vase and ignored by deer. Plant it where everyone will ask how you did it. TELL THEM IT'S NATURAL.