Royal beauty

The flush of voluptuous peonies each year may be short, but they are highly anticipated for their impressive blooms and many have a lovely fragrance. Easy to grow, low maintenance and extremely hardy, peonies offer decades of charm, with some producing blooms for nearly a century. It is easy to see why in China they are known as the king of flowers, and have been cultivated for thousands of years.

It may take up to four years of patience before you see your first bloom but their robust longevity and ease of care make them extremely worthwhile. Few other plants have such large blooms, a range of colours from pure white, through yellow to coral, pink and deep crimson, with a choice of single, semi-double and double forms.

Each year peonies will die down in winter, before emerging in spring