Paeonia lactiflora Amabilis

The 'Amabilis' Peony is a very old and charming French variety, in a delicately edged fresh, bright and luminous pink, early and highly fragrant. Its large double flowers, gently ruffled, often in anemone form, bloom in mid-May on a fairly airy clump of bright green foliage. This great classic has crossed the ages without a wrinkle, and now finds its way back to our flowerbeds, much to the delight of admirers of plants that are superb but easy to grow. Its flowers, magnificent in the garden, are sublime in bouquets.

Chinese herbaceous peonies mainly come from Paeonia lactiflora, a perennial herbaceous plant native to central and eastern Asia (from eastern Tibet, northern China, to eastern Siberia), where it naturally grows in woods and meadows. This plant belongs to the family of Ranunculaceae or Paeoniaceae.

The Amabilis variety is a cultivar obtained in France in 1856 by Jacques Calot. From spring onwards the plant forms an herbaceous and bushy clump that can reach 90 cm (35in) in all directions. Its large flowers with a diameter of 16 cm (6in), very double, appear early, often from mid-May, depending on the climate, and last for about two weeks. They emerge as a large pink bud, then open up into a compact, rather flat and skillfully disordered pompom, surrounded by a collar of wider petals. Their colour is a solid candy pink, becoming almost white on the edge of the petals. The fragrance is very noticeable in this variety. The young purple and shiny foliage unfolds into large dark green leaves with finely divided lobes. They are carried on a petiole that divides into 3, with lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate segments. The leaflets are entire or sometimes lobed. They disappear in winter, while the buds persist at ground level and will develop again in spring. This very perennial plant grows from a large fleshy root that does not appreciate being moved.

Peonies are among those plants that form the foundation of a garden. In the past every garden, from the humblest to the most elaborate, proudly displayed clumps of peonies that made their way into the house, keeping lilacs and bluebells company in bouquets. The Amabilis Chinese peony, amiable in every sense of the word, settles in flowerbeds or alongside pathways, in combination with timeless perennials such as columbines, bellflowers, foxgloves, bearded irises, carnations, or Christmas roses. It can also be grown in the vegetable garden to supply cut flowers for the house. Growing it in a pot is not recommended, as its needs will not be met. Over time, the peony becomes majestic and blooms more and more abundantly, producing up to 60 flowers. A bouquet composed of Amabilis peonies, light blue irises and the old rose Nur Mahal will make a great impression in the house.