Although there are many cultivated varieties of peony, we deal mainly with the pure species. These have single flowers, mainly red or pink, perhaps with white varieties, but there are also fabulous ones with pale yellow flowers. They are all herbaceous, and it is a delight to see the dark red noses of the new stems pushing through the ground in late winter, two or three where there was one the previous year, and soon a great clump of them.

Paeonia tenuifolia 'Merry Mayshine' is a beautiful selection of this species with delicate fern-like foliage and bright crimson, yellow-centred flowers that are fragrant.