n FIFTY years of BMW’s
In dreamy hues, these fragrant beauties light up summer gardens
fabled M motorsport division are being celebrated next week at the Goodwood Festival of Speed — the world’s only motor show held as a country house garden party.
The Bavarian marque is being honoured with pride of place on the lawn outside Goodwood House with a striking ‘central feature’ sculpture showcasing iconic models from BMW M.
M is the high-testosterone arm of the prestige car-maker that both creates specific race and road cars while also sportily tweaking mainstream BMWs.
Visitors have a chance to witness the world premiere of the first-ever BMW M3 Touring and the UK premiere of the new M4 CSL with just 100 allocated to Britain from £128,820 ( goodwood.com).
Other new BMWs on display — with some available to drive — will include the new iX1, i7, i4 and iX M60.
Peonies are voluptuous — an apt description of their extravagant beauty. Pretty as roses in dreamy colours, softpetalled flowers lack thorns. The earliest, Paeonia mlokosewitschii, nicknamed Mollythe-Witch, carries primrose yellow, goblet-shaped flowers in May. Almost as early, P. cambessedesii bears midpink flowers above red-backed leaves. More commonplace,
P. officinalis has deep pink to rose-red blooms in late spring.
The world’s finest species come from Asia. But thanks to historic nurseries such as Kelways and to centuries of breeding, we have a colourful choice of magnificent varieties.
Among those are tree peonies. shrubs rather than trees, they were cultivated and treasured in ancient China.
One of the finest is Rock’s peony, P. rockii Joseph
Rock. The mid- size, sparselimbed shrub carries large white flowers with deep purple centres.
The peony’s only downside is brevity. Flowers come in one gorgeous flush, then it’s over.
TWICE AS CHARMING
DouBle-FloWeReD peonies are the most spectacular. Their flowers are larger and longer lasting than the singles. But single-flowered varieties have their own special charm and attract pollinators. All peony leaves are attractive. some also have subtly coloured stems and leaves, especially when young in early spring.
Both Molly-the-Witch and P. cambessedesii have attractive seed capsules resembling court jesters’ pointy hats.
The finest herbaceous peonies were developed from the Himalayan P. lactiflora. Good varieties include soft pink sarah Bernhardt, salmon Coral Charm and creamcentred, pink petalled Bowl of Beauty.
Reds include scarlet Buckeye Belle and the hybrid Red Charm. All make excellent cut flowers.
EASY CULTURE
Peonies are straightforward to grow. They retain beauty and vigour for years longer than many perennials.
if flower numbers begin to fall, lift and divide your plants in autumn. Tease away healthy divisions and re-plant in a welllit, sheltered position. Peonies thrive in all soil types, too.
June had a cool, wet start this year. Low temperatures slowed growth and, in some places, wind and heavy rainfall damaged delicate plants. But that’s not all bad.
A June drought is usually more damaging than squally rain. Young plants knocked about by wind or heavy downpours should recover quickly. Among taller, later flowering plants, growth has been rapid. That points to a fabulous show on the way for late summer and autumn.
But tall plants, drawn up by rain, can collapse. Prevent that with extra supports, put in place as soon as possible.
Check on all plants which flower from late July onwards. use canes or metal supports to bolster up any that have fallen or slumped against their neighbours. early perennials such as oriental poppies, doronicums and lupins can be cut hard back now, or when they finish flowering.
Autumn- sown annuals, especially early poppies and other tall varieties, can be removed if they’ve finished flowering. If you want to save seeds, leave a few plants untouched, so the seed capsules can ripen.
Rain has been a booster for sneaky weeds, too. Large ones such as nettles, creeping thistle and bindweed could have grown up unnoticed, among developing plants. Remove them before they seed or spread.