SPOTLIGHT ON... peonies

With their giant powderpuff blooms in pastel-pink shades that appear in June and early July, peonies neatly fill the gap between spring bulbs and summer bedding or herbaceous displays.

There are dozens of stunning varieties. Many are rich magenta, but ‘Bowl of Beauty’ is an old favourite with a dish of large, strawberry-pink petals surrounding a short, shaggy, cream centre. ‘Sarah Bernhardt’, pictured, has large, frothy, double pink flowers, and

‘Pillow Talk’ is similar but several shades paler – like candyfloss.

Try tucking a few clumps into borders where there are plenty of later-flowering perennials standing by to take over from them when they are over, or grow them in gaps between spring-flowering shrubs where giant peonies are seen against a background of fresh foliage. You can plant some now. Choose an open, sunny spot with reasonably well-drained soil but avoid anywhere that gets early morning sun, since a late frost can scorch emerging buds.

Peonies love lots of organic matter, so dig in some well-rotted compost.

You may not get many blooms for the first few years but, like so many of us, they get better as they grow older.