Peonies: what to plant next to, how to arrange flower beds, landscape tricks

Peonies in landscape design are used very widely, as they are beautiful and at the same time undemanding perennials. Large bushes, as a rule, are planted separately – mainly in open spaces. And the shorter ones are used in compositions with other plants, selecting them by color and height.

Features of the use of peonies in the landscape design of a garden or plot

For a thoughtful design of a flower bed with peonies, it is recommended to use the decorative properties of this plant to the maximum. Peonies are valued not only for their bright and lush flowers, but also for the shape of the bush, leaves and the shade of the petioles (in some they are bright red). Therefore, the gardener first needs to select several varieties, focusing on color, height, stem strength and flowering time.

How to choose varieties of peonies for decorating a garden or plot

When choosing varieties of peonies, first of all, pay attention to the shades, shape and size of flowers. Also, peonies in the landscape should have fairly strong stems so that they can reliably hold even a large number of flowers.

Therefore, to decorate the garden, you can recommend the following varieties:

• White Sands – white with yellow stamens;

  

• My Love – white and pale pink;

  

• Karl Rosenfield – shade of fuchsia;

  

• Feather Top – also a shade of fuchsia, with lilac tones;

  

• Old faithful – red;

  

• John Howard Wiegell and Kevin – soft pink.

  

It is also worth considering the timing of flowering. For example, among the early flowering varieties, the most attractive are:

• Dutch Dwarf – pink, Japanese form;

  

• Tiny Tim – a miniature bush in the shape of a cap;

  

• Merry Mayshine – bush with graceful narrow leaves;

  

• Fairy Princess – large buds, rich pink hue;

  

• Eaglet – a variety with an interesting ornamental bush in the shape of a vase and small, but very bright flowers.

  

Recently, Ito hybrids are often used in landscape design: these are peonies obtained from crossing tree-like and herbaceous varieties:

• Garden Treasure – light yellow, rather large;

  

• Bartzella – terry, yellow;

  

• Viking Full Moon – light yellow with an orange core;

  

• Julia Rose – pink, light yellow, cream shade, grow in a compact bush.

  

Decorating the garden with peonies

Peonies are very bright, often large flowers growing on lush, compact or spreading bushes. They serve as a full-fledged decoration of the garden, so they can be used both in independent plantings and in compositions.

Here are some photos of the design of the site with peonies in the garden:

1. Planting in rows along the path is a great way to create a path, as well as separate one area of ​​​​the garden from another.

   

2. A peony hedge is one of the classic landscaping techniques. It looks especially good against the backdrop of a well-kept lawn – bright flowers are in harmony with the green tint.

   

3. Single planting against the background of bushes of about the same height.

   

4. Central flowerbed on an open lawn.

   

5. Planting peonies next to a bench, gazebo and other seating areas is often used for decoration in landscape design.

   

Design of a plot with peonies

To decorate the site, flower growers tend to follow the classic design rules, that is, to correctly combine color shades, sizes and shapes of bushes. Since many peonies have attractive colors, they can be safely used in the landscape design of any flower bed and garden, for example:

1. Classic round flower beds.

   

2. A zigzag row of peonies is used in landscape design for garden zoning.

   

3. A kind of hedge of different varieties of flowers.

   

4. Flowers combined with perennial shrubs.

   

5. Also in landscape design, rocky flower beds are often used, on which these flowering shrubs also look appropriate.

   

What can be planted next to peonies

You can plant next to peonies in a flower bed, in a hedge or along paths, both flowers and perennial green plants – herbaceous, coniferous and other crops. It is important to choose them so that they are harmoniously combined both in color and in height.

What ornamental plants can be planted next to peonies

Peonies go well with decorative perennials:

1. With various types of hostas, against which lush flowers will look especially beautiful.
2. With various conifers (thuya, dwarf spruce) – they look especially beautiful on rocky flower beds, in rock gardens and on the coast of reservoirs.
3. With herbaceous perennials that can be used in carpet plantings to decorate empty spaces in the garden.

Peonies harmonize very well with the hostas, creating a pleasant penumbra for them.

What flowers can be planted next to peonies

These plants harmonize well with many flowers, for example:

• chrysanthemum;
• daylily yellow;
• delphinium;
• honeysuckle;
• astilba;
• daisy;
• tulip;
• poppies

Is it possible to plant peonies next to trees

Planting peonies next to tall, lush and sprawling trees is not worth it, as they provide shade for a significant part of the day. This, for example, is an apple tree, maple, pine and others. And even if a large tree does not shade the area (for example, a compact spruce), it will take a significant part of the water and nutrients, which will have a bad effect on the development of the main crop.

Compatibility of peonies and thujas in landscape design

Thuja fits perfectly into almost any flower garden due to its beautiful greenery and graceful shape. Therefore, it is also used in planting with peonies, especially with pink, bright yellow and red.

Compatibility of irises and peonies in landscape design

Irises especially beautifully emphasize white peonies. Both cultures prefer bright sunlight, so it is appropriate to place them on an open lawn.

The combination of light yellow and blue shades is one of the most harmonious

What not to plant next to peonies

It is not recommended to plant next to these flowers:

1. Lush shrubs that create a strong shade.
2. Garden trees – they not only provide shade, but also take away moisture and nutrients.
3. Any plants from the Ranunculaceae family – they actively fill the site and compete with the main crop, sometimes inhibiting its development.
4. Small flowers (pansies, petunias, marigolds), which against the background of peonies do not look good in landscape design, as they disappear from the general background.

How to arrange flower beds with peonies

To beautifully design a flower bed, it is important to consider:

• combination of colors (contrast of red against green, blue with yellow, bright with darker ones);
• layering – large in the center, smaller ones – in the foreground;
• a general shape – for example, a circle can be visually distinguished using low flowers or perennials (hostas, blue fescue, wild oats).

Rules for the design of flower beds with peonies

If you make up from different varieties, it is better to plant them at the same time so that they grow in sync. In addition, they should approximately match in height and bloom at the same time, otherwise the desired effect will not work. Color combinations can be different – for example, red and white, yellow and red, pink and white.

It is better to choose bushes of the same height or plant high ones in the center, and low ones at the edges.

Mixed flower beds with peonies in landscape design

These plants can be combined with different colors, given the color scheme and their height. They are planted in mixborders, hedges along the road, in various compositions (rock gardens, on the coasts, rocky flower beds).

Mixborders decorate the flower garden well, so they are often used in landscape design.

Examples of schemes for flower beds and flower beds with peonies

When creating a flower bed, you can take the proven schemes shown below as a basis.

Proper arrangement will allow you to achieve alternate lush flowering

1-delphinium, 2-peonies, 3-any lilac flowers, for example, catnip, 4-azorella three-forked

Another option is to make a round flower bed of perennial flowering plants:

• iris silver;
• phlox;
• peonies (pink and lilac varieties are better suited here);
• chrysanthemum;
• asters

A few ideas on how to plant peonies beautifully

And a few more ideas for using these bright shrubs in landscape design with photos for inspiration:

1. Multi-tiered flower beds.

   

2. Rabatki along the house. In design, they are used for zoning and forming the visual boundaries of the entire flower garden.

   

3. In single landings. This technique in landscape design is used in cases where you need to highlight the center of the garden or simply close empty, ugly places.

   

4. On flowerbeds.

   

Design Tips

Each garden has its own characteristics, and truly beautiful flower arrangements can be made taking into account the advice of professional designers. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to some landscape tricks, thanks to which peonies in the garden will look really impressive:

1. The brightest, most luxurious flowers are used in single plantings in the center of the garden.

   

2. When creating multi-tiered compositions, smaller plants are planted in the foreground, and the tallest ones are planted in the background.

   

3. When choosing plants for a flower bed, color combinations are taken into account: for example, light yellow peonies look good against the background of yellow-green grass.

   

4. Bright flowers look good against the lush green background of the lawn. If the bush is quite tall, it is better to form it on a stem, that is, to give it the shape of a tree by removing all the lower shoots.

   

5. Along the edges of the path and in the hedge, it is desirable to use peonies of approximately the same height, as well as the same flowering period. It is optimal to plant them in one year so that they grow synchronously.

   

Conclusion

Peonies in landscape design are used very widely. And this is due not only to their natural beauty, but also to practicality. Many varieties (including exotic, not yet common) are highly winter hardy and undemanding to care for. This allows you to cultivate them in almost any region of Our Country – both in the Central part and in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.