These Peony Colors Will Brighten Up Your Garden

By Southern Living

According to The Southern Living Garden Book, “Peonies dominate many a flower border in late spring; they’re great companions for iris, old roses, poppies, dianthus, and early daylilies.” Part of their appeal lies in their vibrant blooms, which come in many colors. These popular plantings flower in a rainbow of hues—every color, that is, but blue. Peonies come in several forms, including herbaceous peonies, tree peonies, and Itoh peonies (which are intersectional hybrids), among others. Some peonies, like the herbaceous ‘Shirley Temple’ and ‘Minnie Shaylor,’ begin pale pink and age to white or cream. Other peonies have deep magenta petals, including ‘Big Ben’ and ‘Karl Rosenfield.’ Many peonies are fragrant, including ‘Edulis Superba,’ ‘Festiva Maxima,’ and ‘Philippe Rivoire,’ all three of which are of the herbaceous peony form. Click through to find the peony varieties that bloom in your favorite colors, and add some to your garden this year.

Start Slideshow

1 of 15

Burgundy

ValaGrenier/Getty Images

Deep red peonies symbolize passionate love.

Herbaceous
‘Belle Center,’ ‘Bordeaux,’ ‘Chocolate Soldier,’ ‘Early Scout’

Tree
‘Black Pirate,’ ‘Pluto,’ ‘Thunderbolt’

Itoh
‘Scarlet Heaven’

Advertisement

2 of 15

Coral

Sarsmis/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Coral ‘n Gold,’ ‘Coral Charm,’ ‘Coral Sunset,’ ‘Coral Supreme,’ ‘Pink Hawaiian Coral’

Tree
‘Shan Hu Tai’

Itoh
‘Canary Brilliants’

3 of 15

Crimson

Howard Rice/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘America,’ ‘Blaze,’ ‘Buckeye Belle,’ ‘Nippon Beauty,’ ‘Philippe Rivoire,’ ‘Red Charm’

Tree
‘Chinese Dragon,’ ‘Hephestos,’ ‘Impumon,’ ‘Taiyo’

Advertisement

4 of 15

Lavender

Clive Nichols/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Color Magnet,’ ‘Easy Lavender,’ ‘Firelight,’ ‘Lavender Whisper’

Tree
‘Ann Marie,’ ‘Blue Sapphire’

Itoh
‘Oochiegas,’ ‘Takara’

5 of 15

Magenta

Rosemary Calvert/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Big Ben,’ ‘Felix Crousse,’ ‘Felix Supreme,’ ‘Kansas,’ ‘Karl Rosenfield,’ ‘Scarlett O’Hara’

Itoh
‘Luoyang Hong,’ ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’

6 of 15

Peach

Jennifer A. Smith/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Apricot Whisper’

Tree
‘Hana-kisoi,’ ‘Gauguin’

Itoh
‘Julia Rose,’ ‘Kopper Kettle,’ ‘Misaka,’ ‘Singing in the Rain’

Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 15

Pink and White

Erhard Nerger/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Bowl of Beauty,’ ‘Festiva Maxima,’ ‘Gay Paree,’ ‘Kinda Cute,’ ‘La Lorraine,’ ‘Raspberry Rumba,’ ‘Sweet Marjorie,’ ‘White Cap’

Tree
‘Companion of Serenity,’ ‘Oread,’ ‘Sakura Jishidi,’ ‘Shima-Nishiki’

Itoh
‘Cora Louise’

8 of 15

Purple

Istetiana/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Purple Spider’

Tree
‘Kamata-nishiki,’ ‘Sapphos’

9 of 15

Rose Pink

Isabel Pavia/Getty Images

Pink peonies symbolize love and romance.

Herbaceous
‘Alexander Fleming,’ ‘Do Tell,’ ‘Edulis Superba,’ ‘Glory Hallelujah,’ ‘Madame Emile Debatene,’ ‘Monsieur Jules Elie,’ ‘Pink Parfait’

Tree
‘Leda’

Itoh
‘Pink Double Dandy’

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 15

Soft Pink

Brian Woon/EyeEm/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Belvedere Princess,’ ‘Hesperus,’ ‘Lady Orchid,’ ‘Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt,’ ‘Pillow Talk,’ ‘Sarah Bernhardt,’ ‘Sea Shell,’ ‘Shirley Temple’

Tree
‘Fen Lan Pink’

11 of 15

White

Clay Perry/Getty Images

White peonies symbolize beauty and forgiveness.

Herbaceous
‘Duchesse de Nemours,’ ‘Elsa Sass,’ ‘Henry Sass,’ ‘Kelway’s Glorious,’ ‘Krinkled White,’ ‘Minnie Shaylor’

Tree
‘Gessekai,’ ‘Godaishu’

12 of 15

White and Yellow

Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Jan Van Leeuwen,’ ‘Miss America’

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 15

Yellow

By Eve Livesey/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Border Charm,’ ‘Prairie Moon,’ ‘Smith Opus 1’

Tree
‘Age of Gold,’ ‘High Noon,’ ‘Tria’

Itoh
‘Bartzella,’ ‘Going Bananas,’ ‘Sequestered Sunshine,’ ‘Yellow Doodle Dandy’

14 of 15

Yellow and Pink

Moelyn Photos/Getty Images

Herbaceous
‘Raspberry Sundae’

Tree
‘Isadora,’ ‘Light Demetra’

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

Popular in Gardening Ideas

All Topics in Gardening Ideas

Advertisement