Pretty peonies give much beauty

We all dream of a garden border that is filled with an abundance of colour and fragrance. The cottage garden provides a quiet sanctuary from the chaos associated with modern living.

The key to any cottage garden’s appearance is the use of deep borders, overflowing with a medley of colours and forms. Here are a few great perennials for your garden that will bring a wow to your border.

For fragrance, the peony rose cannot be beaten. It is one of the joys of any garden with its stunning large scented flowers. Peony, like roses, are feeders and enjoy heavy, fertile soil. While they do well in heavy soils, the trick is to make sure drainage is impeccable.

This is one plant I would not recommend you put in a container, as from experience, it loves to have plenty of space in the ground! So plant them in a bed or border.

They make a stunning feature in any garden and you can create a beautiful cottage garden with them, as they come in lovely romantic shades of pinks, crimsons, creams and whites.

Paeonias do take a few years to settle into position, so this is not a plant for the impatient gardener, but if you have the virtue and wait, you will be rewarded with flowers year after year – or even a lifetime, and you can't ask for more than that!

A fascinating Chinese peony, the award-winner peony Bowl of Beauty is incredibly beautiful in bloom. This peony is famous for its huge, hot pink outer petals and contrasting frilly yellow centres - one of the most strikingly beautiful peonies. The centres of these extraordinary, scented flowers are packed full of tiny petals.

An all time favourite, award-winner peony Sarah Bernhardt is outrageously beautiful in bloom! It is an old standard peony that features very large, very fragrant, rose-pink double flowers.