Peonies are one of the few flowers that are gorgeous on their own. Their lush blooming caps of various shades - from snow-white to purple - look spectacular against the background of a green lawn and fill the garden with a wonderful intoxicating aroma. Compositions of peony varieties that are harmonious in shade and similar in size do not require any additions.

Finding neighbors for such “self-sufficient” flowers is not easy. During the flowering period, their lush splendor should not compete with the bright colors of their flowerbed partners, and the rest of the time, the carved greenery of the leaves becomes a wonderful backdrop for other flowering plants.

If you decide to supplement your peony plantings with other flowers or shrubs, then when choosing neighbors for them, adhere to three basic principles.

Color combinations

If you select plants with the same flowering periods to pair with peonies, then you should not plant them next to bright varieties plants with red flowers. It is better to choose, for example, modest snow-white heads of decorative onions.

Pink caps will look especially tender against the background of decorative greenery of thuja or barberry.

With white varieties spectacular combination make up pomegranate cloves or blood red heuchera, and daylily, honeysuckle, irises or poppies will only further emphasize their splendor.

Compositional solution

If a small area is allocated for the composition, then it is better to combine peony bushes with low-growing neighbors - such as primrose, daisies, bergenia or mantle. They will not distract attention from the main decoration of the mixborder, but will unobtrusively diversify the surrounding space.

To emphasize the splendor of rich shades or the delicacy of white and pink tones, you should create background plantings of juniper or other tall conifers.

Foxglove or delphinium will add vertical lines to a flower bed with peonies.

Whatever neighbors you choose, remember that you should not plant them between the bushes, so that you can always loosen the soil between them.

Continuity of flowering mix

To ensure that your mixborder always looks decorative, select plants in such a way that the flowering period of some ends before the lush caps of peonies appear, while others decorate the flowerbed after the “king” of the mix has finished flowering.

Only those plants that have similar requirements for soil type, lighting and humidity can be planted in one flower garden. In addition, important factors are the presence of flowering, its seasonality and nature. If you take into account the height of the flowers and the period of their blooming, you can organize the flowerbed in such a way that faded perennials are covered by newly blooming ones, providing the effect of an unfading flower garden.

GOOD AND BAD NEIGHBORS

Even with the best neighborhood, you should avoid dense planting of flowers, since they require space to form and grow. Experts do not recommend planting nearby:

• roses with mignonette and carnations;
• lilies of the valley with peonies and violets;
• lilies with tulips;
• violets with sweet peas.

Particularly aggressive are plants of the buttercup family, which thoroughly deplete the soil, sucking from it not only moisture, but also useful material. Therefore, such a neighborhood may not in the best possible way affect other plants and even cause their death.

Some flowers, on the contrary, protect other plantings from pests and diseases, and also contribute to their active growth. As neighbors in the same flower garden, you can choose:

• for peonies - nasturtiums, since they provide protection against fungal diseases and nematodes;
• for roses and gladioli - marigolds, which repel pests and thereby create favorable conditions for growth;
• for petunias - asters, since in one flower garden they do not suffer from fusarium;
• for phlox - marigolds that protect against nematodes;
• for aster - nasturtiums, which prevent the occurrence of fusarium.

In addition, the rose can be planted surrounded by lilies, clematis and lavender, which will protect it from diseases and aphids.

COMPATIBILITY OF PLANTS TAKEN INTO LIGHTING AND WATERING

As for growing conditions, roses, clematis, peonies and other luxurious perennials need to be provided with the best possible lighting, fertile soil, correct feeding, timely and sufficiently abundant watering. Experienced flower growers advise planting them separately. The distance from peonies to other plants should be at least 1 meter, and from roses - half a meter. To make them look even more impressive, it is advisable to plant them against the backdrop of a lawn, in solitary plantings away from coniferous plants And ornamental shrubs. Since peonies do not bloom for long, sun-loving and drought-resistant annuals that bloom later can be placed at some distance from them.

Decorative onions can accompany mixed plantings of bulbous plants (tulips, hyacinths and daffodils). When they have finished blooming, they can be hidden behind a screen of tall, drought-resistant plants: from verbena and lacfiol to tall varieties of marigolds.

You can decorate a sun-drenched meadow with asters and chrysanthemums, daisies and cannas, zinnias and gladioli, decorative sunflowers and dahlias, phlox and lilies, which feel good under the scorching summer sun.

Most drought-resistant plants include ornamental grasses, including blue fescue, double fescue and elymus. Many sun-loving flowers require moderate watering and good drainage. Some plants, such as gladioli, purpurea coneflower, rudbeckia, helenium autumn, phlox, ornamental onions and irises, need both a lot of sun and good watering. For cornflowers, daylilies, pyrethrum and dicentra, the combination with taller neighbors is not scary, since they are moderately shade-tolerant.

Shade-loving plants take root well in the shade lawn grass, succulents and wild perennials. They easily tolerate disadvantage sunlight, therefore they grow well in the north side and in the shade of a house or under spruce trees.

Miniature ground covers are excellent for filling voids in the garden, which include damselfish, ivy bud and small periwinkle. They will not only fill the rows, but also drive away weeds.

Most main enemy flower garden - chaotic planting. Even the most simple plants look impressive if they are planted according to a certain pattern. Therefore, you need to plan the arrangement of flowers very carefully, taking into account the height of the plants and the contrast of colors.

By wisely combining flowers, you can create a beautiful flowerbed that will not cause much trouble in care and will delight you with a variety of blooms from early spring to late autumn.

Selection rules

A significant disadvantage of peonies is their “attachment” to the beginning garden season: having created a real riot of flowers in the spring, these plants lose all their attractiveness by mid-summer. Neighboring plants must compensate for this deficiency, maintaining the decorative appearance of the flower garden until the autumn cold.

Peonies will not tolerate the proximity of strongly growing plants that will interfere with their own growth. The abundance of large flowers of a delightful romantic needs vertical balancing with the help of other plants in the flower beds, including border accompaniment, edging the edges of your flowerbed with lower-growing species that give the composition neatness.

The ideal partner for the peony is garden geranium of all types, including the modest but stunningly beautiful compound-flowered majestic geranium. This subspecies of geranium is best planted next to dark or brightly colored varieties of peony, while for all white, milky and light pink colors of peony flowers it is better to choose another partner - fragrant geranium.

These two plants, each of which boasts beautiful flowering, complement each other in mixed plantings, compensating for deficiencies and providing an almost jewel-like variety of forms. To ensure that geraniums are not inferior to peonies in the splendor of flowering and the abundance of inflorescences, immediately after the flowers begin to wither, they should be cut off at the base of the branch.

If the main neighbor of the peonies is a white-flowering plant or the flower garden contains mainly peonies with a light pink palette, then the purple-flowered catnip will be an ideal background partner for them.

In terms of foliage texture, phlox, daylilies, sedums, irises and phytolacca can be ideal partners for peony, and in terms of vertical structure - foxglove, veronicastrum, miscanthus, cottonweed or delphinium, playing on the contrast of elongated inflorescences and large round flowers. If peonies grow at the edge of the flower garden, then plant a border of squat plants nearby - these can be violets, mantles, asters, primroses, heucheras, etc.

These flowers feel great in different climatic zones Russia: from Kamchatka to Krasnodar. They do not require special care rules. The most successful combination for growing peonies is a light, wind-protected area and cultivated loamy soil. In other conditions, the plant will delight with a lace of bright green leaves, but may not bloom. The only obstacle to growing a perennial is the swampiness of the site.

About 6,000 varieties of peonies have been bred in the world. They differ in the color and size of the buds, the pattern of the leaves, the timing of flowering, and the aroma. Extensive palette - the best reason in order to actively use peonies in landscape design. Four large groups of colors are most often used for these purposes:

Peonies compatibility with other plants

In large-scale landscape designs, flowers can be used in prefabricated compositions, in groups or individually. An ideal decoration for small gardens are spectacular single bushes. The presence of peonies in border compositions can be compared to inclusions of diamonds in jewelry. In rock gardens, rocky gardens, and next to juniper thickets, as a rule, narrow-leaved varieties of flowers are planted.

By influence on the apple tree I divided the tested plants into 5 groups:

Group III - plants next to which the apple tree feels very good (score 4+) - LUPIN, CALENDULA, RASPBERRY, DILL, CUCUMBER. POTATO. GARLIC, STRAWBERRY, TARIGETES, RADISH. PEA, BLACKCURRANT, GOOSEBERRY, SPRUCE (ornamental species), MOUNTAIN PINE. JUNIPER, IRIS, PEONY;

Group IV - neutral plants (score 4) for apple trees - RED CURRANT. TOMATO. PLUM, CELERY, GRAPE. NASTURTIUMS, SEA ​​BUCKTHORN. CARROTS, PUMPKIN, Snapdragon, Foxglove, Clove, Lilac, Jasmine, Lily, DELPHINIUM. ASTILBE;

From this we can draw an unambiguous conclusion: favorable for apple trees We have so many plants at our disposal that keeping our trees “under turf” is wasteful for six acres; the trunk circles of apple trees can and should be used for planting ornamental and garden plants. You should clearly know that wild cereal herbs(timothy grass, creeping wheatgrass, foxtail grass, etc.), especially in a mixture when there are several of them, poison the apple tree. A lawn around fruit trees is an extremely unprofitable way of fruit growing, especially in middle lane, where the fertile layer is several centimeters.

How to plant plants under apple trees? This depends on the characteristics of each crop and the age of the apple trees. Some of the favorable crops are shade-tolerant, and they can be planted throughout the tree trunk space right up to the trunk (hostas, lupine, sorrel). Some crops are partially shade-tolerant; they can be placed under the branches of an apple tree on the south side (barberry, spirea, strawberries, cucumbers, conifers). If the apple tree is small (young apple trees, as well as apple trees on dwarf rootstock or columnar), then these crops can occupy the entire trunk circle. And of course, all of the listed crops can be planted on the border of the crown projection of a large tree on the sunny side and even slightly beyond it, since the roots of the apple tree extend beyond the crown projection.

It also matters soil composition. So, rhododendron also works well on an apple tree, it could be planted under it along with its favorite foxglove, both of which are shade tolerant. Still, the apple tree needs slightly acidic or neutral soil, and the rhododendron needs acidic soil, so I did not include it in the list of satellites.

Examples of compatibility of some garden crops. Raspberries

Group I: exceptionally favorable (score 5+) crops for raspberries - not found;

Group II: very auspicious plants(rating 5) for raspberries - DIGITALIS. BARBERRY;

IV group: neutral plants (score 4) in relation to raspberries - CALENDULA, APPLE TREE, MINT, PLUME, BLACK ROWAN, CABBAGE, BRUSH BEANS, BLACKCURRANT, GOOSEBERRY, PUMPKIN, SAGE, Snapdragon, SPIREA, TURKISH CLOVE, LILY, RHODODENDRON. COSMEYA, LILAC. ASTILBE. LUPINE;

We see that we have something to combine with this favorite of gardeners. Raspberries are worthy of inclusion in decorative compositions, and to cherish each of its bushes the way flower growers cherish roses or conifers.

Has a beneficial effect on strawberries TOMATOES, PARSLEY, GARLIC, ONIONS, BEANS, CUCUMBERS, RASPBERRY, SEA BUCKTHORN, MINT, ASTILEBE, CLEMATIS, SORREL, GRAPES, TARIGUETS, NASTURTIUMS, SPIREA, TURKISH CLOVE, FERN, JASMINE, RHODODENDRON, DELPHINIUM , PION. Garlic, parsley, beans, spirea, fern, and delphinium can be considered especially favorable of them (rated 5). I found IRIS to be the best plant for strawberries (score 5+). Weakly wintering varieties and varieties of strawberries, primarily remontant and hanging ones, should be strengthened with this flower.

Compatibility of trees and bushes

Garden trees and shrubs at our dachas have their own unique characteristics and individual character, and not all of them can become neighbors for other plants.

It has long been known to gardeners, despite the fact that Walnut It improves the atmosphere around itself, repels harmful insects and flies, and has a bad effect on nearby crops.

Maple and spruce have the same strong surface roots, so it’s also difficult for their neighbors. But if you like these trees and they should remain a decoration for your site, it doesn’t matter. Under them, some shade-tolerant and unpretentious plants. These can be either cereals or flowers: small periwinkle, hostas, astilbes, ferns, anemones.

If you have planted cereals on your plot, then know that lavender and gypsophila can coexist next to them. But roses are selfish; they feel best alone.

Gooseberries, apple trees, cherries, and strawberries prefer medium acidic or close to neutral soil. To achieve this, you can add soil from a coniferous forest or peat to the ground, if you can get it. Neutral soil is also loved by most gardeners and garden plants, as well as peonies, carnations, roses, lilacs, chrysanthemums, and gillyflowers. Lilies prefer slightly acidic soil, while carrots, onions, cabbage, tulips, snapdragons, and sweet peas prefer slightly alkaline soil.

When selecting plants for a site, of course, you need to take into account their other preferences. This is especially true for plants for flower beds.

Now, if carnations, iris, cornflower and eschscholzia can get by with a minimum of water, then roses, begonias, phlox and some other flowers will not last long without moisture.

Almost everyone loves sunny places flowering plants. Always prefer a lot of sun annual plants. But, for example, for daisies, astilbes, daffodils, crocuses, daylilies, pansies and some others, a semi-shaded place is more suitable.

If you want your plot, garden and flower beds to delight you, consider these rules for the proximity of plants.

Peonies in garden design - colors, combinations, neighbors

Peonies are luxurious flowers, and one might say, self-sufficient. That’s why they have special requirements for their garden neighbors. By themselves, they create a unique atmosphere around them and literally fill the garden with happiness. And the wide palette of colors is an excellent reason for using them in landscape design.

You can use almost all types of peonies: park varieties with low bushes and bright flowers, and tree peonies, which are shrubs up to 2 meters in height.

The spectacular Bowl of Beauty flowers with a large number of stamens look great in the garden. Or compact bushes of the Neon variety, abundantly covered with double flowers that look like soaring butterflies.

The only thing is that you will have to use supports for cut peonies, since their stems cannot withstand the weight of the caps. Or use them in the background, like the Carol variety, whose gorgeous flowers look great in bouquets.

The plant can be used in rock gardens. and for decorating gardens and personal plots, parks, large landscape areas.

They add splendor and volume to the flower arrangement, and after flowering they are a good background for other plants. The presence of peonies in prefabricated compositions can be compared to the inclusion of rubies in jewelry.

But peonies look best in large space, on a green velvet lawn, when nothing hinders either the carved greenery or the triumph of flowers.

Color. It is very important to pay attention to tones and color combinations. Near burgundy It is better not to plant other red flowers in varieties if they bloom at the same time as peonies. Among the pompous bright caps of peonies, the heads of white flowering decorative onions look touching. WITH coral or white peonies will combine juicy dark red flowers, for example carnations or blood-red heuchera. Tenderness pink The decorative dark greenery of thuja or barberry bushes will highlight well. Peonies and hellebores look great.

The splendor of white peonies is emphasized by irises, contrasting in color, poppy, sage, bells, daylily, and honeysuckle bushes.

Composition. On small area you can plant deciduous and ornamental plants nearby or plants with small flowers. However, they must be either lower than our hero, or significantly higher.

Single peony bushes or planted in short rows against the background look most impressive tall trees. For example, next to juniper thickets they plant narrow-leaved varieties with delicate or rich flowers.

You can arrange peonies in groups, separating them with a contrasting texture of foliage, or plant three peony bushes at the corners of the lawn and plant them around the perimeter low growing plants: daisies, cuff, primrose, bergenia. Use delphinium or foxgloves for verticals.

It is not advisable to combine several varieties of peonies in one place. If you want, it is better to separate them throughout the garden so that they do not “argue” with each other.

Do not plant other plants between the bushes. Let the space remain free for loosening. It would be good if there was a path leading to each bush.

Garden of continuous flowering. It’s not too difficult to create a garden plot that will delight you from early spring until frost. As soon as the snow melts, small-bulbous peony bushes will be decorated with: reticulated irises, galanthus, crocuses. Later - tulips and daffodils. At the height of summer, lilies, astilbe, pelargonium, zinnias, godetias, and petunias look against the background of dark green bushes. And in the fall they will be replaced by asters, phloxes, and chrysanthemums.

Leaves of dark varieties tree peony by the end of summer they have a pronounced purple tint and stand out pleasantly against the backdrop of strewn golden trees.

Don't forget that peonies love open, not too wet places and grow a lot. Otherwise, you can experiment and create your own unique compositions in the garden!

Despite the large size of the bush, huge (up to 20 cm) lush flowers and such beautiful contours, peonies are not solitary plants at all. One of the largest and bright plants for flower beds reveals all its elegance and romance only in the right surroundings. It is better not to plant peony bushes in large groups: each individual plant should appear in all its splendor and beauty, and be clearly visible from all sides. And the accompaniment for each individual variety should be selected personally.

The only rule for choosing partners for a peony is that the plant must have similar requirements for growth conditions in combination with flowers that are significantly smaller than those of the peony. But the color scheme of a candidate partner can vary from shades that are lighter in relation to the color of the peony flowers to the darkest variations of purple and burgundy.

Since the peony has clear contours, its partner must create a more chaotic and lush green mass that fills the space of the flower garden. At the same time, neighboring plants should not have foliage similar to the greenery of a peony: the texture of the greenery of the partner plant must necessarily be contrasting in both shape and color.

Ideal neighborhood

You just want to fill the gaps between the peony bushes with openwork lines, unobtrusively creating a magnificent, emphasizing background. In such a role ideal partner for peonies, white tansy will perform, creating a soft, discreet, romantic and at the same time pleasing to the eye millefleur. The tiny white tansy flowers contrast so well with the massive peony flowers that they seem like a scattering of precious pearls.

Background accompaniment for peony bushes

Finding the right background for peony bushes is also not easy. The bright, impressive forms of peonies need the right background accompaniment. An absolutely ideal plant for the background of flower beds in which peonies are planted as the main plants is the lily. Daring and beautiful flowers should be selected not only by color, but also by size: the flowers of the lily growing behind the peonies should be significantly smaller than the size of the flowers of the peony itself.

Peonies in landscape design

Fragrant bouquet bushes are great in combination with low and tall shrubs, group plantings, as mixborders and tapeworms. Whatever place peonies occupy in landscape design, they always stand out. At the same time, they get along well with most garden plants.

Peonies are among the most popular garden perennials. They can grow in one place for more than 25 years, delighting with huge fragrant flowers every year. From one planted root, over time, a lush bush is formed, decorated with several dozen buds. Peonies are indispensable in landscape design, as they remain decorative from April, when the first openwork leaves emerge from the ground, until the first frost.

Choosing a variety for a garden composition

1. Medicinal peonies. It is characterized by not very large buds and squat small bushes.
2. Hybrid varieties. The plant is distinguished by large delicate flowers with a small number of petals. The core is densely studded with stamens. These come in hundreds of color variations. Hybrids of pink, cream and red shades are especially often used. Visually, the texture of the petals resembles satin or cambric fabric.
3. Milky-flowered double peonies. They are distinguished by rich subspecies diversity. Classic examples are medium-sized flowers.

Combinations of peonies with other flowers

Enhances the beauty of peonies bearded irises contrasting color, blue sage, poppy, yellow daylily, bluebells, honeysuckle bushes. Nearby there may be plants with small flowers or deciduous and ornamental varieties. They should be either lower or significantly higher than the peony bushes.

About allelopathy

This is about strong chemical influence. effect that plants have on their neighbors. Chemical substances secreted by both leaves and roots; The most powerful impact is from root exudates, since they tend to accumulate; the greatest influence is exerted by the roots of perennials.

The influence of plants on each other can be both depressing and beneficial. Each type of plant releases substances that inhibit certain species and have a positive effect on others. Quite often the cause of poor plant development or small yields is poisoning of the main crop through the roots of incorrectly selected neighbors or predecessors. On the contrary, sometimes the reason for the unprecedented growth and fruiting of a certain crop turns out to be its accidentally guessed favorable ally.

The most noticeable harm from poisoning affects wintering. The plant may outwardly look healthy, but it will either not survive the winter at all or will freeze. Perennial crops overwinter much worse when oppressed by incorrectly selected neighbors. This is a very common phenomenon in our gardens. On the contrary, a favorable satellite makes the plant more frost resistant .

Before we look at the examples, I would like to emphasize that compositions “work” only with exemplary agricultural technology. When the composition of flower beds is selected based only on "color range" and “waves of flowering”, then this, excuse me, is some kind of kindergarten! Landing at random. It is necessary to take into account the compatibility of plants, soil composition. influence of fertilizers. If you are planting a crop that requires acidic soil. with a culture that requires neutral, then it is necessary to create a borderline pH value (although it is better to select crops with the same requirements). When planting several crops together, there must be a lot of nutrition in the soil, but the average gardener has very little at his disposal. safe fertilizers. So, watering dry sandy alpine slide strong solution mineral fertilizer, you can burn all conifers. In addition, dry mineral mixtures acidify the soil, while the vast majority bulbous flowers, fruit and vegetable crops, as well as many ornamental crops, require neutral soil. Fecal compost, which contains chlorine, manure and bird droppings are too strong in their effect on flowers... It turns out that the best fertilizer for “mixes” remains either humus mash or soft vegetable compost. mulch from rotted grass or leaves. And in addition - fertilizing with liquid ammonia humate fertilizers with microelements(there are many brands of them on sale - black liquid with the smell of ammonia).

Let's look at a few examples (it's understandable that all allelopathy cannot be presented in one article, given the myriad of species used in garden design).

In gardening practice, it always happens that you can only find the best companion plants for some complex crop through your own experience. So, having long ago encountered the fact that for apple and raspberry trees the issue of compatibility with other plants has not been considered at all in the literature, I began to plant them with many ornamental and garden plants to discover the most best combinations. I wanted to find neighbors for them, paired with whom there would be annual stable and abundant fruiting without spraying with pesticides. I can say that apple tree I was satisfied with my work and believe that it was completed, but raspberries. Although good results have been obtained for some crops, there remains a feeling that these are not yet the best unions. Subsequently, I conducted observations on the compatibility of almost all major garden crops. This most promising direction: in alliance with properly selected neighbors, any plant grows better than separately on a black fallow!

Examples of compatibility of some garden crops. Apple tree

Group I - exceptionally good, the best companions (score 5+) apple trees - BARBERRY. HOSTA ;

Group II - very desirable neighbors (score 5) for an apple tree - SPIREA. ASTER, SORREL, SALAD, BASIL;

Group V - plants that inhibit (scores 2 and 3) the apple tree - SAGE, MINT, CLEMATIS, ONION, PARSLEY, ROSES, CHARMONIA, WHITE CABBAGE. BEET, FERNES. COSMEYA.

Based on the compatibility of the given favorable cultures with each other, we can draw up friendly groups for planting under the apple tree. Some people will want to place a continuous carpet from one crop (hostas of different colors or lupine) under their tree; others prefer mixed planting: cucumbers + dill + peas. Or: cucumbers + salad. Or: strawberries + garlic + radishes. Or: hosta + Canadian pine + spruce + juniper. Or: raspberry + barberry + foxglove. Someone will scatter decorative bushes: red-leaved barberry, spirea, jasmine, lilac, and the space between them will be planted with astilbe or left as earthen paths. There are many possibilities. The inclusion of apple trees in the composition is welcome alpine slides, since in the middle lane when standing close groundwater A rocky embankment is extremely favorable for an apple tree.

In general, a decorative or fruit composition under an overgrown apple tree is another reason to thin out its top; it itself will benefit from lightening the crown.

Look for favorable companions for raspberries I started after I noticed that, growing mixed with red currants, raspberries produce berries every year, even when there are beetle infestations and there are no berries in other places. To date, we have been able to identify groups of some plants based on their beneficial and negative effects on raspberries.

Group III: plants next to which raspberries feel very good (score 4+, for many even close to 5) - RED CURRANT, DILL, TOMATO, CLEMATIS. CUCUMBER, POTATOES, ONION, STRAWBERRY, CELERY, SORREL, BASIL, WHITE CABBAGE, PEAS, CARROTS, ROSES, MOUNTAIN PINE, JUNIPER, FERN, DELPHINIUM, PEONY. ASTER ;

Group V: plants that inhibit (grades 2 and 3) raspberries - GARLIC, PARSLEY, GRAPES, TARIGUETS, NASTURTIUM, SEA BUCKTHORN, RADISH, BEET, HOSTA, IRIS. JASMINE.

Examples of compatibility of some garden crops. Strawberry

Strawberry- one of the most unpretentious fruit plants, she gives berries surrounded by all sorts of neighbors, as long as they do not obscure the sun too much and do not completely deprive her of food. Strawberry extremely dislikes the neighborhood of BIRCH, but grows well in the neighborhood of PINE and especially FIRE.

SAGE, CORN, BLACKCURRANT, REDCURRANT, POTATOES, CARROTS have a negative effect on it.

Hazel oppresses its neighbors. But lilac, roses, viburnum, mock orange (jasmine), barberry, horse chestnut and fir generally cannot be planted next to pears and apple trees, because these fruit trees will suffer.

For an apple tree, it will be a pleasant neighborhood next to raspberries, cherries, cherries and plums. By the way, the apple tree grows wonderfully next to other apple trees. But she does not at all like places where her direct relatives were previously uprooted - a young apple tree will not want to grow in the place of an old one. If you still need to plant a new apple tree in place of the container, step back 1.5 - 2 m from this place. Apple and pear trees can be planted near the place where plum, cherry or cherry trees previously grew.

Cherry, in turn, prefers to grow next to cherries, sweet cherries, apple trees, and grapes.

Plums do not get along well with pears, but they tolerate black currants well, unlike cherries, which cannot tolerate black currants in the neighborhood.

Many plants feel bad next to birch. The thing is that birch has a powerful surface root system, she pulls a lot of water onto herself. Plants growing next to it, deprived of moisture, then get sick and dry out.

Apple and pear trees can get along well with birch and poplar. These fruit trees grow well next to oak, maple or linden, although the latter grow at some distance.

Keep in mind, coniferous trees, including spruce, strongly acidify the soil. This means that begonias, callas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, heathers and ferns can become neighbors with them. These plants can develop well just in acidic soil. And conifers create the necessary acidity in the place where they grow, and it will not need to be maintained with special substances. The only thing is that there is no need to plant stone fruit and pome trees in areas where coniferous crops grow; they do not tolerate acidic soils.

Fallen leaves and root exudates from some crops create an uncomfortable environment for other plants. Thus, with their secretions, the same walnut, horse chestnut, some conifers, white acacia, oleaster, oak, poplar, willow and elderberry hinder the development of others.

I really like peonies too.
While serving in the D-Vostok (Primorsky Territory), I saw a wild peony for the first time - the milky-flowered peony (Paeonia lactiflora) directly in nature. When the milky peony blooms along the slopes of the hills, that’s SOMETHING. Naturally, when transferred to Moscow, I could not help but take with me a bush of such a beauty. As it turned out, in central Russia the peony feels great, and in gardens with minimal care, it blooms even more abundantly and better than in nature.
The flowers of the wild (species) milky peony are non-double, cup-shaped, white. At the beginning of dissolution may have lungs pink shades, disappearing as they bloom. The stamens are golden yellow. It produces buds in two orders. The flower size is 9-13 cm - first order and 8-10 cm - second order. The spicy aroma is not just strong, but VERY strong. On the scale of measuring the aroma of roses, it reaches all five clouds!!! One flower cut into a vase is enough for a lasting aroma to spread throughout the entire apartment. The flowering of an entire bush is sometimes noticeable from a distance of 20-25 m.

Paeonia lactiflora

At one time, I decided to propagate the wild milk-flowering peony Paeonia lactiflora by sowing its seeds, because... there were many who wanted to get it from me into their garden (plucking off the root will not help the matter, but SPECIES plant can be sown). I received about 30 seedlings. I gave away most of the grown seedlings. I kept 7 pieces for myself... But I didn’t take into account that most of All varietal herbaceous peonies (and there are quite a few of them growing in neighboring areas) are hybrids and descendants of the wild peony milky-flowered, and therefore easily interbreed with their parent. Thus, all my seedlings turned out to be cross-pollinated spontaneous hybrids. Moreover, as it turned out, everyone is different. Later, I gave 3 more unremarkable hybrid varieties to my friends “in good hands,” leaving for myself the 4 I liked the most.

Meet:
The first hybrid variety is “Pinkish”.


Almost a complete copy of the species Paeonia lactiflora, literally in all characteristics. The only difference is in the more pinkish (in the cold spectrum) and stable color of the petals (by 1-2 tones). At first I took it for a purely specific species.

The second hybrid variety is “With a pink center.” My favourite.


It has a pronounced main flower on the shoot (the largest, double) and slightly higher and later flowers of the second order (usually 3, smaller and non-double) with a very decorative pink center surrounded by golden-yellow stamens. The color of the petals is light pink. The shape of the bush is elongated upward (like cultivated varieties). The aroma is powerful, in strength and taste, like that of the species Paeonia lactiflora.

The third hybrid variety is “Water Lily”.

It has a pronounced main flower on the shoot (the largest, double) and slightly higher and later flowers of the second order (usually 3, smaller and semi-double) with a center surrounded by golden-yellow stamens. The main flower, as a rule, has a distinct “water lily” made up of central petals. The color of the petals is pure white. The shape of the bush is elongated upward (like cultivated varieties). The aroma is powerful, in strength and taste, like that of the species Paeonia lactiflora. Unfortunately, the variety turned out to be the most capricious of all the hybrids in terms of weather conditions. In all the years (7-8 adult years) it bloomed fully, decoratively and powerfully only twice.

The fourth hybrid variety is “White semi-double”.

It has a pronounced main flower on the shoot (the largest, double) and slightly higher and later flowers of the second order (usually 3, smaller and semi-double) with a center surrounded by golden-yellow stamens. The color of the petals is pure white. The shape of the bush is elongated upward (like cultivated varieties). Of all the hybrids, the flowering is the most powerful. The aroma is weak, spicy. The strength is only two clouds on the rose scale.

The fifth and sixth hybrid varieties are “Small-flowered.”
Two very similar hybrids. The shape of the bush is almost a complete copy of the species Paeonia lactiflora. The flowers of both hybrids are also similar to the species, but noticeably smaller and collected in obvious inflorescences. The color of the petals is pure white. The aroma is strong (three clouds), tart, but less pleasant than that of the species Paeonia lactiflora.
They were given to neighbors “in good hands.”

The seventh hybrid variety is “Pink Terry”.
A copy of a varietal pink peony growing nearby on the site (the variety of which has not been determined). The only difference is the cooler color of the inner petals (literally by half a tone) and the denser and featherier foliage. There is practically no aroma. In cool years, it blooms clearly more modestly than its pink varietal twin.
Given to neighbors “in good hands.”

The information is posted for those who want to experiment personally.

All the peony bushes, for the reasons mentioned above, grow on my site at some distance from the roses.

Large flowers, light fragrance of peonies - like small miracle, which occurs every year. Simple, but at the same time original diagram flower beds with peonies, suitable for decoration summer cottage any size. This popular flower crop requires minimal care and pleases the eye throughout almost the entire warm season. Let's figure out which peony beds are easy to create, and they will look like the best examples of landscape art.

Diagram of a flower bed with peonies at the dacha: mixborder

Properly planned flower beds make it easier to care for plants, especially tall, spreading ones. You can get beautiful flower beds with peonies in the country from simple, semi-double, double varieties different terms flowering. Bright fragrant bushes in the garden, mixborder along the path, in a round flower bed next to the gazebo will delight you for many years.

The fragrant buds bloom in May–June, and if you cut off the wilted petals and ovaries, they will last even longer.

A mixborder is usually created along the path, as in the diagram of a flower bed with peonies (hybrid peonies are indicated by the number 3).

Combinations of spring, summer, autumn perennials and annuals allow you to maintain the beautiful appearance of the flower garden for a long time. Bright peonies at the beginning of summer look great next to bushes of false jasmine or mock orange (1), variegated “stars” of tiger lily (4). July–September is the time of phlox (2). The green leaves of the flower bed with peonies highlight the summer riot of colors. Turkish carnations, ageratums, and lobularias bloom for a long time in the foreground of the mixborder (5, 6, 7).

There is a circumstance that is a little depressing for those who care for their beautiful flower beds with peonies in the country - decorative look lost due to fallen bushes. Dense green nets and other artificial supports will help out. Medium-sized perennials and annual flowers planted nearby will help the peony flowerbed not to lose shape.

Flowerbeds of peonies in the country: round, long, tiered

A round flower bed should be shaped like a dome or umbrella. The point is not only that tall peonies in the flowerbed grow in the center, and low-growing ornamental crops frame the bushes. The height of the soil is also different: the edges are raised above the lawn by 15 cm, and the height of the central part is 25–30 cm. In landscape design, it is customary to supplement flower beds with peonies with other flower crops (photo presented in the article).

Long flower beds - a ridge, a border - are suitable for a flat area. They will look elegant in front if you choose varieties that are the same in height, but differently colored for the flower bed.

Often for ridges and borders they choose flower crops different heights, place tall plants in the background. The peony flower bed in front of the house in the form of a smooth ribbon 0.5–1.5 m wide is easy to care for, which is very important when there is a lot of other work in the garden. If the discount is located near a brick house, then outer edge The flower garden is decorated with a strip of ceramic and brick.

Beautiful flower beds with peonies at the dacha will decorate not only paths, lawns, and areas in front of the fence. Optimal solution for rugged terrain - a tiered flower garden. The basis of the flower bed in the photo below is made up of popular varieties:

• "Sarah Bernhardt";
• “Pink Peony”;
• "Duchess de Nemours";
• "Shirley Temple";
• “Peony white (White)”;
• "Paul M. Wilde";
• "Black Beauty" and other cultivars.

Flower beds with peonies - space for the summer resident’s imagination

Thanks to the tireless work of breeders, traditional varieties of pink, red, and white peonies have successfully complemented yellow and lilac hybrids. Cultivars differ in bush height, flowering time, and shape. The variety of varieties simultaneously complicates and simplifies the study of the assortment of plants for a flower bed with peonies (photo shown below).

Let us remind you that there are 5 groups of peonies based on their shape:

• simple;
• semi-double;
• terry;
• anemone-shaped;
• Japanese.

It is important to select cultivars that bloom in different time so that they please the eyes of the owner of the dacha and guests longer. Various flower beds of peonies should fit harmoniously into general form plot so that the garden looks like a fairy tale all summer.

In addition to decorating a summer cottage, flower beds with peonies serve excellent material for cutting, making gift baskets with flowers, fruit and vegetable compositions.

A large, fragrant flower always attracts attention; it does not need special advertising. In terms of durability and popularity, peony beds are comparable to a rose garden. The queen of the garden is the rose, and the peony is an eternally young prince among beautiful flowering perennials.

Video: caring for peonies