Truly a treasure

  
Garden Treasure is an aptly named peony. Its bright yellow blooms are the result of a quest to bring some of the color shades found in tree peonies to the more common herbaceous peony. Renowned breeder and peony grower Don Hollingsworth took pollen from the Lutea tree peony hybrid Alice Harding and applied it to the stamens of an unknown lactiflora peony he had collected from an old farmstead and named Carr East #2. On his second attempt, the cross resulted in just eight viable seeds—one of which ultimately grew to be Garden Treasure.

It bloomed first in 1973, but it would be another 11 years before Hollingsworth was ready to register this intersectional hybrid under its eventual name.

Garden Treasure features semi-double blooms with wonderful lemon-yellow petals that are stained red at their base. Each 6-7-inch bloom is comprised of 20-50 petals. Adding to the beauty of each flower are the prominent light green carpels surrounded by a ring of yellow stamens nearly devoid of pollen. In a wonderful symmetry, these lovely yellow flowers cary with them the scent of sweet lemons.

The plant forms a uniform mound of about two feet in height that will widen out to four or five feet as the clump matures. Stems are clad in dark green, semi-glossy leaves that more resemble the leaves of a tree peony. Most stems carry two to three buds that open sequentially to prolong the season of bloom over a two-three week period. In keeping with its herbaceous heritage, the stems die back to the ground each winter and emerge each spring from eyes formed in the previous summer.

Garden Treasure is among the most reliable and vigorous growing of the intersectional varieties, often blooming in its first year. Forty to fifty blooms are not uncommon for a mature plant. After flowering the plant provides interesting foliage through the remainder of the growing year. It is not necessary to divide a Garden Treasure. It will grow happily for decades with little care. But, because it is such a strong grower, gardeners wishing to propagate more of these plants, it's best that the roots be divided in the third to fifth year. Like most intersectionals, Garden Treasure will develop eyes or buds for next year's growth both below and just above ground. When planting divisions, growers can take advantage of these above-ground buds by planting the divisions deeper than regular herbaceous peonies.

This peony is best displayed in the garden when its planted on a mound to show off the blooms at the ends of its arching stems. I love floating a bloom in a bowl of water on my desk, where I can appreciate its beauty and fragrance throughout the day.

Garden Treasure continues to be one of the most sought after peonies, bringing $250 per division not that many years ago.  Over the years, its blooms have often made it to the Court of Honor at peony shows. Its been awarded Grand Champion multiple times at the American Peony Society's annual exhibitions. In 1986 it was granted the APS Award of Landscape Merit, and in 1996 tit won the APS Gold Medal.

More about Garden Treasure at www.finagardenspeonies.com