Warm wishes from my peonies to yours. I'm in my 2nd year of growing peonies and I've appreciated all the insights and knowledge posted here. Some of your best-performing peonies have made it to my garden. I know that gardeners growing these varieties would have a better idea of the color nuance in person. Could you recommend a grouping of 3 Itohs with similar colors and bloom times that would look great in a row or a triangle?

I have Julia Rose, Magical Mystery Tour, and Watermelon Wine (bloomed June 13) grouped together. Do these 3 go well together or should I replace/move one?

Would like a trifecta recommendation for each:
New Millennium
Smith Family Jewel
Singing in the Rain

Seems I like the color-changers with side buds, so if there are other Don Smith fans ("Smithereens"😉 ) out there with divisions of Misaka or Strawberry Blonde, I'm in the market.

I would like a lighter color peony as a backdrop for Chief Black Hawk (bloomed June 18). Which peony complements the dark burgundy better— Smith Family Jewel or Sonoma Welcome? Does anyone know the bloom offset of these 3? I don't have Red Charm in my garden yet.

Last question: If I got locked out of my house for an hour during a hailstorm because I was covering my new buds, do I have a "peony problem"?

Hi Scarlet! I live in CO as well but don't have peonies here anymore, moved them to where we'll retire in AL. I went back through the pics of peonies that I had here but wasn't very successful in getting groupings that actually were blooming at the same time. The only pics from the same dates that struck me as pretty together were Berry Garcia and New Millennium. They weren't planted close together in my garden, NM was on a slope in a north facing bed that was shaded all winter and woke a week or more later than the beds in full sun all year so I doubt if they'd open concurrently in the same bed.
BG seems to vary greatly in color depending on location. Mine bloomed clearly cream with pink edges and darker middle, a lot of pics I've seen looked more copper.
CO hail storms are no joke, I've had complete bloom seasons decimated by hail storms. I actually got a pipe bender and created frames for the last peony rows I created here so I could put up hail protection after a few bad hail years in a row. So no, I wouldn't say you have a peony problem!

Welcome Scarlet! If you got locked out of your home trying to save peony buds, you are in the right place. We chat about peonies all year! .

I think Magical Mystery Tour looks good with New Millennium. They are next to each other in my garden. My Berry Garcia is in another bed, but the three of them might look nice together.

I think Strawberry Creme Brûlée, Lunar Glow and Strawberry Blonde or Joanna Marlene might look great together too.

Belle Toulousaine is gorgeous, but I can't think of another Itoh that blooms at the same time to combine with it.

Please keep us posted on what you come up with, and of course share lots of photos!

Strawberry Blonde was next to Singing in the Rain in my CO garden, they bloomed at the same time but didn't enhance each other but didn't clash. There was a red lacti that bloomed at that same time that was a good contrast to both, Victore de la Marne.

Thanks for the warm welcome. Glad I'm not alone in my fascination with peonies. Besides, I can stop anytime when I run out of Oh wow, I really like that bi-color Strawberry Créme Brûlée peony, LG! I remember seeing Karen's beautiful pic of it under the polychrome peonies thread. I also like your suggestion of putting New Millennium next to Magical Mystery Tour. I hope you can do a longer video this spring when they're both blooming. I'll be sure to place New Millennium where it's illuminated at sunrise or sunset while in bloom, so it glows.

Thanks for all your detailed info on Berry Garcia, Liz. I see Brooks has it available this year. I got great service and my 1st Itoh, Chief Black Hawk, which bloomed its 1st and 2nd year. Thanks again for all the peony growing tips. I've cut my learning curve in half. My peony wish list, on the other hand, has doubled

Therese from Brooks is wonderful, she sends quality roots, too. We got to visit her and the farm during the APS convention when it was in OR several years ago.