Slow-growing but rewarding, herbaceous peonies are large and imposing plants with a brief but impressive flowering in late spring to early summer. Grow them for their large, brightly coloured, often spicily scented, showy flowers. Eventually forming generous clumps, besides their flowers these perennials have impressive dissected foliage, often tinged red in spring. Traditional cottage garden plants, these long-lived and drought-tolerant plants also work well with modern perennial plantings.