The flowers are somewhere between a bombe double and anemone in form (see Descriptions for further details) with often both forms present on the same plant. The look is definitely that of a classic European peony making this an excellent addition to a traditional perennial border.

The pink guard petals retain their colour well as the centre fades to rich cream.

George Vorauer the person was a passionate peony collector and a gardener who was instrumental in leading the effort to restore and expand the historic plant collections at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa. His many friends made arrangements to have this peony named in his honour.

George visited my fields many times and he was always on the lookout for colours that worked well together. He would combine colours I would never have thought of. He was always right. Bold colours and bold combinations were his hallmark with peonies and I believe he would have liked this peony.

Peonies make wonderful gifts! They are plants well suited to both the novice and expert gardener alike. We can provide a gift certificate in the amount of your choice. Send us an e-mail or give us a call to discuss the possibilities.

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The petals tend to flex inward around the pale golden centre. The colour is mid pink and as I’ve said in other descriptions, flowers of this form work very well when planted next to heavy doubles of lighter or darker colouring.

It flowers at a time when double peonies dominate the garden. A dark single at this time is an absolute gift to the gardener looking to obtain some visual balance in a planting.

The flowers are large and perfectly formed. The colour holds well. There is often a direct correlation between the number of photos I have of a particular variety and its beauty. I have dozens of pictures of this peony! It is very photogenic. The colour is lavender pink.

An excellent garden peony! Generous in the number of flowers yet stands up tall in all weather. The flowers are the colour of a good burgundy wine and hold their colour until they drop. Add to this a pleasant light fragrance and you have a great addition to the perennial border.

For those interested in name derivations, you could spend quite some time on the family tree of Julia Grant and why Prof. Saunders would name a peony Julia Grant. I believe the peony was named for Julia Grant the great granddaughter of Julia Grant, the First Lady and wife of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. Julia Grant the younger lived down the street from Prof. Saunders in Clinton New York.(If you are curious you can find the link between Julia Grant and Grace Root).

La Belle Helene produces flowers of a generous size and quantity. The shape is informal as I’ve come to expect from a cultivar of this provenance.

The flowers are blush pink upon opening and if the weather is cool and overcast they retain this colour for some time. The magenta streaking can be quite prominent and this is a characteristic I like to accentuate by associating it with deep magenta peonies of the same bloom time.

Frank Moots registered only 3 peonies and they are not widely grown. This one at least deserves to be better known. It has been an excellent performer in my field.

Named for the British Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener who would have been at the height of his military career when this peony was named for him by James Kelway.

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