2018 Southern Peony Visits Shenzhou Peony Garden 神州牡丹园

Shenzhou Peony Garden 神州牡丹园
Pavilion, Peony Mural, and Tree Peonies
During our trip to Luoyang, China, the second peony garden we visited was the Shenzhou Peony Garden 神州牡丹园. (If you missed the articles about the first garden we visited, you can find them here, 2018 Southern Peony Visits Luoyang National Peony Garden 洛阳国家牡丹园 (North) and 2018 Southern Peony Visits Luoyang National Peony Garden 洛阳国家牡丹园 (South).) The Shenzhou Peony Garden was more in the typical Chinese garden style with garden rooms and bridges, streams, water features, and rocks, etc. However instead of their garden being inside, their Chinese gardens were outside. Most of the tree peonies outside had finished flowering here as well, except for the yellow varieties, and a few green, orange, and purple.

Pale Pink Chinese Tree Peony Blooms

Inside the great hall of this garden, there were several large rooms with very high ceilings. There were lots of Luoyang style peony paintings for sale in the first room. In the next two rooms there were potted tree peonies being displayed in a large elevated area in the center of each room. The tree peonies were surrounded by a short, white fence made of turned wood pieces. The first of the tree peony rooms contained the white, near white, and pale pink tree peonies in bloom. They were all so gorgeous, so delicate, so heavenly.

White with Purple Flares Chinese Tree Peonies
White and Yellow Chinese Tree Peony

The second room of potted tree peonies contained all of the bright and vivid colored tree peonies. There were fanciful red & whites, fuchsias, bright lavenders, hot pinks, bold reds, dark maroons, and eye-popping purples. This room is definitely where all the drama was taking place. If you haven't witnessed any kind of peony craze before, I think this is a pretty close as you will come. The photo says it all. There were crowds of people all clamoring to get a photo of the pretty peonies with their cameras (or their phones). People were dueling with their selfie sticks to get their phone closest to the most beautiful blossoms. Peony lovers were jumping at the chance to take a selfie with the gorgeous trees peony blooms as well. The whole room was a flurry of people, cameras, and selfie sticks. It was definitely a sight to behold, and an experience I will never forget.


Potted Tree Peonies Inside the
Great Hall of the Shenzhou Peony Garden

Red & White Chinese Tree Peony

Purple Chinese Tree Peony

Purple Pink Chinese Tree Peony	Lavender Chinese Tree Peony

Red Chinese Tree Peony

Pale Lavender Chinese Tree Peony

Maroon Chinese Tree Peony
On the walls of this great hall where the potted tree peonies were being displayed, were large printed metal sheets that contained all kinds of information about Chinese peonies. These metal sheets were probably 6 or 8 feet high and just as wide or wider. Both of the rooms' walls were filled with a dearth of Chinese tree peony information - cultivation, classification, origins, popular cultivars, etc. If you happened to be a peony nut, you could get lost in these gardens for days. It was almost surreal being surrounded by so much peony information, peony plants, peony history, peony culture. It was like a competition in my mind to select what to focus on, to be able to absorb as much "peony" as possible in the short amount of time I had to explore.


Me with Blooming Chinese Tree Peonies
Surrounded by Peony Knowledge

Outdoor Chinese Tree Peony Garden
Shaded by Temporary Shade Cloth Structure

White Double Tree Peony Blossoms
Surrounded by a Chinese Bamboo Fence
Many of their tree peony varieties were grown in raised beds with walls made of cement. The tree peonies in these raised beds were grown outside in the sun. Then when it was time for that section to flower and come into bloom (each section was planted with the same or similar variety), a large (huge) temporary shade cloth structures is set up over them while they bloom, to help the blooms last longer. When that variety is done blooming, then they would move the shade cloth to a different section of tree peonies coming into bloom.


Isabella with the Chinese Garden Rocks
They also had the one of the taller specimens of the Chinese garden natural rock sculptures here. It was in the center of a water feature. It was in the center of a circular pond surrounded by a low wall. It was reminiscent of a central fountain in the garden, with the rocks being the water that would have been sprayed into the air. These rocks did have water flowing down them in a waterfall style, with various plants growing among the nooks and crannies. The small pond surrounding the rocks contained a group of koi fish, to which the children enjoyed feeding bits of cookies.

Orange Tree Peony Bloom	Yellow Tree Peony Bloom

Peachy Pink Chinese Herbaceous Peony
My Favorite Herbaceous
The herbaceous peony pictured above was by far my favorite Chinese herbaceous peony I saw on the whole trip. I want to say I've seen a picture of it before, but for the life of me, I cannot seem to find it again. I want to say the name has something to do with a star because of the pointed green petals in the middle of the flower that almost for a star shape. If anyone know what cultivar it is, please contact me! I'm sad to report that the majority of the peonies in the gardens I visited were not labeled with a cultivar name. I saw a few (very few) plaques with some cultivar names in front of a couple of mass tree peony planting, but for the most part the peonies plants were not labeled. Hence the lack of names on the peony photos from my trip. However the lack of labeled cultivar names did not take away from the beauty of the peony flowers, and we all still enjoyed seeing the wonderful and colorful shows they put on.


Me with Yellow Chinese Tree Peony

Chinese Tree Peony Blooms

This garden was just enormous, and I don't think I got to see the entire thing. I just kept leading my family (and in laws) from one section of the garden to another. About halfway through, they were ready to go and had seen enough. I think we spent about a half day here, but you could easily spend all day and you still may not see everything. I pushed on and happened upon an awesome, towering sculpture of a pink peony blossom. That is definitely the largest peony I've ever seen! ;-) It almost made you realize what it feels like to be a honey bee!


Giant Pink Peony Bloom Sculpture

Double Purple/Pink Chinese Tree Peonies in Bloom
I also could not take my eyes off of this gorgeous purple tree peony. It had a hint of pink in it, but it my mind it was purple, and double and loaded with petals, and it had a cute skirt of purple guard petals. It was definitely my favorite tree peony I saw on the trip. I wish I knew what this variety was too (again no label). This one however was planted in a raised bed in a large group of the same variety as well. The effect was titillating! I just couldn't stop taking pictures of it!


Gorgeous Double Purple/Pink Tree Peony Bloom
My Favorite Tree Peony

Peony Bouquets for Sale
I also saw some people selling peony bouquets in the garden. Not a novel idea, but just something I'd never seen before. All of the peony stems they were selling were herbaceous peonies. I didn't inquire as to the price, but I bet it was super affordable due to the favorable exchange rate. Something else I noticed that really caught my eye were the palm trees growing in the garden - wait, what? Yes, palm trees. The weather in Luoyang was actually quite warm, and I'm guessing their growing zone was probably similiar to my own. I looked it up and found that Luoyang is the equivalent of USDA Growing Zone 8b! So they are actually a whole growing zone warmer than me! So if you need any further proof that peonies do grow well in warmer climates, there you have it, the peony capital of the world, Luoyang, China is in growing zone 8b. The place where peonies originated from is actually pretty hot!!


Peonies in a Field with Shade Cloth and Palm Trees

White Chinese Tree Peony

Famous Double Green Tree Peony Bloom

Double Green Tree Peony in Bloom
Another thing I was excited to see and find in this garden were the famous double green tree peonies. They were growing outside and in bloom. How lucky! I had never seen such as thing as this in person, only in pictures, and they were just as magnificent as I'd imagined. I would love to grow one of these green blooming tree peonies, what a curiousity! Another thing that amazed me was this bed of herbaceous peonies growing underneath a tree. Not only were they growing underneath a tree, they were growing well and blooming their heads off! Hold on - what? Herbaceous peonies growing underneath my trees are alive, but they are not growing well, and I'd be lucky to get one or two blooms on a plant. These were covered in blooms and buds. Was it the variety? Was is somehow more vigorous? Did it have a stronger root system? Or was is something else...
Pink Herbaceious Peonies
Growing Happily Under a Tree

Pink Herbaceous Peonies
Growing in a Raised Bed with Bamboo Fencing

Perfect Pink Herbaceous Peony Blossom

2018 Southern Peony Visits Luoyang National Peony Garden 洛阳国家牡丹园 (South)

Gate of Luoyang National Peony Garden 洛阳国家牡丹园
This photo of the Luoyang National Peony Garden gate is actually the entrance to the North side of the garden. However I didn't have the opportunity to photograph it until we were just about to leave (after we finished touring the South side). When we first arrived, there were so many people and cars out front, plus a couple of monkeys waiting for tourists to hop out of their cabs! The monkeys were actually people dressed up that wanted to take pictures with you for money. You can see one of them in the photo in the red and yellow costume. (Click the photo to see a larger version.) If you missed our first article about the North side of the garden, you can read that here, 2018 Southern Peony Visits Luoyang National Peony Garden 洛阳国家牡丹园 (North). Below are a few photos of herbaceous peonies I happened upon that were not in a mass planting. They seemed to be growing in a bed of peonies that were all different (an unusual find in these large Chinese peony gardens).

Herbceous Peonies in Bloom at Luoyang National Peony Garden

Hot Pink with White Picotee Herbaceous Peony

Pale Pink/White with Yellow Anemone Herbaceous Peony

Medium Pink Single Herbaceous Peony

White Double Herbaceous Peony
Once it was time to see the other side of the garden (which I didn't even realize there was another side, since the North side was so big), we crossed this footbridge that connected the North side to the South side over a very busy road. The bridge was decorated with large flower flags in a rainbow of colors. Once we arrived on the South side, we were greeted with a large stone statue for the National Peony Gene Bank. I wish we had something like this in the US. I'm glad someone is funding it, though. I guess China is the best place for it since most peonies originated from there. It looks like China's National Peony Gene Bank had collected genes from 1,352 different peonies when they erected this statue, including 120 species from overseas. I wonder how many they have collected now...


Footbridge Connecting the North and South Gardens
of Luoyang National Peony Garden

National Peony Gene Bank Stone Statue
国家牡丹基因库
Inscription on National Peony Gene Bank Statue:

"Peony’s being considered as “the national beauty and heavenly fragrance”; is originated from a poem which reads “enchanted by the national beauty, we enjoy wine in the morning light unconsciously, till our clothes are permeated by the heavenly fragrance at night”. Peonies have bloom in the imperial garden to add ornament and splendor since Sui Dynasty. In Tang Dynasty, made the national flower for its symbolizing the good fortune and prosperity. Luoyang as the city of origin for primitive peonies has an over 1,600 years’ history of cultivating peonies. In Tang Dynasty, peony was also called Luoyang Flower.

There were many precious and rare cultivars in the history of cultivating peonies and the number of cultivars has once topped more than 2,000 in its golden age. However, due to the absence of special systems or institutions for germplasm conservation in the past, most of the cultivars were lost or extinct. To save and preserve endangered cultivars, the National Peony Gene Bank, which is responsible for the collection, cultivation and development of peony cultivars, was approved to establish by State Forestry Administration in 1992. At present the Bank has collected 1352 species, among which are 9 domestic primitive species, 2 wild subspecies, 1140 domestic cultivars, 120 rare species introduced from the overseas, 92 ne cultivars. Covering the genes of all the domestic peony populations and the main foreign populations, the Bank becomes the only state level peony base for biological body preservation, asexual propagation and research of peonies."

Peony Homeland
牡丹故土

Chinese Pavilion Pagoda
Once we explored the South side of the garden more, we found there were several commemorative stones and statues on this side. Perhaps the South side was the original garden, and the North side was the expansion. My father in law, Dake, is standing beneath the Chinese Pavilion Pagoda. This pagoda and pavilion are in the traditional Chinese style, and they led us to the entrance of the indoor peony garden on the South side. Just inside the door were these very beautiful and very fancy peony art glass panels depicting some yellow, orange/red, and white tree peonies. The panels were taller than us, quite a work of art!


Tree Peony Art Glass

Entrance to the Indoor Tree Peony Garden
Once we passed the art panels, we came to an entrance hall with a crooked path of hardwood flooring edged by a low cement brick wall and flanked on each side by faux grass gardens lined with potted tree peonies. Most of the tree peonies seemed to be popular varieties we had seen before. However one tree peony in particular caught my eye because of its unusual coloring - a bright orange! When I came to see it for a closer look, I was surprised to see that there was another bud right beside it in a different color - white! I could hardly believe my eyes. There appeared to be two different colored peony blossoms growing from the exact same stem! Amazing!!


Two Different Colored Blooms (Orange and White)
Growing on One Peony Plant

Indoor Peony Garden Hall
Inside the main room of the indoor Chinese tree peony garden, there were several pagodas and a central hall, all with golden yellow roofs. Stone seemed to be the theme in this room. There was stone tiled flooring, white marble fencing with intricate peony carvings on each panel, and jagged, dark gray garden stones scattered around the perimeter of the room behind the faux grass tree peony gardens. There was also an indoor water feature, with smoother, pointy large stones in the water and around the edges. A natrual wooden Chinese style bridge crossed over the water feature, as did one of the pagodas. The potted tree peonies in this room were all nice, large specimens loaded with blooms in pinks, whites, and lavenders.


White Chinese Tree Peony

Lavender Chinese Tree Peony

Pink Chinese Tree Peony

Indoor Chinese Tree Peony Garden

Chinese Lady Portraits and Potted Tree Peonies
The last room of the building contained some portraits of Chinese women posing with peonies, perhaps peony festival queens from years past. There were also several potted tree peonies blooming along this wall. The last room also contained a few historical peony items encased in glass - ceramic peony plates, peony wine, peony soaps, and peony teas. The Chinese people really seem to love their peonies. They make everything out of it. While exploring the South side of the garden, we also came upon a mass planting of yellow tree peonies in full bloom, set against a backdrop of lovely fir trees. As you can see from the map of the Luoyang National Peony Garden below, the garden is quite large, and there is quite a lot to explore!


Mass Planting of Yellow Tree Peonies in Full Bloom

Map of Luoyang National Peony Garden 洛阳国家牡丹园

Peony Lady Statue
This peony lady statue we found in the South side of the Luoyang National Peony Garden, is the same style of peony lady statue seen in several peony gardens throughout China. Perhaps they are all by the same artist. I saw a similar one on my trip to the Shanghai Botanical Garden, 2013 Peonies in Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou China. This particular peony lady statue sat atop a platform in the middle of a small pond water feature. I love how her robes just flow in smooth arcs, like a meandering stream, and check out the detail of the peony she holds in her hand. She also wears a crown of peony flowers as well, so royal.


Millennium Queen of Peony
Not too far from the peony lady statue, we found the "Millennium Queen of Peony", which is what we call Paeonia ostii, and the Chinese call Dan Feng (丹凤). Tree Peony 'White Phoenix' is the most widely grown cultivar of this species here in the US. This particular clump of Dan Feng was not in bloom when we came to see it, but I'm sure it would have been gorgeous in full bloom. The mother plant here seemed to be very old and was probably over 8 feet tall and maybe wider. I am not surprised to hear about the strong roots of this peony and its adaptability to stress. The Tree Peony 'White Phonix' was just named a Southern Peony Best Performer this year, 2018 Tree Peony 'White Phoenix' Best Performer - Week 2. The "Millenium Queen of Peony" was grown in native brown dirt, which appeared to be thick with clay, and with no top dressing.


Millennium Queen of Peony Stone Marker
Inscription on Millennium Queen of Peony Marker:

"Danfeng peonies which have strong root system are the descendant communities of the old Yangshan peonies. They are many traditionally cultivated for medicinal use. The ?ampeo slips of Han Dynasty unearthed from Wuwei tomb Gansu province are the demonstration the peonies for medicinal use could be dated back to 1,900 years ago, Millennium Queen of peony is a cultivar of Danfeng peonies which are featured for extensive adaptability, strong growth potential and good stress resistance. Years of cultivation has formed splendid and unique Dangfeng peony clumps, which are the largest Dangfeng"

Sui and Tang Millennium Peony King
瀚唐千年牡丹王