August - Green Lotus

August - Green Lotus

The botanical art print of Peony (Paeonia) “Green Lotus” painting is now available for sale! In addition to peony art, in our “Peony of the Month” project we discuss horticulture and peony garden design.

This month, we are featuring a truly extraordinary peony! It is certainly not usual to find a green-coloured flower, not to mention as beautiful and as stunning as "Green Lotus".

 Join us in the "Peony of the Month Chat Show" to find out more about this unique and interesting flower, and hear our guests discussing The Peony Girl lifestyle and our previous peonies! 

Why we chose her 

August is a hot, summer month, and for our artist, Siyuan, lotus is a flower that just speaks "summer"! Big, majestic lotus blossoms are associated with the summertime in places where lotus plants are grown, for example in Asia. For this reason, we chose a peony "pretending" to be a lotus!
Peony of the Month - Green Lotus
Another reason for choosing "Green Lotus" was, of course, her unique colour. Her petals are pale-green and lime, with the smallest hint of pink. While not everyone is a fan of green flowers, they are a very unusual, and we wanted to share this fascinating discovery with our audience!
In addition, as Siyuan shared, "Green Lotus" is very interesting from an artist's perspective. It is a rare opportunity to paint green flower petals and think about how to combine them with other green elements - such as stems and flowers - and still create something visually attractive. 
We think that such an original peony will look stunning anywhere - in your garden, in your home, or on your wall! 

"Green Lotus" in the garden

As a herbaceous peony, “Green Lotus” is quite upright, although not very tall, reaching around 60-70 cm. She is a scented flower, reportedly having a honey-lotus fragrance, flowering mid-season. 

As our expert on gardening design, Heath, mentions, "Green Lotus" is a type of flower that you either like or not - there is no middle way! For that reason, coming up with a colour scheme might be a bit challenging, but we have two propositions for you. 
The first combination and picks up the limes, whites and yellows of our peony's petals. One of the perennials we recommend Trollius 'New Moon' which has a lovely pale-yellow hue and looks like a mini-peony! On top of that, it flowers around the same time as "Green Lotus". The second perennial is Artemisia 'Valerie Finnis' - a foliage plant with silver-grey leaves. Together, they create a subtle background complementing the peony. 
Trollius 'New Moon'
Trollius 'New Moon' - photo by Easy to Grow Bulbs
Artemisia Valerie Finnis - Binny Plants

Artemisia 'Valerie Finnis'

The second combination is a bit bolder - pairing "Green Lotus" with yellows and purples, creating an effect resembling a florist's collection! The first perennial we recommend is dark Heuchera 'Palace Purple' - with really intense, purple leaves which will provide a strong, framing colour for the peony. 
Heuchera 'Palace Purple' 
Heuchera 'Palace Purple'
The second plant from that combination is acid-lime yellow grass Milium effusum 'Aureum'. It has a very fresh, vivid lime colour with flowers creating a soft veil around the peony. Together with the Heuchera, it will produce an energising combination of colours that will look great in your garden! 

Botanical Art on Your Wall

All peonies from the Peony of the Month collection are painted by Siyuan Ren and turned into a limited edition series. There will be only 35 prints available of each peony. Each piece will be numbered and signed.

Apart from the limited-edition prints, we will also have a more affordable option - open-edition A4 prints! Click here to view the "Green Lotus" peony print in the store.

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