Driven by a passion for horticulture from a young age, RHS Chelsea Gold Medal-winner Alec White shares his extensive expertise and personal experience in this illustrated celebration of the peony. Varied chapters introduce each of the qualities that make this remarkable flower stand out, their many varieties, scents and colours, how to care for and cultivate your plants, the historical and cultural significance of the peony and the hard work and commitment needed to exhibit at the UK’s leading flower shows. This is Alec’s story of a dedicated career, sparked by the striking appearance of peony blooms,  combined with all of the essential information needed to appreciate them to the full and keep them thriving in your own garden.

Sections include:

• My Love Affair with Peonies – Documenting Alec’s journey into a horticultural career and the background to his personal passion for peonies.

• A Riot of Colour – Introducing the intensity and variety of colour of peony blooms.

• The Peony in Art and Culture – A broad overview of the role of the peony in literature and art work in various forms and its cultural significance around the world.

• Every Garden Deserves at Least One Peony: Common Myths – Alec dispels common myths surrounding peony cultivation to help the reader progress and maintain their own growing.

• The Stars of the Show – Details Alec’s experiences at some of the UK’s most prestigious flower shows and the tasks, challenges and process behind his award-winning exhibitions.

Alec White, peony aficionado and owner of specialist nursery Primrose Hall Peonies, has long shared his passion for these gorgeously flamboyant blooms. Alec is an RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal Winner and keeps the largest selection of rare and collectable peonies for sale in the UK. The nursery regularly exhibits at RHS Flower Shows: Chelsea, Cardiff, Malvern, Chatsworth, Hampton Court Garden Festival, Tatton and BBC Gardeners’ World Live. 

Alec also holds the Plant Heritage National Collection for unusual Intersectional or Itoh peony varieties. The eight-acre nursery sits on a lovely sloping site in rural Bedfordshire, run by a nursery team of experienced horticulturists, headed by Alec. The most exciting month is March, when pink buds push through the soil and the season’s promise lies ahead. By late spring the nursery is very busy preparing for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May and the following horticultural shows in late spring, summer and autumn.

'It is Peony flowering season, I struggle to be successful. After reading A Love Affair with Peonies by Alec White I know where I’m going wrong and how to put it right.' Sue Kent

'If you love peonies as much as I do, this book is going to blow your socks off! It’s an absolute stonker filled with the MOST fabulous pictures you’re ever going to see of these beautiful flowers together with great cultivation advice and so much more.' Customer Review