With peonies you do not thin the stalks you remove extra flower buds to increase the size of the flowers. Let the plant straighten itself up. My suggestion is take some time go on line or to the library and read about peonies. Since most people remove the foliage in October or so do not worry about it. You might want to remove some of the columbine that is at the crown.

Sorry to sound dumb but what is columbine? Im a new gardener :) just need some pointers in the right direction.

just checked again on google and realised its a plant. Thank you i will remove it. Would you suggest i add some compost or mulch to it?

The bed that the plant is in is on a slope and i can see the roots on one of the plants.. They look like carrots :)

I think your peony planted too close to the tree and the brick path, but it is ok as long as you are not expecting it to become a huge bush. Do not put any sticks too close to the crown - you can damage the roots. There are better way to stake peony and you can find discussion on the forum. Not sure what you mean by thinning it, but cutting any stems is a bad idea - unless they are beyond recovering. Hot weather, drought, etc can make peony skip developing the buds further. You can just pinch them and wait for another year.

Yes it is close to the brick path, i am scared to move it, i would love to transplant it in fall. But dont want to risk it not flowering for another 2/3 years.

Already cut stems unfortunately i will just have to wait for fall and do the prep properly. Hopefully i will see a better result next year.

There are just too many types of columbine to give a complete answer. This is where your computer works for you for this and any other plant you are thinking about. Just type the name or what you think the name is into the search area and hit enter. Look at several of the links that come up. As a new to gardening person this is a great way on nasty days to learn about all kinds of plants. The columbine in your picture are baby plants and should be carefully dug in mid-September and transplanted. They can come in all kinds of colors but are best when planted in the fall. As far as blooming next year after transplanting the bloom buds. eyes, have already formed so moving the plant will not prevent flowering next year. Do not remove the knobby things from the top of the roots when digging because those are the eyes. I love the stone wall.

I have tried to research the peonies as currently this is the only plant i have. Nothing beats the info from a forum as i can post pictures and get advice based on the actual plant i have. I would always be in teo minds to action anything for the fear of ruining the plant.

the rest of the garden has been ripped out apart from a lawn area, so i can research plants and know how to look after them before planting them :) dont want to neglect the garden but need something easy to maintain that will give me colour throughout the year.

If you want color all year you will need to plant shrubs as there are very few plants that bloom continuously so look for leaf coloration. To have bloom all season you will need to have a variety of plants not just a couple of varieties. Since you have lawn areas to be filled start looking for plants that will live for several years. Space them so that they can fill in the area. Then do under planting with annuals or other short lived plants. These will fill in the blank spaces why the other plants grow. Although you want info from a forum posters only post about plants that will grow in their area. They may not grow in yours not because of the silly zone thing but because they may have sand, clay, or bog conditions. What works for me does not work for a real plant person friend of mine that lives less than 5 miles away.

Things to think about do you want just color or do you want scented flowers. Be aware that all flowers with the same name may not even smell. Do you have a preference in colors. Best of all what do you not like.

Agree with Alex's assessment. Your peony's failure to bloom maybe due to several reasons as Alex noted: 1. root competition from trees robbing moisture and nutrients away from the peony; 2. Roots of peonies cannot grow into stones so they maybe encircling themselves getting all tangled 3. Stones may cause excessive heat causing them to be heat stressed. You did not say what zone you are growing these peonies in. Sorry to say this but that(the one shown in the pic close to the tree) looks like a terrible location for growing peonies. You need to think about moving it to a better location.

Thanks karen, i inherited the garden like this, i do not like trees myself :) i have been thinking about moving the peonies to another location. I have noticed this year there are 4 not 3 plants in such a small area. The foliage has got better since these images were taken and also i have supported them more. Of the 4 plants 2 have buds on them. I am contemplating moving them to area near lawn around the edges. I live in the uk, i dont believe we have zones.

Don't mean to sound harsh. I have two peonies in similar location that failed to bloom this year for me. I too am moving them to a better area and hope they will give me blooms next year. I think that your new bed is very nice and that the peonies will be happy in their new location.

No i appreciate all info given. I am newbie so its nice to hear how to care for the plants through everyones experience. I havent yet moved the peonies but in the fall i will.

Hi Farrah, not sure if you're still watching this thread, but I found a site that explains hardiness zones for the U.K. It has a color coded map and temperatures in degrees F and C.

http://www.trebrown.com/hrdzone.html