The challenge of gardening in Calgary is often a conversation starter between gardeners. The season is short. Chinooks remove the protective snow cover. The air is dry. The volume of water that falls during a July deluge is phenomenal, but it comes down so fast that it doesn’t have time to soak into the ground. 

Then there are the hailstorms. 

Each month can send its own curveball. Regardless, peonies (Paeonia lactiflora) seem to take whatever the Calgary environment pitches, and perform spectacularly, year after year. 

Cultivars of Paeonia lactiflora are the most common garden variety in Calgary. It is hardy to a cold hardiness zone...