Sorbet is a bomb-style peony with layered blooms: rings of rose-pink petals sandwiching a fluffy cream center, like its namesake dessert. Flowers open in mid spring on stems around two to three feet, with the fragrance and cut-flower quality peonies are loved for.

Peonies can do well in Birmingham with the right start: plant the crown shallow, barely an inch or two deep, in rich, well-drained soil with morning sun and a little afternoon shade. Then leave it be; established clumps bloom for decades without division.