My only concern is the amount of sun. Peonies,like Roses, bloom best with "full" sun. Tree peonies will do fine with less sun but the space looks a little cramped for them. Any herbaceous peonies are Ok. Work the soil up down to two feet and dig in lots of compost. Space your peonies four feet apart when planting to allow for air circulation and avoid disease problems as they fill the space. The one complaint with peonies is they do not rebloom, but do remain green and attractive through the summer. Plant them high enough so you can see the buds for next years growth through the winter. Too deep and they might not ever bloom. Depending on the plant you start with they may not bloom for a year or two, even if you do everything right. Al

Al thank you very much for your informative response. Some very good thoughts there and all completely new to me. I knew effectively nothing until reading your post.

You know I believe I will heed your good advice and maybe try something that is a little less of a sun addict in the bed described above. I might have a little space in next years rose bed for a peony or two that does not get too large. The rose bed gets excellent sun.

Maybe I'll try bellflowers in the side bed instead.

Again thank you.

Kate