Plant identification

[FuckoffeeBeforeCoffee]

Please could someone identify these plants for me?

Peonies

Sorry, posted too soon - the second is a peony, the first looks like a hellebore

Another vote for peonies.

The red one is peonies? Amazing. Thank you. I'm glad I didn't pull it out now!

And what else could I add that'll look nice with these two? They're in the same planter.

Im going with both being peonies. Spring growth on them is wonderful. I would see if they flower this year before putting anything with them - they can be fussy devils. They also like their space, so you might want to leave them as they are. They are pretty dull most of the year but glorious when they are flowering.

I think they're both peonies too. I probably wouldn't put anything else in with them as they like space. They flower in early summer then have nice lush foliage until late autumn/frosts.

Just wait and see if they flower and you like them, then decide what to do.

Another vote here for peonies. I agree too about not crowding them. If you want to titivate the planter, you could top the compost with slate chips.

First one is peony not hellebore

Thank you, everyone. I'll leave them as they are and see what happens.

I have another planter that's completely empty now. Any recommendations of what to plant in it? Something easy to maintain, please. Gardening is absolutely not where my strengths lie.

I'd fill the empty planter with summer bedding such as geraniums (pelargoniums), they are fairly tough and can cope if you forget to water them for a short while. There's a variety of colours and you could put trailing ones round the sides.

One more from me, sorry.

This isn't one of mine but I saw them and love them.

Any ideas what it is?

Thanks

That's a botanical tulip (so will be perennial). It looks to me like one called Lilac Wonder. You would plant it in the autumn, and they prefer drier ground rather than damp.

I planted some last autumn under a tree, but they all got eaten by squirrels 😭

Oh no! I rarely see squirrels in my garden. Though, I occasionally see them near where these were planted (on a random bit of grass on a street corner - a man has started planting all sorts there).

Thank you very much for the information, to you and everyone. It's very helpful.