Molly the Witch

This is Paeonia mlokosewitschii, a herbaceous peony, commonly known as Molly the Witch.  My plant is about 25 years old and normally produces a couple of dozen flowers although there are fewer this year.  It is popular with my bees but although they were carrying yellow pollen and were climbing all over the anthers, there didn't seem to be any loose pollen around, either on the flowers or on the bees.

I also have Paeonia delavayi, a dark red tree peony.

The bees have been on this as well this afternoon although they seem to be after nectar.  They were carrying little or no pollen and were burrowing deep inside the flowers to reach the nectaries.

Despite the attention from the bees, neither of these plants sets seed within the garden.  Interestingly, another tree peony, P. ludlowii, does but it is not yet in flower.