Swenson Gardens

Peony Field Days Update

DSC08072Peony Field Days update for Friday, June 12th from 9 am to 5 PM. Well the no staking peonies made it and the floppers didn’t. With no way to cage/hoop those varieties, there are numbers of peony blooms leaning over and kissing the ground. We tried to cut a few last night before the rains came. One thing you will notice on ‘fragrant’ peonies after the rain, they are not as fragrant. Oh well there is always another year and oh yes, more fragrant ones to bloom including one of our favorite ‘fragrant’ variety called ‘Rose Pearl’. Since she is a late bloomer, she may be open tomorrow or Saturday. When you see her in the fields, you have to smell her. Kind’ve weird saying that but what happens in the peony field, stays in the peony field. Its always great to see gardeners at Peony Field Days  stop in at the information tent with yellow makeup around their noses. Now there is a true gardener! Ok so here is where we are at bloom time for tomorrow, the very early and most early’s are done. Some early to mid and mids are past their peak and/or primary buds are done and secondary are starting to show. Some intersectional hybrids are past their peak while some are not at peak yet. The mid to late’s and late’s have started and other late’s are still in bud. With the cooler temps tonight, not much change until later in the day tomorrow. We’re at 60-70% color but the high temps earlier this week and rain really did a number on some of the vibrant early to mid and mids. I would suggest waterproof boots on Friday as some spots are very muddy but should dry out as the day progresses. If you can make it on Friday vs Saturday, that would be great as we are expecting a rather large attendance on Saturday. For you bloggers, the busiest time is between 10 am and 3 PM. Just saying that 9 am or after 3 PM might be a good time to visit. Dare I mention you know who that flies around seeking to suck our blood? Yes they are out seeking their next victim IF it is a calm day. Last week we were blessed with wind and looks like tomorrow will be windy as well. Now for a bit of a public announcement per our insurance carrier’s request, (sorry but we have to do this in order to keep our insurance and you gardeners safe once you visit our farm), Swenson Gardens, Keith and Becky Swenson and any staff member will not be liable for any implied, incurred and actual injury or death when visiting our property at 10958 70th Street SW, Howard Lake, MN 55349. Our property is a working farm so please make sure all children are with their parent(s) and kept away from the pond, electric fences, animals, equipment and any vehicles that may be driving and/or parking on our driveway. We want to make sure your visit at our farm is safe and for those of you driving and parking your vehicles, please be careful when adults and children are walking on our driveway. Ok that’s all about that as we do want the public to enjoy our peonies and property but please be safe and careful!

When you drive up our driveway continue north to the information tent. PLEASE DO NOT PARK ANYWHERE SOUTH OF THE INFORMATION TENT! We will give you parking instructions once you get to the information tent. Our driveway is barely able to accommodate two vehicles approaching each other so if you are on 70th Street SW and see any vehicles coming south on our driveway, please wait till our driveway is clear and then proceed north to the information tent. Thank you!

Have a safe trip out here tomorrow and see you at Peony Field Days!

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