For those of you who are new to SwensonGardens.com, welcome to information on our upcoming Peony Field Days! If you peruse my previous posts, 2016 has been the year of extreme weather conditions here in Howard Lake, MN. Thankfully the great Lord has watched over our peony fields and spared us from what could have been only a mile north of here during the May 23rd storms. There they had shovel-able hail and much stronger winds than the 53 mph we had here. When we say most of our peonies are ‘no staking’, believe me we’ve experienced that in our fields. With over 6 inches of rain during that week, major damage and flooding was done to our driveway and hay fields but our peony fields were high and soon to be dry again after the 1/2″ of rain last night.
Peony Field Days is a chance for you to experience our peonies in some of our growing fields. We are not a nursery but the worlds largest chemical free bare-root peony grower. All our fields are chemical -free and maintained the old fashion way with a 1948 Planet Junior cultivator, winged weeders and yes on hands and knees pulling weeds. Our fields are a labor of love, most of the time, and open them up to the public on Friday, June 10th and Saturday, June 11th from 9 am to 5 PM. WE ARE NOT OPEN SUNDAY, JUNE 12th! Saturday, June 11th will be our final Peony Field Days for 2016.
Since 90% of our business is web based, we thought opening up our fields to the public, a few days during peak bloom, would be a chance for you to enjoy our fields. Ordering our bare-root peonies can be accommodated onsite during Peony Field Days for pick up in the fall or we can ship them to you in mid-September, which by the way, is the best time to plant peonies in their dormant bare-root stage versus planting potted peonies, from who knows where they were grown, in the spring. Staff will also be available to discuss peony care and growing tips.
Our address is 10958 70th St SW, Howard Lake, MN. Staff will direct traffic for parking on arrival and a portable rest room is onsite. We will do our best to accommodate those that are physically challenged and will offer suggestions knowing that wheelchair and walker accessibility is limited due to the flooding of the hay field that you would have to negotiate through in order to get to our peony field. One of the options is do to a drive by tour from our driveway. Make sure to bring your cameras and as usual, dogs are very welcome here if kept on a leash.
We look forward to seeing you at Swenson Gardens Peony Field Days on Friday, June 10th and Saturday, June 11th.