For those of you who ventured out to our 2016 Peony Field Days, THANK YOU! From slugging through the mud to get to our peony fields on June 3rd and 4th from the May 23rd storm to embracing 90 F degree temperatures on June 10th and 11th, thank the good Lord that we didn’t have an encore today as last night we had another 2″ of rain. As you can see in the picture before the storm hit, Bartzella whispered to me, ‘not another one’! As we mentioned to those of you at Peony Field Days, ‘when we say no staking in the description, we really do mean it’! What a sight at 7:30 PM to go from sun to darkness in a matter of minutes. Moments latter the downpour began and ‘Bart’ held strong through another battery of wind. Oh and the great news, our driveway is still intact! No flooding out like the May 23rd storm that dumped 6+ inches of rain in 3 1/2 hours.
Here is a quick summary of our 2016 Peony Field Days. 2,100 peony admirers attended over the 4-days we were open. NO boots, shoes and sandals were found in the muddy hay field. Bartzella, Hillary, Candy Stripe, Garden Treasure and Joanna Marlene were our top five sellers. We just loved Peony Field Days this year as all of you were troopers knowing the extreme weather conditions we’ve faced. It was also encouraging to see and talk with the children that came out. Yes its nice to collect our peonies but to pass that on to the next generation is a milestone all of us gardeners face trying to compete against a smart phone and a screen that still isn’t scratch and sniff! Our hope is that all those children will remember the sights and smells of intersectional hybrid and garden peonies for another generation!