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After an amazing Peony Field Days on June 5th and 6th, 2020, we are updating our inventory in real time as we take count of additional quantities for sale. Check back often to see if some of the varieties you wanted are again available for sale. Over the two glorious days of Peony Field Days, over 1500 people strolled through our production fields. What a sight to behold as young and old were able to view our peonies. More information will be forthcoming for bloom times in a couple of days. Some of the late varieties started to open today. With the 98 degrees F yesterday, that blast of heat really opened up additional colors in the fields. Our last two days of Peony Field Days will be held on Friday, June 12th and Saturday, June 13th, 2020. We are not open after that for public viewing. All ordering will be through our online store at SwensonGardens.com.

Swenson Gardens Peony Field Days for 2020 are ready for you to come and visit! We are open from 9a to 5P on Friday, June 5th and Saturday, June 6th, 2020. We are not open on Sunday, June 7th. With the two days of 90 degrees earlier this week, the early to mid and mid blooms are starting and/or at prime. Most of the intersectional/Itoh hybrid peonies have started their primary blooms. The very early and early peonies are done blooming. If you go back to my previous post on ‘Frosty Peonies’, yup, the two nights of a hard frost did reduce our buds and even nipped entire buds on plants that did not bloom. The foliage on the majority of our plants look great and on a small percentage of plants, not so good because of the frosts. Fields are very dry so no boots needed for these days. If you haven’t had a chance to read my previous post, please do especially for those who have never been here before. Looking forward to seeing you at Swenson Gardens Peony Field Days!

Calling all peony gardeners, collectors, photographers, artists, enthusiasts and novices, Swenson Gardens Peony Field Days is official! Yes, friends, it’s time to enjoy the peony blooms up close, but maybe not too personal. We are open on Friday, June 5th, Saturday, June 6th, Friday, June 12th and Saturday, June 13th from 9a to 5P. We will NOT be open on SUNDAY’S during those weekends. These four dates are weather dependent so any changes/cancellations will be noted on our blog, Facebook and Instagram pages, or you can call us at 763-350-2051 for more info.

Experts will be onsite for any peony related questions you may have! For those of you who may not be able to walk through the many rows of peonies, there will be a drop-off location next to the big white tent with better access to the display field. Additionally, you can drive up and down our driveway to view many of our varieties from the road. Please be careful driving while on our property as others will be walking on the driveway.

Location/Parking Information: For those of you who are new to Swenson Gardens Peony Field Days, our address is 10958 70th ST SW, Howard Lake, MN. The parking lot is a quick right hand turn upon entering our driveway. After you are parked, walk north on the driveway to our big white information tent. From there you will receive instructions on how best to make your way through our five, yes five, fields of peonies. Most of our fields include plants that are 2 and 3 years old and one of our fields has a few 4 year old intersectional/Itoh hybrid peonies. Yes folks, time to lace up your shoes and stretch your legs as you make your way up and down the peony rows, if are able to do so.

Ordering: For your safety and the safety of others, we will only be using online ordering for this year’s Peony Field Days. Please bring your smartphone or tablet to order as you walk through the field or sit in your car (no ordering and driving, please). We will not have in-person cash or check ordering as we have had in the past. However, if you do not have access to a smart phone, tablet or computer, please visit the information tent and we can order for you on one of our devices. As you can tell by the number of varieties that are already sold out, we have had a banner year of peony bare root sales, so if you have your eye on some new peony additions to your garden, we suggest ordering as soon so possible to ensure they are still in stock. Our online store keeps track of our inventory in real time so if you submit an order and it is rejected, it may mean the quantities you are ordering are not available or that variety is sold out.

COVID-19 Precautions: Please maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet between groups. Thankfully, our many fields make it easy to keep your distance from other people. Please do not enter our property if you are sick, have been knowingly exposed to anyone with COVID-19, or have any serious underlying health concerns that may put you at risk. In other words, use common sense. Masks are optional to wear, as the outdoor nature of the event significantly reduces transmission risk. However, if you would like to wear one, please feel free to do so. If you have any additional questions and concerns, please email us at info@swensongardens.com.

Insurance Disclaimer: Now the yearly disclaimer to satisfy our insurance company, Swenson Gardens, LLC, Becky and Keith Swenson and any of our employees and staff, will not be held liable for any injury, death, theft and personal property damage while visiting our property located at 10958 70th Street SW, Howard Lake, MN 55349 during Swenson Gardens Peony Field Days. You have voluntarily chosen to enter our property at your own risk. We want all visitors to be safe and considerate on our property.

Additional Information: Did we mention to the new visitors at Peony Field Days that we are dog friendly? Yes it is okay to bring your four legged family member as long as they are on a leash and are cleaned up after. Water is not available here so please bring the necessary means of hydration with you. Time for a family picnic? The lawn south and east of our house is the perfect picnic location, and offers great views of the pond and peony fields. Please be respectful of all our Purple Martins living in four different houses. My guess is we have at least 40 pairs of Martins so enjoy these aerobatic wonders in the sky. For parents with small children, please keep tabs on them in the peony fields and around our farm as we have electric fences for the fertilizer production team, aka our herd of Dexter cows. Finally, the areas north of our home are not open to the public.

Once we get closer to Peony Field Days we will update the blog with varieties in bloom and any changing conditions in the fields. Boots may be in order depending on rainfall and may be handy to bring with. Also if using any mosquito or tick repellent, please put on in the parking lot and do not spray while in the peony fields. We wouldn’t want to change the fact that we are the world’s largest chemical free peony grower by spraying anything in our peony fields, would we? We have a tie this year for our very early blooming varieties, Fantasia and Sprite. Congratulations Saunders varieties for the first color of the year. Can’t wait to see you at Swenson Gardens 2020 Peony Field Days!

Information, dates and times will be forthcoming on Swenson Gardens 2020 Peony Field Days. Timing of this is always tricky as we cannot predict what the weather will be for a normal spring peony bloom. In a normal spring, peak blooms occur the first few weeks of June. For those of you who are new to the Swenson Gardens peony family, Peony Field Days is a chance to walk through our production fields looking, smelling, photographing and even painting these amazing perennials. Our fields are only open two Friday’s and two Saturday’s in the spring. Most of our business is through our online store so if you are thinking about purchasing some bare root peonies for delivery or pick up this fall, you may want to consider ordering now as we are starting to sell out for this year. Stay tuned for more information on our website, Facebook and Instagram pages. Looking forward to seeing you on our peony farm!

For those of us who are blessed to garden in northern states and higher elevations, temperature swings can be massive during peonies emergence in the spring. Customers from those states have been very active via phone, emails and social media as of late. Perhaps I may indulge you on some facts that we have experienced here on our peony farm since 2002.

The number one question we have been receiving is, ‘should I cover my peonies during the colder temps at night?’ Knowing the fact that we cannot cover our peonies here on our farm, what happens to our peonies after a frost or hard freeze? I’ll drill this down into two areas of growth; 1) no buds showing and 2) blooms/buds showing.

1. No buds – this stage is by far the least likelihood of any current year frost/freeze noticeable damage. Yes we have seen rows of peonies tip over only to perk up again when the temperatures warm up again. We do not fret when viewing this example knowing that the roots are relatively warm underground. Sometimes we see leaflets curl up and not tip over only to open up again when it warms up. Finally in conditions like multiple nights below freezing and temperatures down to 12 F to 14 F degrees, the leaflets may brown on their edges or become all brown. Again we do not fret as I will summarize later.
2. Blooms and buds stage – hang on friends as yes you will see damage. Buds and blooms are the most sensitive to temperatures below freezing. What happens? If in bloom, blooms will wilt overnight and cease to exist. Buds are a little trickier as they may turn brown overnight or in a few days. Buds may or may not open or because of the lower temperatures, they may appear inferior and/or smaller than normal. We’ve had instances in our fields where the bloom quantity was reduced by 50% because of a hard freeze. Hard to view, yes, but, this is the peonies way of reserving their energy into root structure growth for next year.

The mentality of ‘oh no the sky is falling because of a frost or hard freeze on my peonies‘ is dear gardeners, ok. ‘Yes but will my peonies die?’ Emphatically, no. Here’s the deal, peonies are not like annuals and vegetables that only have a one and done root structure. Peonies have multiple root structures knowing the longevity of their lives and have certainly been there done that. Massive temperature changes, too much rain, drought, lawn mowers cutting them down unexpectedly, irrigation systems, trampled on, over spray from chemicals, fire and oh yes male dogs to name a few. When some of our peonies are hit by a frost or hard freeze, it is certainly less of a wow factor in our fields for that bloom season but guess what? In the fall our root development is massive and next year’s bloom is amass with more blooms than normal. Of course next year we continue to pray for ‘normal’ spring temperatures, just the right amount of rain and that our male dog ‘Redd’ would use a pine tree instead of a tree peony? Thank the good Lord we don’t have to fret about lawnmowers, irrigation systems and chemicals!

So dear peony gardeners, if you want to cover your peonies with a sheet or light blanket, please consider doing that or like us, it is what it is!

Yes dear peony gardening friends, its time to remove the mulch on your newly planted peonies! In a normal spring, we usually gauge the mulch removal time based on when the tulips are 8-10 inches tall. This year, we are foregoing that tip based on the amount of rain and warmer temperatures that many of us have had. Removing your mulch in its entirety is paramount to the success of your peonies. Make sure you have bare ground about 24 to 30 inches around your peony. This allows the ground to dry and warm up quicker. If you do not remove the mulch, this will inhibit the ground warming up and it retains the moisture in your soil that may then lead to the roots rotting out. Peonies are ready for spring so lets help them out now!

Life on the Swenson Gardens peony farm continues to surprise us…again! As I mentioned in my previous post regarding a calf that was born on 3/19, found her frozen to the ground the morning of 3/20 and from there whisked into our back entry way (in our home) to warm up. Well things went downhill after that. After she was warmed up and was able to stand on her own, we took her back to her mom to nurse. No go! She would not take her. We tried everything to get her to nurse but mom wanted no part of her daughter. Back in the house we came.

During that day and night, she would not bottle feed so we tried to force some colostrum into her mouth with a syringe. We’re talking cc’s of liquid versus a pint or two that they usually drink. The morning of 3/21, things were not looking good. Thankfully a neighbor had an esophagus tube feeder that was our first usage thereof to save this calf. We gave her four stomach feedings that day and night and prayed for her life to continue on.

Sunday morning, March 22nd, we were awakened by a mooing sound coming from our back entry. She’s alive, standing and very hungry. We bottle fed her, stroked her gently as a mama cow does after feeding her calf and said a prayer of thanksgiving for her life. Needless to say having an active calf, both ways, in our home, is a very fragrant event. Thankfully we had some of Heidi’s potty training pads left to at least ease the cleaning up process.

Monday evening, March 23rd, we tried again to invite the mom to accept her daughter, no go again so we made the 8-week decision to continue bottle feeding her, of course now in one of our horse stalls…in the barn! Her name is Cocoa as she is a red Dexter heifer. What a joy to hear her moo’s when entering the barn and calling our her name. She is doing very well and is now starting to eat hay along with her raw milk that we purchase from a local organic dairy farmer at yes, $7.00 per gallon. We made the decision that our peonies are chemical free so why not the same for another member of our fertilizer production team starting their life too without chemicals!

Fast forward now to 7 am April 3rd. After feeding her I was thinking, ‘too bad Cocoa would not have any four legged friends to live with’. I didn’t know if this thought was from our Creator or just a passing thought? Cocoa is in our south barn so I went up to our north barn to check on the fertilizer production team during my morning routine. As I was looking in our north field, about 300 yards away, I saw an outline of what I thought was a wild turkey. However after watching it for a couple minutes, it didn’t move. What in the world is it then?

Venturing north and closing in on this object, finally registered…CALF!!!!! Oh my word, not another one! Oh dear she is still wet, standing and shivering. She was a heavy one, maybe 40 lbs and quite feisty. Found a dry towel, held her close and soon the shivering stopped. Ok so where is the mom? Opened the gate and went searching for her mom. There she was standing over the afterbirth with no clue what had happened. I understand Cocoa’s mom having no interest in her calf, as this was her first one, but this calf’s mom had her first calf last year.

Ok new mom, here is your daughter! She proceeded to lick her and mind you this calf is still standing, walked 300+ yards and is trying forcefully to nurse. My guess is this calf had been born a couple of hours earlier based on the signs. Oh dear, mom kicked her away while trying to nurse multiple times. The calf tumbled and finally gave up trying to stand and nurse. Ok Cocoa here we come! A quick trip to the local feed store to purchase another bag of colostrum and into the bottle it went along with some of the raw milk. She devoured a quart in a moments notice. Wow, what a difference versus Cocoa’s two full days of life and this young girl is maybe two hours old.

We kept the new calf in Cocoa’s stall for another, now quart and a half, feeding a couple hours later and then brought her up to the north barn where we had her mom penned inside that barn. Again she licked her daughter and moved away from her. A few hours later we went up to check on them and saw her mom kick her and yes stepped on her leg as she rolled across the bedding. I really don’t like to see any living thing suffer, so yup, into Cocoa’s stall for a permanent roommate.

Needless to say, Cocoa was a tad overwhelmed to now share her room with a larger four legged living animal. Cocoa was just getting use to our cats who like to be with her and also supervised visits with Heidi and Redd. That evening we had the joy of trying to feed two very hungry calves with only one bottle. (A video of this will be posted soon on our social media sites.) I wish GoDaddy would fix our blog so I could post some of the pictures, but oh my word what a crazy event. Cocoa and the new calf were running around us, trying to nurse in areas where the sun doesn’t shine, pushing each other away from the bottle and yes, mooing like all get out. What an exhausting event for us! Will be getting another bottle today for the rest of our feedings.

This morning, April 4th, we ventured into the barn early to see two red Dexter heifer calves, sleeping next to each other. Of course the chaos followed once they knew it was breakfast time, but the smiles on their two legged mom and dad were priceless! So I would like to officially welcome Cocoa and Mini to the Swenson Gardens fertilizer production team! They provide life giving nutrients to our peonies and we provided the same to them.

Life on the Swenson Gardens peony farm…lives on!

Greetings dear peony gardeners, we are open for ordering your favorite peonies now! Yes we opened earlier than usual so you could consider ‘peonies’ on your gift list this Christmas. Not sure if its better to give or receive after you browse though our new website and online store. This is a very special website for 2020. We are releasing 33 new seedlings and 65 new peonies. Within our 33 new seedlings, 15 of those are Roger Anderson’s last generation of yellow herbaceous peonies. Perhaps now we have the world’s largest collection of yellow herbaceous peonies?

Saunders’s peony collectors alert! Yes dear collectors we have a wide array of new Saunders available as well as the rare ‘Little Dorrit’ and the very rare ‘Red Lacquer’. Both of these varieties will be shipped individually as they are that rare. You will also see a number of Saunders that you may not have in your collections.

Enjoy your visit at Swenson Gardens and have fun picking out your new peonies for delivery or pick up in the fall of 2020!

Thank you again for all our returning and new peony gardeners who have ordered your Swenson Gardens peonies in 2019! Hard to believe that our season is quickly coming to an end. Orders for our 1st shipment and pick up are done, so any additional orders will be added to our last shipment only that is tentatively scheduled to ship out the end of September or early October, 2019. The last shipment includes all of our USDA Zones 6 to 8a as well as Zones 3 to 5 that missed the cut off for our 1st shipment and pick up. Enjoy your Swenson Gardens peonies for 2019!