Saturday, December 31, 2016

Sam's Top Ten


Dec. 31
We have put our peony fields to bed for the year, and I've been reflecting back on another successful season of growing peonies in northern Wisconsin. We are now nurturing more than 200 peony cultivars or varieties.
I'm often asked what my personal favorites are. And as you might imagine that's not an easy question to answer given the tremendous range of colors, flower types and variations in foliage. But here's a stab at naming my current top 10.
1. Bartzella
2. Paul Wild
3. Elsa Sass
4. Joanna Marlene
5. Roselette
6. Rubra Plena Tenufolia fernleaf
7. Lady Gay
8. Coral Sunset
9. Old Faithful
10. Honey Gold
In the coming days I will provide some of the reasons each one of these made the list and some photos. Meanwhile I hope you will post some of your favorite peonies or if you have any questions about peony cultivars feel free to post them here.

To buy any of these peonies go to finagardenspeonies.com

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Tucked in for the winter

Dec. 17, 2016: The plants in our fields of peonies now rest snuggly under a 6-inch blanket of new-fallen snow, where they will remain dormant until the April sun and spring rains awaken them for another year of beauty here in Northwest Wisconsin. This past fall we expanded our plantings by several hundred, including a number of new varieties that now bring the total number of named cultivars we grow to more than 200. These include some rare and unusual herbaceous peonies. along with intersectional varieties and Rockii tree peonies.