08/31/2010 - Zone 2 to 4 Orders
Because we've had a number of inquiries for customers in zones 2 to 4, you may still order online or mail-order, however they will be shipped out in zones 5 & 6 timeframe. No pick up orders will be accepted as of now. Thanks again for all your orders as our business has doubled this season and feel very blessed to grow your future peonies. Thank you also to all of you who have chosen to grow your plants organically.

08/31/2010 - 2nd Annual Peony Garage Sale Saturday September 4th and 11th from 9 am to 5 PM
For those of you who came out last year, we plan to have more roots available as we sold out very quickly. There will be quite a selection as the 'crew' is almost on strike from all the weeding and trying to survive the first dig amidst mosquitos, 85 to 90 degree temps and now an inch of rain last night. For those of you who need directions, please us Mapquest as Google is still off. Our address is 10958 70th Street SW, Howard Lake, MN, 55349. Give us a call at 763.350.2051 for more specific directions as we will not be checking emails as often during this very busy time of year. Also, if you would like to learn how to divide or have a peony you would like divided, please bring it with you and we would be happy to help. Please pray for cooler temps soon as we should be done digging tomorrow...our NINTH day in the field. Happy gardening!

08/25/2010 - Let the digging begin!
We have starting digging for Zones 2 to 4. The roots look absolutely marvelous! WOW! Now we see the joys of our extreme weather conditions really paying off with healthy roots awaiting surgery. As some of you know based on being our long-term customers, WE DO NOT SEND SMALL ROOTS! They have been and will be very generous in eyes as well as storage roots. I personally do not get hung up on lots of eyes as you still need storage roots to support them. Kari, our other divider who is now in her 5th season with us, also agrees with our root divisions. So away we go! With all the orders in and still coming, we've had to hire 7 more people to help us with this process. It is fun to see the excitement in our new and current team as we work to provide you, (in our opinion) the finest bare-root peonies in the US. Did we mention our Peony Garage Sale on 9/4 and 9/11 from 9 am to 5 PM at our farm in Howard Lake? More info coming but it will be bigger and better than last year. Can you say great bare-root peony prices? Stay tuned and happy gardening!

08/23/2010 - Mail Orders
Please make sure to check our website for 'Sold Out' varieties before mailing in your orders. We've tried to accomodate filling those orders but now we are at a point with some varieties that we will not be able to. Thank you for your understanding.

08/21/2010 - Zone 2 to 4 last day to order is August 31, 2010
Can't believe we are almost to the end of our ordering for zones 2 to 4. Please make sure to get your mail in or online orders in by August 31, 2010. Thank you!

08/16/2010 - Peony field jottings...
Nice to be back online with you. As I look back to our last post, we too are awash with rain like our friend were in the NE. 4 1/2 inches last Thurs and Friday. Thankfully our weed crew was able to clean up the field before spending all available time building and ark. Since our season is 2 to 3 weeks ahead of normal, these extra weeks are a bonus for root production. The peonies look great and can't wait to see what is going on underneath the soil. A friendly reminder for our gardening friends in Zones 5 to 8a, DO NOT WATER YOUR PEONIES AFTER SEPTEMBER 1st! We want to encourage dormancy so start putting them to bed after this very hot summer. Also, our 2nd Annual Peony Garage Sale will be held on our pick up days. September 4th and September 11th from 9 am to 5 PM. This is a wonderful time to check out some unbelieveable sale prices on left over retail and line out roots. Sorry buy no prior sales/holding of roots. First come...first served so plan on arriving early. Also, we will be demonstrating 'How to divide peonies' each day so if you have a favorite one you want divided, come on out! Happy gardening and think DRY weather for a change!

08/16/2010 - Blog is back up!
Not sure what was going on but we are back up with our posts. Thank goodness for a great webmaster! Sorry for not posting lately so will post after I send in this test.

07/09/2010 - NE and East Coast Gardening Friends
This is an action alert for our gardening friends that are experiencing the high temps and drought conditions as of late. For our customers who planted peony roots last fall (2009), you may want to slowly pour about 1 1/2 gallon of water around your plants 1x per week for the next 3 weeks unless you receive about 1 inch of rainfall during those weeks. IF you receive that amount of rainfall, DO NOT water that week. Make sure though if you choose to water that the site dries out completely by checking the soil with your fingers about 2 inches under the surface. IF your fingers come out with wet, muddy dirt, hold off on watering until they come out dry. Now for those of you with 2 and 3 year old plants, okay to follow same testing only water 1x every 2-weeks. Those of you with older plants, you may notice the foliage browning sooner as the plants, (and perhaps like you) have said enough is enough. Time to go dormant earlier than normal so we can save up enough energy for next year. In dry, hot years like this, peonies are very drought resistant, however next years new growth/stems and blooms may not be as good as normal growing years. Hope this helps and do email us if you have additional questions. We here in Minnesota are basking in an unbelieveable growing year due to the recent rains and warmer temps. Next years plants should be amazing if it keeps up like it has. Happy gardening!

06/29/2010 - Specials for 2010 about to expire
A friendly reminder that our online specials for 2010 will be expiring on July 1, 2010. This will be our last online specials for this year so mail your order in before its gone. Thanks and happy gardening!

06/11/2010 - Peony field updates...
Okay back (no pun intended) to the peony fields. 3 inches of rain last night and counting! Both fields are an absolute mess with all this rain! Thankfully it came after most of the field tours! Bartzella, Hillary, Canary Brilliants and other intersectionals are now showing their extended bloom times. Maybe a week or so left before all yellow is done in both fields. Amazing that even through all this rain, previous high temps and high winds, the intersectionals are now entering their third WEEK of bloom! We love those varieties! As far as the garden peonies, Candy Stripe is done, however the late pinks like 'The Fawn', white and reds are still going. The cut flower season is over for 2010. The last of the cuts were picked up today from our cooler and what is left goes for the kids 'peony blessing' bouquets. A few years ago the kids decided to bring bouquets to friends, neighbors and senior living homes to offer them a blessing for the day. They will be delivering those next week so the coolers work is done for the bloom time and then cleaned up and ready for the root divisions in the fall. So for now with all the rain and muddy fields...a long nap! Happy gardening!

06/11/2010 - Update on back pain story
The AP story continues to expand its scope nationwide. Today it came out on USA Today's online version. Go to their website, scroll down to 'A Better Life' and click on the 'Health' button. Also, you can see the televised story at www.myfoxtwincities.com and search for 'back pain widely overtreated'. I am amazed at the numbers of people who have emailed and or called regarding the hope that www.pnbconline.com has afforded me. Enjoy your weekend!

06/08/2010 - Back pain article from AP today.
For those of you who are calling and emailing about the article, yes that is me. You may still be able to find it on Yahoo, MSNBC and newspapers. Go to Yahoo and MSNBC and search for the overtreated back pain article in the news and/or health pages. A link to MSNBC is as follows; www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37557062/. You may not know, until now, that when our daughter Britta, was born in the early 90's, I could not hold her even at 8 lbs. Because of a volleyball injury and subsequent failed procedures, including surgery, my life was a mess for 5 years. Instead of going in for more surgery, a new physical therapy stregthening program was just starting at Physicians, Neck and Back Clinic. (www.pnbconline.com) Working with the therapists and Dr Chuck Kelly, hope was offered to me though it would creat more pain at first, but at the end of the 16 week period, life would change. Knowing that I am blessed by being the 1/10 of 1% type patient, it actually took me about 6 months and then 1 1/2 years later, a changed man. When they tested me, I was at 10% of my normal strength and flexibility and when I left, is was at 110% strength and 70% flexibility. I am so thankful for PNBC and the fact that God wanted me to become more active, that today I look at our peony fields and say 'thank you Lord'! Not only for His beautiful plants, but the fact that now our daughter Britta goes piggy back riding...on my shoulders! For those of you who may be suffering from low back and leg pain, there is hope! Can you say gardening! Especially gardening with peonies! Like I said last year, keep walking and today, keep gardening!

06/08/2010 - Happy Birthday Becky!
Yes, she is ?? years old today! This is the first year we've been able to celebrate as a family since the peony cut flower season is now officially over. They made their last deliveries to our wholesaler today so we celebrated! Had a wonderful sushi lunch, the girls went shopping as the boys cleaned the house and had a fresh fruit birthday cake moments ago! Fun to spend sometime as a family with this crazy bloom season. Happy birthday dear!

06/06/2010 - PEONY FIELD TOURS ARE OVER FOR 2010
Sad but true! Thanks again for coming out to our 2010 field tours. What a change yesterday compared to Memorial Day Weekend. Saturday truly took us to the edge with rain, 50 degree temps and those pesky mosquitoes. The hardiest of hardy gardeners still persevered with smiles even though large welts covered any exposed skin. For those of you who were taking pictures, this was a day that I dream about for true color. Before we opened I spent 2 hours photographing for next year's website and another 1 1/2 last evening! This type of overcast really makes the colors pop. Thanks again for our existing and new gardening friends that came out. We certainly enjoyed ourselves and do email us at info@swensongardens.com for any tips and concerns on how we can improve on our peony field tours next year. Happy gardening!

06/03/2010 - PEONY FIELD TOUR
Thanks again to the 800+ gardeners that came out last weekend for our first ever peony field tour in Howard Lake. We hope you loved seeing our farm as much as we LOVED showing it to you. During field tours, you are very much like family as we all can enjoy the beauty of our Creator's handiwork! For you grandmas' and grandpas', thank you for coming out! It was a joy to see the smiles in your faces and the stories of your peonies you use to have in town or on the farm. We will cherish our memory of your memories! This coming Saturday, June 5th from 9 am to 5 PM will be our last field tour of 2010. Every variety will either be starting in bloom or finished. Most of the mid-to-late varieties started today with the every popular Candy Stripe showing its first colors in this field. We will be offering the 15% check/cash discount until the end of the day so for those of you who visited last weekend, please come prepared to turn in your orders. So far we are okay on our Candy Stripes, Coral Sunsets and Barts, but others are starting to sell out. Hopefully our website will be updated with the 'sold outs' tomorrow. We do try to save a few extra for mail in orders and field tours. Britta's Bouquets will again be available on Saturday. She has reworked some of her bouquets so please order your bouquets on Saturday as that is her last day as well. Luke's Refreshments will also be open for beverages and snacks. Mom and dad are so proud of them for taking on this financial endeavor. Who knows what will happen next year as they really took an interest in the field tours. Again if you are using the web for directions, use MapQuest as Google's directions are wrong. the address again is 10958 70th Street SW, Howard Lake, MN 55349. About 4 to 5 miles west of Howard Lake on hwy 12, you will see our signs at Wright County Road 5 south. Also, we received numbers of phone calls for people wanting to bring their dogs along. The answer is YES as long as you do not take them into the peony rows. You can take them for a stroll (leashed of course) around the peony field, a swim in the pond and leashed around our home. Please keep them away from the horses and be careful around children and adults. Thank you! We will have the field tour rain or shine however if severe weather, please call us at 763.350.2051 for more details. Happy gardening and see you on Saturday, June 5th!

06/03/2010 - Peony field jottings...
The cut flower season will be over tomorrow in our Delano field. The only buds left to cut are a few Candy Stripes and the final/last variety to cut are the Ruth Cobbs. With the cooler temps this past week, the cut flower crew seemed to survive better than the previous week. Thankfully on Tuesday night we received about an inch of rain here in Howard Lake and 1/2 inch in Delano. All the no staking varieties are still upright and strong versus the staking varieties that are kissing the ground. Tonight we are expecting some more rain, which of course is very welcome after the bloom is almost done. On a different note, our 10-month old lab, 'Redd' decided to take our 5-year old lab, 'Brownie', swimming yesterday. We don't mind them swimming in the pond, but they decided to go swimming at Lions Park on Howard Lake...about 4-miles away! My, my are they an adventurous pair. We were very concerned and prayed that someone would find them as we spent about 3 hours looking for them. Well Becky received a call that a wonderful gentleman locked them in the mens restroom at the park as Redd was stealing sandles from the beach participants. If anyone from Howard Lake is missing a sandal, please let us know as Redd usually digs them into the ground very close by. Britta, our daughter, gets some strange looks wearing hers as somehow they don't match too well anymore. Thankfully Redd and Brownie are home again except that this afternoon Redd's left eye swelled shut and yucky stuff was coming out. A quick emergency trip to our new vet solved that with 3 types of meds and orders not to go swimming for a couple of weeks. We thought having kids was an adventure? Happy gardening!

05/29/2010 - PEONY FIELD TOURS
The second day of our field tours ended today with some fresh corals, yellows and mid whites blooming. Another day of 92 degree high but thankfully low humidity. Thank you to all who came out to visit today. We trust you had safe travels home and also had a chance to dine at Sunni's Grill and stop in at Cattail Corner. Just a friendly reminder that we will be closed tomorrow, Sunday, May 30th and opening again on Monday, May 31st at 9 am to 5 PM. For those of you who called regarding 'late' varieties, we are leaning to next Saturday, June 5th from 9 am to 5 PM for their color to start showing. The star of the field over the past two days has been 'Coral Sunset'. Today her primary's (main bud) started to show her true sunset colors by the end of the day. By Monday she should be yellow/ivory and then next Saturday her secondary's (side buds) should start the show over again. For those of you who are are new gardening friends, please spend some time on our website reading our 'FAQ' and 'Peony Care' page. And 'YES' there are yellow peonies! Aren't they wonderful?! We would like to wish all of you a safe and Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Time for some much needed rest after a very busy week so we hope to see you on Monday or electronically next week! Happy Gardening!

05/27/2010 - Peony field jottings..
Hooray! The corals and yellows are coming in Howard Lake! My guess today is 25 to 30% color in the Howard Lake field. Well behind the 75% color in our Delano field. Well friends, tomorrow is the first public tour of our Howard Lake field from 9 am to 5 PM. In case you didn't read the previous post about directions. Please use MapQuest as the Google directions are wrong. Type in our destination of 10958 70th Street SW in Howard Lake, MN 55349. See you tomorrow or 5/29 or 5/31 or 6/5. Sorry for our delays in responding to all your emails and phones calls as we are absolutely swamped this time of year. Please hang in there until we get through the blooms time and field tours. Thank you! Happy gardening!

05/26/2010 - PEONY FIELD TOURS
The Howard Lake field continues to be status quo. We are starting to see some color showing on the intersectionals so we will know more tomorrow. So far about 15% of the field is in bloom. Thank the good Lord for the cooler and less humid conditions. Our cut flower crew didn't have to spend as much time in the cooler bundling blooms tonight. In fact they finished earlier tonight as the bloom slowed down in Delano. The last two nights they finished bundling at 1 am. Makes for a long day when you start in the field cutting at 6:30 am. The crews' motto is 'don't look back, leave everything on the track'! Our daughter Britta will be selling cut flowers at the field tours and has some special 'Britta's bouquets'. She is a budding floral arranger and mom and dad couldn't be prouder. She hasn't set the final prices but bouquets will be in the $10 to $40 range depending on varieties included in the bouquets and cut flower bundles. These will be cash only sales and no credit cards are accepted. Now Luke will be our refreshment vendor. He is anxiously awaiting your arrival as he to is offering many different beverages (NO POP) and snacks for the healthier lifestyles at various prices. Looking at the weather it appears to be a wonderful forecast. IF some of the peonies you are interested in are not in bloom, do stop back again to view the changes in the field. Again the dates are 5/28, 5/29, 5/31 and 6/5 from 9 am to 5 PM. You can stroll through the field on your own or we would love to walk with you and tell you some gardening tips on how to use peonies in your landscaping projects. Also, you are able to walk the grounds of our home to see the annual planting beds done by Cattail Corner and the hard and soft landscaping done by Stoffel's and Associates. Happy peony dreams!

05/25/2010 - Peony field jottings...
HELP! 92 on Sunday, 95 on Monday and 87 degrees today. These temps are amazing for May let alone August for us. The Delano field popped on Monday and according to the cutting crew, they have never seen anything like this. They would get to the end of the row and look back only to see ones they passed on are now wide open. They seem to be spending extra time preparing the bundles in the 38 degree cooler. Can you blame them? Please pray for their safety in the fields all day as the heat is starting to get the best of them. So the big news, the Howard Lake field is still a week behind based on the micro climate. We're thinking good color for this weekends field tours and prime either on Monday or for the 6/5 field tour. Either way, some of my favorite blooms are just starting, 'Bess Bockstoce', 'Red Grace', 'Red Charm' and the list goes on. No intersectionals yet in Howard Lake. The 11 x 15 cooler is almost full from the Delano field so please contact us if you need some bundles of gorgeous peony blooms. Happy gardening and now back to the cooler to bundle the peonies!

05/21/2010 - Peony field jottings
The cut flower crew officially started today in our Delano field. For those of you in warmer zones, I imagine some of your later varieties are now finished as we start to enjoy our early varieties here. Aren't these plants amazing! Every spring it is a joy to see what blooms first. The winner for us again this year in our Delano field is 'Nova'. A close second was 'Rose Nobel' and in the next positions 'Athena','May Lilac', 'Starlight', 'Rose Diamond', 'Erma', 'Sprite', 'Salmon Dream', 'Sugar n Spice' and 'Fushcia Cuddles'. The corals are just starting as well as 'Red Charm'. Thus the cut flower crew is anxiously watching those varieties in preparation for an extremely quick openning with the hot weather coming. They sometimes cut 4 to 5 times a day when it is this hot in order to catch them at the right time. An update on our Howard Lake field continues to see a field ripe for blooming in another week. The winners here are the red rock garden peonies that will be available in 2011, followed by the same varieties listed above. For our friends in Zone 2, hang in there! Happy gardening!

05/20/2010 - PEONY FIELD TOUR CORRECTION
Please note our June field tour is on Saturday, June 5th from 9 am to 5 PM. We will not be open on June 4th. Thank you!

05/19/2010 - PEONY FIELD TOURS
Please note that we have also added Saturday, June 4th from 9 am to 5 PM for those of you who may be traveling over the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend. Also, we did a point-to-point Google directions on our address and it came up wrong. Please use MapQuest instead as they have the correct location. In any case, give us a call at 763.350.2051 or email for additional directions. For those of you who are coming from the east, please be patient when you are going through the hwy 12 detour in Maple Plain. This should be the last summer of detours on hwy 12 coming west. Some points of interest on the way from the east are Peterson Produce located about 2 miles east of Delano on the north side of hwy 12, for eats we LOVE Sunni's Grill in downtown Howard Lake and Cattail Corner garden center just as you are entering Howard Lake. We use Cattail Corner for most of our bedding and perennial plants. Can you now believe our summer like weather...in May? With temps in the mid-80's this weekend, the cut flower team is rearing to go. They should start cutting in our Delano field on Friday. Our Howard Lake field is still being stubborn due to its micro climate, but our guess is prime blooms during our tours. Happy gardening!

05/17/2010 - PEONY FIELD TOURS!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR MAY 28, 29 AND 31 FROM 9 AM TO 5 PM! This is the official notice for Swenson Gardens first annual peony field tour in Howard Lake, MN. Please note, WE WILL NOT BE OPEN ON SUNDAY, MAY 30th. This is our day rest for worship, family and a much needed nap. However, we are so looking forward to seeing you our here. The address is 10958 70th Street SW, Howard Lake, MN 55349. Please use the County Road 5 access to 70th Street SW. 70th Street SW is approximately 1 mile south of hwy 12 and County Road 5 is about halfway between Howard Lake and Cokato. The tours will be help rain or shine however if severe weather, please contact us at 763.350.2051 for more details. Parking is about an 1/8 of a mile from the field and a public restroom will be available. The kids are selling refreshments, snacks and PEONY CUT FLOWERS! We will be selling cut flowers subject to availability the day of the tour. Since this is a working farm, you are welcome to tour our newly landscaped gardens around our home but our animals are off limits due to the electric fences and risk of injury. Since this is our first ever peony field tour in Howard Lake, you will be viewing a rather new field in peony years. Most of our blooming plants are from 2 and 3 year old peonies. As you know, this field will only get better for viewing as they get older. Now some more exciting news, for those of you who will be attending, we will be offering some added discounts for making the drive out here. Since we do not sell potted peonies, you can place your orders that day for delivery or pick up this fall. Some of the varieties listed on our website may not be located in this field and/or in bloom this year. Bring your camera's and some nicer weather than the field tour we had last year in Delano! PLEASE! Last year was way too cold for us! Please call or email us if you have any more questions or need better directions. Happy gardening!

05/12/2010 - Peony field jottings
Rain, rain go away! Please come back another...month? Walking in any of our fields right now is a loosing battle. Thankfully when all of you come out to our Howard Lake peony field tours, we KNOW that you will help us catch up with weeding! Right? No dates to post yet as the hard frost last Saturday night and temps still in the low 40's at night, have brought the field to a hault. We did notice some bloom damage to our very early varieties but those that are still in the bud stage and 1/2 high stems are just fine. That is the risk we take with a late frost on the very early ones. We are extremely happy with the newspaper roll and chopped up corn stalks mulch between the rows of last falls new plantings. Weeds still sneak up on the edges, but overall very satisfied. Trust all of you are enduring this strange spring! Happy gardening!

05/07/2010 - Peony Field Jottings
Welcome to winter...again here in Minnesota! Snow flurries in the air and some measureable accumilation by tomorrow morning. I'm getting too old to say what is going on with our weather? This is another first for us as our Delano field is starting to show color with the very early varieties. Here in Howard Lake, where our field tours will be, I'm guessing we're still two the three weeks out. Will let you know more once we get through this cold snap. For those of you who have called and emailed us regarding the snow and upcoming frost, do not worry about covering your peonies. They are good to three nights of 19 degree weather so the are fine. I think we have a harder time with this cooler weather than they do. I forgot to wish you all a Happy Arbor Day last week. To celebrate for you just in case you did not get a chance to plant a tree, we planted an assortment of 900 conifers, maple trees, pussy willow trees, red dosier dogwood, flame willows and american cranberry bushes. Can't wait to show you what we are doing out here. Becky gave me free run of the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program 'WHIP' with the USDA and Wright County Soil and Water Conservation Dept. So, I kind've went crazy with improving our habitat and windrows to help siphon some of the chemical runoff from neighboring farms. We also have the priviledge of being the first program within WHIP here in Wright County, MN to also implement pollinators to hopefully help the diminishing honey bees. Yes we are planting 1.25 acres of pollinators/wild flowers to the north of our peony field and 7 acres of native prairie grass to the south of our peony field. In three years this will be an amazing frame around our peony field. Also through in building a custom 11 x 15 cooler to extend our peony cut flower business into August has left me/us with absolutely no extra time...except tonight! Thank the good Lord for all this moisture as we cannot get in the fields...bummer, but we need a break! Happy gardening!

04/22/2010 - HAPPY EARTH DAY!
As we take a moment to reflect, we wish you and yours a Happy Earth Day! May we all be thankful for this wonderful earth that our Creator has allowed us to use. Please take heart this season to try gardening the natural way! We all are better off in the long run without chemicals! Thank you for supporting a chemical free gardening experience!

04/18/2010 - Peony field jottings
Not only has spring sprung, but thinking early summer is upon us. Trying to finish our spring maintenance before having to start in the fields is now on hold. I have never experienced a spring like this before! In talking with some of our neighboring crop farmers, they haven't either. Normally when peonies begin to show growth above ground, we estimate bloom in 45 to 60 days. This year we went from first growth last week to now buds appearing on the early varieties. That's almost 18 to 24 inches of growth in 1 week. Unbelieveable! No we are not posting field tours yet as I still think we could face a May like we did last year. For us here anyways, it was 60's and 70's in April and 40's and 50's in May. So, lets all be patient as we countdown to our field tours. Speaking of field tours, we're hearing from some of you in USDA 7 and 8a with blooms? You are so lucky to enjoy your blooms this early. Us in the cold country kind've go crazy this time of year having to wait and wait! Reviewing our 4/12/10 post, can you believe that night it rained and rained on our fields? I trust that those of you in similar conditions also received your much needed moisture. Thank you Lord! AGAIN! Things are also expanding 'on the farm'. This past weekend Britta, Luke, Danny and I finished our new walk in cooler. Becky was so surprised when she returned home from a weekend away that it is soo big! Say 11 x 15! This will help their cut flower business as blooms should now be available for 2 to 3 months after they are stored. Since this is our test year, we can't guaranty that just yet as we would like to work the bugs out of the process first. Check back again and will update our field tours in the near future...we just hope that we can finish our other spring chores. Happy gardening!

04/12/2010 - Peony Field Jottings
Welcome spring! The tulips are at half mast and awaiting some much needed rain here on the farm. For those of you, like us here, the soil moisture level is dangerously low. Thus we are encouraging like site locations to slowly pour about 2 gallons of water around your FIRST year only plants now IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY RAINFALL SINCE THE SNOW MELT! DO NOT WATER your first year plants again this year unless it is posted on our blog and/or give us a call at 763.350.2051 in case you have any questions. Your peonies that are in their second and above growing season are not as concerning as first year plants. Now, this only applies to those of us in USDA growing zones 2 to 4. Those of you in 5 and above already know what you should be doing. Here in our growing zone, we did not have any snowfall in March and so far April is still dry. Otherwise our Delano field is seeing early varieties growth at about 1' and here in Howard Lake about 6 inches. We do hope and pray that rain will give all plants, trees and lawns a much needed soaking soon. Seems like all our possibility of rain either goes south or north of us here in central Minnesota. Be patient my gardening friends!

03/22/2010 - Time to remove mulch!
YES! Spring has sprung here in USDA Zone 4! Tulips are starting to see daylight so now is the time to start removing your 1st year peonies mulch. We usually remove 1/2 of the mulch now and in 7 days we remove the balance of the mulch. Make sure to remove all of the mulch away from the center of your hole. About a 2' circle of bare ground is a good measure. We need your site location to be free of any mulch in order for your site to dry out. For our friends in the NE, I would try to remove even more mulch based on your overwhelming moisture over the past few weeks. It is key for any of you who have had significant moisture to try and dry out your site location as quickly as possible. The longer the roots sit in soggy soil, unfortunately, our nemiss, rotting out roots, may occur. I would wait at least 2 to 3 weeks before bringing back in your mulch to the 2' diameter site location. Also, we are always looking for ways to reduce those pesky weeds organically. Since Becky and Luke tried this last year in our vegetable garden, we are going to try this in a test area of our Howard Lake field. Contact your local newspaper publications and ask them if you can buy end of the roll newspaper stock. If you lay down about 4 layers of it, it does a fine job of deterring week growth for a couple of years. By that time, most weeds and weed seeds are finally dead and then the newspaper stock will decompose. They read about this in a chemical free vegetable garden article. That of course is right up our alley when it comes to growing our peonies without any chemicals. Have fun this spring as we usher in another year of our Creator's garden enjoyment! Happy gardening!

03/04/2010 - Minnesota Peony Society Presentation
Thanks again to all our Minnesota peony enthusiasts who came out last Saturday to see and hear our presentation on growing peonies the natural way. It sure was nice to talk peonies! Now we just have to wait to see, smell and touch our peonies! Hang in there USDA zones 2 to 6! This is the time of year we miss not living in USDA zones 7 & 8a. Please, please email us some pictures of your peonies so we can enjoy and dream about our spring coming up here! We also have a question for all of you who use Facebook, do you think we should add Swenson Gardens Facebook account? Please email us at info@swensongardens.com and let us know what you think. Our problem with more Facebook is the fact that we don't have extra time to manage it properly now and especially when we are in the fields. Happy gardening!

02/27/2010 - 5% Discount for cash orders!
Please note that this discount is available for mail order only and is not available on our 'Specials'. Go to 'How to order' page and print off the 'order form' for all regular priced peonies. You can deduct the 5% off your product total and then mail it in with your personal check, money order or cashiers check. This is only available for mail order and not on our online store. Just another option for helping both of us! Happy gardening!

02/25/2010 - 2010 SWENSON GARDENS IS OFFICIALLY OPEN!
Welcome to our 2010 online garden! We hope you enjoy your visit. A few changes to our site, many new varieties and a promise that we will continue to provide our customers with outstanding peonies that are organically grown! Yes these are trying financial times and we hope that our 'specials' page will help both of us. As you may know, our labor and growing costs have gone up, but rest assured that our chemical free growing has not changed. It would be easy and less expensive for us to switch and grow peonies like most of the other growers; however, we are different. Being good stewards of the earth is paramount to our future success. Thus we are asking you to consider purchasing your next generational peonies from us! We will do our best to make sure your order is correct and of the highest quality, field grown stock that will generate your continued passion for peonies. Please let us know via email or call us at 763.350.2051 for any additional questions. Also, as we are trying to make some of our varieties more affordable in this economy, check back often to see what our 'specials' are. We know you won't be dissappointed as these are of the same stock and quality as our normal orders. Yes you may find some of our pricing higher than other suppliers, but be assured that we do not sell any tissue cultured plants. If you haven't purchased from us before, now is the time to experience an organically raised Swenson Gardens peony! Happy gardening!

02/22/2010 - 2010 Website coming soon!
I know its been a long winter for most of us! Our webmaster is almost done with the updates for this year. Hang in there as we too are anxious for you to see it! 152 varieties will be available this year including 25 intersectional hybrid peonies. Also, as an added bonus, wait till you see our 'Specials' page. Happy gardening!

02/01/2010 - Minnesota Peony Society Presentation
On Saturday, Feb 27th you are invited to attend our presentation on 'Growing peonies the natural way'. You can check out more details at www.mnpeony.org. We hope to see you there and do consider joining the Minnesota Peony Society. Also, we are getting closer to launching our 2010 website. Now that I'm seeing peonies in my sleep, I/we can't wait for you to see our updates. Hang in there as we're still estimating early March. Happy winter waiting for spring gardening!

01/16/2010 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thoughts of spring continue to cloud my mind! Especially today as I'm cropping 1000+ pictures to come up with the updates to our 2010 website. Like you, I am very anxious to launch our new website. We are hoping to launch in early March. Will update more details once we get closer! Trust you and yours had a blessed Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year!

12/04/2009 - Peony field jottings...
Hello gardening friends. Its been a long time since we've shared what is really going on here at Swenson Gardens. We hope that your 2009 gardening season was a success and we're already looking forward to the 2010 gardening season. This has been a very trying fall for us due to the weather, equipment breakdowns and now single digit temps. The September digs beset us with 85 to 90 degree temps. This is hard on our digging and dividing crew but somehow our washing team loved it. You can always find something to be thankful for our crew of excellent workers. The October dig was a different story, the digging and dividing crew loved the 35 to 40 degree weather but go figure, the washing team did not. All in all we were satisfied with the vigor of our roots and it was nice to see how healthy they looked once we dug them up. With all the rain we had in October, planting our line outs tested our patience. Just as the fields were drying up, here comes the rain. Funning when we were praying for rain back in July and August it didn't come, but then the Heaven's opened up in October. Finally though we did get the 1,600+ new plants in the ground and the rains still came after they were put to bed. We cut our fields down in early November with hopes that the ground would freeze soon so we could mulch the first year plants. Well we waited and waited and finally today the ground is frozen. We hope to be mulching tomorrow if Keith can get our main tractor fixed. Something with the hydraulic couplers that is spewing oil all over the place. He is so proud of his new (used) John Deere 16a flail chopper. With all the farms around us, he uses that to chop up corn stalks and cover all the rows. Hopefully he can get it fixed tomorrow morning before the crew arrives. For those of you in USDA zones 2 to 4, now is the time to mulch only your first year plants. This is to prevent heaving of the roots next spring when it thaws and re-freezes. Those of you in zones 5 and up, lucky you! We can remember a few years ago we were mulching the weekend before Christmas. Once the mulching is done we can then start on inside work getting our new website to launch in early 2010. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday and if you need to burn off any extra calories, let us know and we'll put you to work outside helping us mulch. Happy gardening and by all means keep walking!

11/25/2009 - Happy Thanksgiving!
Wishing you and your family a very blessed Thanksgiving!

10/20/2009 - Peony field jottings...
Thank you again for allowing us to provide many of our returning gardeners and new gardeners our peonies. Looking back over the last few weeks has truly tested our patience with the weather conditions. We always are praying for windows to do this or that with our plants, but two measureable snowfalls during our third dig and planting is ridiculous! Yes we were planting in snow as the window for planting was closing for us. In all my/our years of growing peonies, this was a first. Thankfully the soil was still warm so the snow melted in a day, but come on...this was truly amazing. How could we go from 85 degrees during our first dig to 30 degrees and snow for the third dig? Growing peonies here in Minnesota makes me wonder how in the world those potted peonies grown in climate controlled greenhouses ever make it in the real world! Be assured that our roots have seen it all and do quite nicely in any USDA growing zone. This fall we were blessed with an amazing digging, dividing, washing and packing crew. Yes Becky, Britta and Luke were hard workers, but we want to thank our team of Kari, Rick, Dan and Danny for their untold hours of hard work. We love you guys and I hope hour customers love them as well because propagating organic peonies is not an easy task. We all take extra steps in order to provide the best roots possible for our customers. Also for other weed crew members, Hannah, Amy, Andrew, Jessie and Chase, thank you for keeping those pesky weeds away from our peonies. We have a few more peonies to line out, cut down the foliage and mulch our first year plants and then...hibernation for all! If you haven't cut down your foliage, please consider doing it now. All the plants are sleeping and yes it is time to put them to bed for the winter. Dreams of spring are popping up in my mind, but first things first. Also, if you would like to email us for additional information or changes you would like to see for our 2010 website, let us know and we will see what we can do. Happy gardening and yes keep walking!

09/14/2009 - Last minute orders
This is a friendly reminder that our online store will be closing this Friday, September 18th at 5 PM. No additional orders will be accepted for the 2009 season. We are starting to dig our Zone 5 & 6 orders this week followed by Zone 7 & 8 coastal in a couple of weeks. If you were planning on ordering this year, now is the time to do it! Happy gardening and keep walking!

09/11/2009 - Saturday, September 12th from 9 am to 5 PM
The Swenson Gardens Peony Garage Sale just increased numbers of varieties that will be available at greatly reduced prices! Keith said, 'sell all the leftovers and line-outs as I don't want to plant them!' Must be an age thing with him as he seems to be getting crankier now that he's over 50. Google or Mapquest our address at 10958 70th Street SW, Howard Lake, MN 55349 or you can call us at 763.350.2051. If you are coming from the east, sorry about the road construction in Maple Plain and Delano. What a mess so you may want to add 10 or 15 minutes more to your drive. Once you get to Delano, you can stay on County Road 30 all the way to County Road 6. Go north on 6 and just as you enter Howard Lake, take the first gravel road left/west which is 70th Street SW to our farm. A couple of must stops if coming from the east are; Peterson Produce (1 1/2 east of Delano) which features local field to table vegetables, the winery about 4 miles west of Delano, Fall Harvest Apple Orchard about 5 miles west of Delano, Sunni's a wonderful restaurant in Howard Lake and Cattail Corner in Howard Lake which has some amazing perennials in their garden center. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday, September 12th from 9 am to 5 PM.

09/07/2009 - Peony field jottings...
We are done with Zones 2 to 4 digging, dividing and shipping out on Tuesday, September 8th (see what I mean from previous post about our anniversary!) You should receive your orders by the end of the week unless you specified other shipping arrangements. We do try to accommodate special shipments, i.e. gifts, in memory of and hold to a later date, but for the most part, we like to keep our shipments at a minimum in order to provide the freshest roots. Our first annual garage peony sale last Saturday was a huge blessing to all who came out. So much so that we are having our last one of the season this Saturday, September 12th from 9 am to 5 PM. Customers who did not pick up their orders on the 5th are encouraged to contact us for alternative pick up dates or pick them up this Saturday, September 12th from 9 am to 5 PM. Also, anyone who wants to bring their 3+ year old peonies in to divide may do so this Saturday. Make sure they are washed and foliage removed. I will not be available for dividing from 9:30 to 11 am as we have a garden club that already reserved that time. Moving on to Zones 5 & 6, our digging should begin in a couple of weeks. Will inform more details as we get closer. If any of your foliage has turned brown due to the drought conditions, okay to cut them about 2 to 4 inches above ground level and dispose as noted in our Peony Care section. If your foliage is still green, okay to leave on plants until the first hard frost or remove on November 1st. For our friends in Zones 7 and 8 coastal, I would suggest to stop any watering immediately and cut off your foliage no later than October 1st. If your foliage is already brown, okay to cut off foliage now about 2 to 4 inches above ground level. Will inform more about your shipping schedule in mid October. This reminds me for all Zones, if any of your foliage is brown, cut off immediatels as described above. I know in our fields, some of the varieties already are brown due to the drought conditions. Again this is the amazing plant habitate of peonies as they know when to go dormant based on the moisture content of the soil. They will come up fine next year. You see this allot with first year plants as they use up all their stored energy faster in a low moisture year. Yes I know this is Labor Day, but we did get all the Zone 2 to 4 orders picked and packed today so Becky and I could enjoy our 19th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Happy Labor Day, happy gardening and keep walking!

09/01/2009 - Saturday, September 5th from 9 am to 5 PM
I forgot to mention in my last post that this Saturday, 9/5 from 9 am to 5 PM we will have leftover roots available for sale and pick up here in Howard Lake. Our address again is 10958 70th Street SW, Howard Lake, MN 55349. Bring your checkbook or cash as we will not be able to process via credit cards. The leftover roots are available at a discount and prices will be noted on the variety tags. No preselling or saving of roots as it is first come first serve basis. See you Saturday for some unbelieveable savings!

09/01/2009 - Let the dividing begin!
All the roots are dug and now awaiting surgery! If you get a chance to stop by on Saturday, 9/5, you will also get a chance to meet Kari who is helping me divide. She and I are very competitive when it comes to dividing peony roots as we see who can get the nicest divide with the most eyes per division. Yes we are still friends after she beat me with the first herbaceous divides yesterday. She is doing a great job and hopefully I can train her this year for dividing intersectional roots. Intersectionals are by far the most difficult peony root to divide. Sometimes it can take up to an hour to divide one root. Thankfully I was trained by Roger Anderson so he gave me a few tips over the years. Kari has been dividing for 6-years now and we are so thankful to have her with us. I was pleasantly surprised when digging the peonies to find the eyes fully developed in most of the varieties. The recent rains were a Godsend to the roots. Now to get back to surgery and get the roots divided. Happy gardening and keep walking!

08/26/2009 - Let the digging begin!
This weekend we are starting to dig for our USDA zones 2 to 4 customers. With all the rain we have had lately, we can't wait to see the size of the roots. We are so thankful for the much needed rain at just the right time during the peonies growth cycle. I still can't figure out why I get so worried about these plants as the good Lord knows what they need. Oh well, some year I will learn! IF all goes well with the weather, we should be ready for shipping on September 4th or 8th. Becky is such a trooper as our anniversary is on the 8th and every year as of late we have spent it digging, washing, dividing, packing and/or shipping roots. Don't worry, if we don't celebrate it on the 8th, I do make up for it! For our local customers who will pick up their orders on September 5th or 12th, go to Google or Mapquest and type in our address for directions. It is 10958 70th Street SW, Howard Lake, MN 55349. The time is 9 am to 5 PM. Also, we have a couple of surprises planned for those days. One, if your have peony roots that you would like divided, please bring them over and we would be honored to give you hands-on dividing lessons. Make sure your roots are washed and foliage removed. We will supply the tools. Secondly, after our dig, we usually have extra retail and wholesale/line-out roots left over. Some of these are available at greatly reduced prices, so come early in the day and pick-up some must have roots. Please do not call or email us for availability as this is a very busy time for us. We do apologize in advance for not returning phone calls and emails in a timely manner, but things will slow down in a week or so before we start back up again for our second and third dig. Again a friendly reminder for our USDA zones 7 and coastal 8's, stop watering on Labor Day to encourage dormancy with your peonies. Happy gardening and keep walking!

08/18/2009 - Let the fun begin!
Greetings friends! It has been too long since our last post. Some of our vacation was cut short due to Keith's mom who took a turn for the worst but we are very thankful she is now recovering again. Keith also spent last week recovering from a nasty virus due to the stress and lack of sleep with all his parent's stuff going on. We are hoping to get him recovered so he can start the digging and dividing process that is soon upon us. Make sure to get your last minute orders in before our deadlines. Based on your growing zones, the last day's to order are noted on our 'How to order' page. The roots should be nice and plump from our recent rains. Hope your summer has been good and all your plants are doing well. Happy gardening!

07/30/2009 - VACATION!
We will be on vacation from July 31st to August 10th with no access to voicemail and emails. Look forward to speaking with you when we return. Thanks!

07/28/2009 - Peony field jottings...
It is hard to believe that our gardening friends in Zone 2 are at the end of their bloom times. This has to be one of the latest bloom time years that I recall. For those of us in Zones 3 and 4, it is okay to snip off your spent blooms. Zones 5 to coastal 8 should have already done that (if you so choose to do so). For those of you who are awaiting your roots, you may want to ready your site location now as noted on our 'FAQ' page. We have extended our 'Moving Sale' so do take a peak at some of the varieties we have on sale. Knowing how we are all trying to cut back with this economy, we decided to offer these prices to try and help out. Happy gardening and keep walking!

07/24/2009 - Peony field jottings...
After being gone for a week and now trying to catch up with the weeds, we've been remiss in posting. Unfortunately the weeds did not go on vacation. With the much needed rain, they and the peonies are doing extremely well. The below normal temps have certainly helped the peonies with the lack of moisture. Thankfully the good Lord knows better than us when they need a drink. Other than day lilies, I do not know of any other plant that is so drought resistant once they are established. We were hoping to get the Howard Lake field caught up last night, but our two calves decided to leave the barn. Britta was out riding Daisy, her western quarter horse so they had fun cutting them back into the barn after Luke and I chased the one that ended up running a couple of miles down the road. I thought it was over but then our chocolate lab, Brownie, decided to meet a skunk for her first time. Needless to say the skunk was not the friendly type. IF you ever have a pet graced with a'de'skunk, try this formula, it really works: 1 qt hydrogin peroxide, 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 tsp Dawn liquid soap. Make sure to keep it away from your pets eyes, nose and mouth. Rinse and apply again. She is now skunk free and hopefully has learned her lesson. We also had the pleasure of removing wild parsnip from our 5 acres of wildlife habitat. If you've ever been in contact with that noxious weed, YIKES! Here in Wright County, MN, this weed is rampant. We pulled most of them out and brush hogged the rest. I hope we can stay ahead of them as they truly will take over all native grasses and flowers. Have a great weekend, happy gardening and keep walking!

07/10/2009 - On Vacation!
We will be on vacation from July 11th to July 19th. Happy gardening and keep walking!

07/06/2009 - Peony field jottings...
Trust you all had a safe and happy 4th of July weekend. We did have some fun as a family at the Delano, MN 4th of July parade. It is the oldest and longest parade in Minnesota. Thankfully the 'candy' did wonders for our 'weed crew' as this hotter than normal June and early July has really taken a toll on all of us. The extra sugar helps for awhile but then the CRASH! Both of the fields are almost in shape for a much needed vacation next week. The last blooming plants in the Delano field are...Bartzella and Julia Rose. I was in awe when they appeared on July 2nd. So for us in our growing zone, we had color from Mother's day to this past weekend. This is why we try to encourage our customers to plant early to late varieties so you can enjoy the colors longer. On the weed front, we have weeds appearing that usually appear in August. Hopefully they will all come at once so we can get caught up. This is a hard time of the year for us to stay focused on organic growing of our plants. It would be so easy to spray or use some pre-emergents, but those thoughts too shall pass as we have committed to being chemical free growers even though our labor costs are higher than normal this year. Last week we had ten people on our weed crew for the Delano field so you do the math. Very expensive but totally worth it as this truly sets us apart from the majority of peony growers out there! Happy gardening and keep walking...and hand weeding!

06/22/2009 - Peony field jottings...
We almost cried today out in the fields as last night's thunder storm almost wiped out what remaining very late blooms we had. Couple that with the 94 degree temperature outside and the bloom time is all but done for 2009. The winner of the latest blooms to open are 'Ruth Cobb' and 'Nancy Nora'. Candy Stripe is still putting up a few, but he is past his prime! With a last name of 'Swenson', our time in the field is limited when the temps go above 72 degrees. However, this last Saturday was the exception at 84 degrees. Eleven straight hours of roto-tilling did get the best of us 'men and boys'. Dad wanted to get the field done before Father's Day and by golly he did. Needless to say he spent Father's Day recovering with heat exhaustion. Must be the pale skin and balding head that heated him up! Thankfully he is doing better today and the rest of us are inside enjoying the a/c. Be careful gardeners when you are exposed to heat! Drink plenty of water and limit your mid-day activities outside. Now if I only could get my husband to do that! Oh well...it is what it is! Happy gardening and keep walking!

06/22/2009 - St Cloud Flower and Garden Club Presentation
For our gardening friends in St Cloud, MN, I hope you can attend my presentation tonight at the St Cloud Public Library at 7 PM.

06/17/2009 - Peony field jottings...
A friendly reminder for our Minnesota customers who have not ordered yet,on July 1st the sales tax will go up to 6.875%. Might mean another peony or two savings?! The Delano field has yet to show some of the very late varieties. Will let you know who that will be in a week or so. Bartzella is still going and going and going. On week three with blooms and may get another week with this rain. Did we tell you that the heavens opened up? We are so thankful! Becky, Britta and Luke had a fun morning doing a photo shoot for another magazine article coming out next spring. It is a blast to share our organic growing techniques with various publications. From a previous post about emergency watering for USDA growing zones 2 to 4, please read carefully, DO NOT WATER ANYMORE if you've had this 2 to 4 inch rain over the past 10-days. The peonies are nice and happy now! For those of you in USDA zones 5 to 8 coastal, keep doing what our peony care tips and FAQ page suggests. Happy gardening and keep walking!

06/15/2009 - Minnesota Peony Society Show Results
What a fabulous time we had at MPS peony show this past weekend. Not to brag about our kids, (however being their parents) we are so proud of them. They certainly have an eye for award winning blooms. Here are the list of their winners. Blue ribbons and Best Speciman of Section for 1-bloom; Cora Louise, Chinook and White Ivory. Blue ribbons for 1-bloom; Coral Charm, Pink Derby, Ruth Elizabeth and Constance Spry. Blue ribbons for 3-blooms; The Fawn, Chinook, Lovely Rose and Neon. Red ribbons for 1-bloom; Candy Stripe, The Fawn, Pink Derby, Lovely Rose, Nancy Nora, Cytherea, Neon, Eliza Lundy, Lemon Dream and Morning Lilac. Red ribbons for 3-blooms; Ivory Victory, Ruth Elizabeth, Eliza Lundy, Joker and Coral Supreme. White ribbons for 1-bloom; Candy Stripe, Ivory Victory, Best Man, Nancy Nora, Red Charm, Cytherea, Bartzella and Unique. White ribbon for 3-blooms; White Ivory. It was also fun to see some of our past customers winning ribbons as well. If you are not part of a peony society in your area, I would encourage you to join up. It is a blast to talk with other gardeners who also have a passion for growing and showing peonies. Happy gardening and keep walking!

06/09/2009 - Fertilizing established peonies
For those of you who have established peonies that are at lease 3-years old and did not plant them similar to our planting tips on our 'Peony Care' page, now is the time to fertilize. If you did plant peonies from us and followed our planting tips, please read this carefully, YOU DO NOT NEED TO RE-FERTILIZE YOUR PLANTS! You have enough nutrients in your site for generations. This is what I would suggest for organic fertilizers; (2) cups of 'Milorganite' OR (1) cup of bone meal. Fertilizing peonies are similar to shrubs and trees. They take in nutrients from the drip line. Based on how wide your plants are, scratch the fertilizer into the soil at the farthest point where your foliage ends. It may take awhile to leach down into the soil so be patient. This is why we are using 'Milorganite' more as the nutrients do not break down as fast as bone meal will. Since we are organic growers, I wouldn't have any idea on chemical fertilizers as we've never, nor will we ever, use those on our plants. By fertilizing now, you are catching the new growth period of your plants. Happy gardening and keep walking!

06/08/2009 - Peony field jottings...
The rains came down...thank you, thank you and more thank you's! 1 1/2 inches from Saturday to Monday morning. What a soaker! With the cooler temps, this will work marvelously! The cooler temps have also slowed down the bloom. The cut crew was out in force today and had expected to cut some 'lates' but they are not ready yet. However, our cut flower wholesaler went nuts today when they brought in 'The Fawn' and 'Candy Stripe'. Those are marvelous 'cuts' with extended vase and cooler life. I should mention that some of his favorite cuts from us are; Bartzella, Hillary, Canary Brilliants, Prairie Charm, Cora Louise and First Arrival for intersectionals and for gardens, Coral Sunset, Coral Charm, Coral Supreme, Abalone Pearl, The Mighty Mo, Red Charm and Red Grace to name a few. The hot color for our wedding designers are white, egg plant and hot pink. The cut crew has about a 7 to 10 days left in the field and then...let the weeding begin. Just a friendly reminder that we will not be having anymore field tours this year. Unfortunately you will have to wait until 2010 for any hands-on viewing. In the mean time, do check out our 'How to order' page if you are a new customer. Also, for our local customers who are picking up their orders on September 5th or September 12th, I will be giving demonstrations between 9 am and 5 PM on how to divide peonies. Bring any of your own peonies to Howard Lake and I/we would love to show you how to divide. Also, this weekend is the Minnesota Peony Society's show at the Bachman's in Bloomington. Stop by to find out more about the MPS and to view these amazing blooms. We hope to be able to show, but the way our blooms have gone this year, not sure what we will have left. Happy gardening and keep walking!

06/06/2009 - Delano peony field jottings
Thank you to all the gardeners that braved the 49 degree temperature, rain (PTL) and high NE winds today. You are the best and/or NUTS! We gardeners LOVE our peonies...right?! Seriously, I hope this field brought you some joy and admiration towards these amazing plants. It was fun to talk with you and for those of you with the warm hands...THANK YOU! It was cold but well worth it. For those of you who visited us from Chicago and Sommerset, trust you had a safe drive home. Happy gardening!

06/05/2009 - DELANO PEONY FIELD TOUR, 10 AM TO 3 PM ON SATURDAY, JUNE 6th
Okay, so who prayed for rain on our Delano peony field tour day? Last check was 90% chance between 10 am and 4 pm. COME RAIN OR SHINE, WE WILL STILL BE THERE! HOWEVER, IF SEVERE WEATHER, PLEASE USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT! This is the only day this year that we are doing a field tour so hopefully we'll still get in some dry periods so you can see the peak bloom time. Our phone numbers again are 763.350.2051 or 612.670.1373. Also, you may want to come prepared with boots and raingear IF the rain finally reaches us.

06/02/2009 - USDA Growing Zones 2, 3 and 4 Revision
USDA GROWING ZONES 2, 3 AND 4 - Thank you for your emails regarding our east central Minnesota drought. I need to clarify hand watering for those of you who choose to do that per my previous post. If you do, only hand water your 1 and 2 year old plants. If your plants are 3-years old or older, I would not suggest watering them as they are already established.

06/01/2009 - USDA Growing Zones 2, 3 and 4 Peony Updates
USDA GROWING ZONES 2, 3 AND 4 - Hang in there zones 2 and 3a! Your bloom times are soon to begin. For the rest of us, isn't this a blast! We can't wait to get in the fields to see who is showing. Yesterday 'Bartzella', 'Garden Treasure' and 'Lemon Dream' showed up as well as 'Etched Salmon'. This Saturday for our field tour should be about peak for the mid bloomers. The earlies are almost done and the mids are my favorite time of the season. Hope you too are enjoying the spectacle of color! Now, I am concerned though about our drought conditions here in east central Minnesota. You too may also be in similar conditions; however, some of you have received normal rainfall so please disregard the following sentence. Please read carefully, until we receive some normal rainfall, I WOULD CONSIDER HAND WATERING YOUR PEONIES. Normal rainfall this time of year is 1" so that equates to a 1/2 gallon per plant of hand watering. If you choose to do this, I would give each plant 1/2 gallon of water every 10 to 14 days until we have a normal rainfall or we get to August 1st. If we have to hand water to August 1st, DO NOT WATER ANYMORE AFTER AUGUST 1ST! The key for us is to make sure the soil around the roots dries out before hand watering again. IF the sub-soil remains wet around the roots, this could kill your peony so please be very, very careful if you choose to hand water! Peonies need water about four key times during their growing season; 1) when the stems first show in the spring (okay on this one as we received rainfall), 2) during the bloom times (haven't yet and this is concerning me), 3) the most critical time is 2 to 3 weeks after the last bloom is spent (don't know yet but this is when the peony is developing new eyes and expanded root growth for next year's plant) and 4) when the foliage starts to turn brown (again we don't know yet but this is when the small white feeder roots take their last sip of water in order to keep them hydrated during the long winter months). In conclusion, IF YOU'VE HAD NORMAL RAINFALL DO NOT WATER! IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD NORMAL RAINFALL YOU MAY WANT TO CAREFULLY HAND WATER YOUR PLANTS ONCE EVERY 10 TO 14 DAYS UNTIL WE RECEIVE NORMAL RAINFALL OR REACH AUGUST 1ST. If you have any addtional questions, please email us. Enjoy, walk and think...RAIN!

06/01/2009 - USDA Growing Zones 5 and 6 Peony Updates
USDA GROWING ZONES 5 AND 6 - Hello fellow gardeners! This time of the year has to be a blast for you! You must be at your peak bloom time or shortly there after. I want to caution you about now cutting off ALL of your blooms! Remember the 1/3 rule; at 3-years of age okay to cut 1/3 of the blooms (saving 2/3 of the blooms on the plants) and at 5-years of age okay to cut 2/3 of the blooms (saving 1/3 of the blooms on the plants). We want to keep your plants looking healthy and expanding in size by retaining as much of the plants foliage and stems for the continuation of the cycle of growth. It is okay to cut off the spent blooms about 2 to 3 weeks after they are done blooming. This will help to tidy up the plant and for those of you who are into landscape quality bushes, enjoy its foliage as we enter into summer. Though we do not suggest watering your plants during the summer, please note that some of your locations are or may be in a drought period this season. The rule thumb is 1 to 2 inches of rainfall/water each week up until Labor Day. Please, please do not water your peonies if they are looking healthy and are not showing signs of stress. The worst thing you can do for your peonies is to over water them and to not allow the sub soil to dry out around their roots. IF the sub soil moisture level remains damp and/or wet, this may destroy your beautiful plants. Just be careful with the watering can and hose. As long as you have normal weather patterns, I would not suggest watering them. Peonies are smarter than us and they know what to do in overly dry conditions. Have a wonderful peony season!

06/01/2009 - USDA Growing Zone 7 and Coastal 8 Peony Updates
USDA GROWING ZONES 7 AND COASTAL 8'S - I'm assuming that your blooms are nearing the end of the season. Make sure to review your growing and maintenance tips on our 'Peony Care' and 'FAQ' pages. We get many inquiries on what to do with the spent blooms. First of all, it is okay to snip off the spent blooms about 2 to 3 weeks after they are done blooming on the 2-year old or older plants. This is the start of your new eyes and root replenishment for next years blooms. Rule of thumb is 1 to 2 inches of rain/watering per week until Labor Day. Make sure that your sub-soil dries out between watering. DO NOT OVER WATER and stop watering on Labor Day as you want to force them into dormancy. We hope your 2009 bloom season was fun (and may still be fun) and looking forward to next years bloom. In the mean time, enjoy the next best part of the peonies and that is its foliage. Just a friendly reminder to PLEASE send us some pictures! We would love to share them on our website. Happy gardening!

06/01/2009 - DELANO FIELD TOUR SATURDAY JUNE 6TH
DIRECTIONS: Hitsman Lane is located about 2-miles east of Delano on the south side of highway 12. Hitsman Lane almost forms an 'L' on hwy 12 as it begins and ends on hwy 12. Once on Hitsman Lane, park on the east side of the turquose house and you will see yellow 'Swenson Gardens' signs where you can then walk about 150 yards south into the field. There are no facilities there as this truly is a growing field. We will be in the field from 10 am to 3 PM and make sure to bring your camera! If you need to call us for more specific directions, contact Becky at 763.350.2051 or Keith at 612.670.1373. See you on Saturday!

05/29/2009 - Peony field jottings...
Intersectionals are starting to show their colors. For those of you new to intersectionals, it is a continued bloom versus all at once. Since they (intersectionals) have primary and secondary buds, the primary buds are starting to bloom now and within a week or so, the secondary buds will start to bloom. The star of our field 'Bartzella', is not showing yet. Should start Sunday or Monday depending on weather. Intersectionals bloom over a 2 to 4 week period depending on conditions. With our drought conditions, it may be shorter this year. Good news...I felt a very small rain drop taking pictures tonight. We're hoping that the 40% chance of rain on Sunday PM turns into 100%! Our friends south of us in zones 5, 6 and 7 are hogging all the humidity and moisture so we're stuck in some very dry air. We've stopped all cultivating and roto-tilling as we want to maintain as much subsoil moisture as possible. Thankfully being on clay/loam soil, it does retain ground moisture better than a sandy/loam soil. Have a great evening, keep walking and happy gardening!

05/28/2009 - DELANO FIELD TOUR
The time is from 10 am to 3 PM on Saturday, June 6th. Brief directions now is 2-miles east of Delano just south of highway 12 off of Hitsman Lane. Again this is our main growing field so come prepared for the elements. (Bugs!) Will give you more specifics soon. Cut flowers are going crazy with the 80 degree temps today. The 'cut' crew went through 3 times today and they are still going at 6 PM tonight. With the drought conditions and high temps, peonies know what to do: Throw up a few blooms quickly and then recover until the much needed moisture arrives. I finally got to see 'White Emperor' in bloom which is a new intersectional/Itoh hybrid that we will offer next year. I was blown away with its fragrance, crystal clear white blooms and low statly foliage. Of course then I went to 'Centerpointe', 'Winterthur' and 'Salmon Beauty' and had to bring out my inhaler to breath again. This is so much fun and can't wait for you to see this field! I do have a beef with our USDA growing zones 6, 7 and coastal 8's friends, WHERE ARE YOUR PICTURES? Please email them to us so we can post on our 'Gallery' page. Email them to info@swensongardens.com and if you are computer savy, the pixel size is 810 wide by 375 high. Enjoy your evening, keep walking and happy gardening!

05/26/2009 - Peony field jottings...
A couple of weeks ago I posted that our Howard Lake field was so far behind our Delano field. So far behind that we were concerned that we had lost most of our plants. What our family does in any situation is pray. That night during our family prayer time we prayed that a miracle would take place with our plants. So the next day, Luke and I hand amended a few thousand plants. All I could think about was that God takes care of the lilies of the field. Would He then take care of the peonies in the field? When we got to the end of the first row we looked back and saw about 75% of the peonies 2 to 3 inches above the ground looking back at us! We finished another row and another and another and in each case the same thing happened! Joy and tears filled our hearts and mind. We just experienced the loving and powerful hand of our Creator! He knows we love our peonies and daily pray that they will be a blessing to all. We are so blessed! Speaking of blessed, the Delano field is now entering the early and early-to-mid bloom time. The standard by which all bloom times are established is now in bloom. The regal 'Red Charm' is receiving applause from his magnificant bloom and heavenly scent. Intersectionals are showing some color in their buds and 'Morning Lilac' is the winner of the first to show full color. I should have mentioned earlier that Becky, Britta and Luke are now taking orders for cut flowers. If you have a celebration, wedding, anniversary, graduations or just need a peony cut flower fix, call Becky at 763.350.2051 to order. Sorry but we do not ship cut flowers but you can make local arrangements to pick them up. Prices range from $3 to $5 per bloom depending on color. We cannot guarranty specific variety blooms. Have a wonderful time in your garden and please pray for rain! Thanks.

05/26/2009 - Another miracle...a field tour!
Mark JUNE 6th on your calendars! We are in the process of organizing a field tour...in DELANO! Yes Delano. Since we have been leasing this land, the land-owner has agreed to allow access to the field for fellow gardeners and customers. Stay tuned for additional information forthcoming in the next few days.

05/26/2009 - Miracles do happen!
Thank you for your prayers for my mom. I spent a few days with them this past weekend and was able to be there when she came home from the short term care facility. They both are doing well and are enjoying being a couple again. Thankfully her walking saved her life! In her mid-80's and walking 2 miles a day provided the strength to recover quickly. May 'walking' be part of our daily lives!

05/20/2009 - GARDEN CLUB FIELD TOURS
Keith just reminded me that any of the garden clubs who were scheduled to tour the field should call me, Becky at 763.350.2051 or email info@swensongardens.com for additional information. Thanks.

05/20/2009 - FIELD TOURS CANCELLED FOR 2009
We regret to cancel our field tours this year but we are in the midst of a family emergency. Many recent and future trips to visit Keith's parents in northern Wisconsin has left us with no choice. Though they are doing better, the follow-up caretaking is more important to us for this season of our family's life. This was unexpected but thank the good Lord they are still with us. We will try to keep posting when time is available. Thank you for your understanding and to some of you who know about this, thank you for your prayers and support. Happy gardening!

05/16/2009 - PEONY FIELD UPDATE
We had full intentions of posting our tour dates today; however, FROST is in our forecast for tonight! Not worried about our peonies as they will survive about 3 nights of 20 degree temps in the spring before any foliage and bud damage. I'm more worried about us and you as we are all anxious for this field to wake up. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Delano field is showing color on the very early varieties like 'Nova', 'milko' (species variety), 'Starlight' and 'Rose Noble'. With today's cloudy morning, I can't wait to get out there and take some more photos. Stay tuned to our 'blog' as we patiently wait for the color to begin in Howard Lake! Happy gardening!

05/10/2009 - Happy Mother's Day!
Wishing all of you moms' and grandmas' a wonderful Mother's Day! You deserve it and I am so thankful for my mom who is 83 years old. She is the most loving person I have met. I am so blessed and honored to be called her son! Thanks mom! We spent the day, after a quick trip to urgent care during church for our son who had an allergic reaction to his allergy medications, planting some dwarf 'Honey Crisp' apple trees for Becky. She was very excited for this surprise. This past winter was hard on our apple trees as we lost two of our known producers for no apparant reason. This was a welcome break for all of us as the weeding season is in full swing. A few years ago we puchased some 'Winged Weeders'. A 'V' shaped hoe that cuts in both directions. For those of you who are also organic, this is a great tool for removing weeds. We bought a bunch from our local hardward store. I would be remiss to mention how our peonies are growing. Our field in Howard Lake is just starting to show. Since this is our second full year in this field, I'm amazed at how far behind the plants are compared to our Delano field that is 22 miles east of here. Our Delano field, (that field is not open to tours) should see some color from our very early varieties in the next 7 to 10 days. Again I'm amazed to see that much of a difference being only 22 miles away. Will keep watching and WAITING for the Howard Lake field to wake up. Stay tuned for more info on the dates for our field tours in Howard Lake. Happy gardening!

05/01/2009 - HAPPY MAY DAY!
What a wonderful time of the year! Wishing you and yours a Happy May Day!

04/29/2009 - HAPPY SPRING!
Spring is finally here! With much needed rain now received, our sleeping 'eyes' are now beginning to wake up. Very early and early varieties are 4" to 8" high and late varieties are still snoring. Hopefully when the warmer temps arrive all will FINALLY get out of bed. It still amazes me every spring to see how they grow into such a glorious plant. One such early variety, 'Nova' comes out of the ground as a golf ball size bud that then transforms into its foliage and bloom. Very cool to watch! Make sure to email us some of your favorite peony pictures so we can post them on our 'Gallery' page. We will be posting the dates for our Howard Lake field tours in a few weeks (weather permitting of course). Though this field includes 2,000 1-year olds and 1,800 2-year olds, there will be some color to enjoy. We also would like to show you how we prepare our fields 3-years in advance of actual planting so we can continue to offer organic peonies. Yes it is very labor intensive; however, we love our peonies! Happy Gardening!

04/02/2009 - Swenson Gardens 2009
Welcome to Swenson Gardens! We grow extraordinary peonies in varieties you’ll never find in a garden store, and we use absolutely no chemicals. Our peonies are organically grown, robust, and downright gorgeous! Our gardens are located just outside Minneapolis, Minnesota, and our gardeners are Keith, Becky, and the kids, Britta and Luke. We take pride in growing the best peonies on the market and sharing them with you