In rural Eastern Oregon lies a small 10 acre plot of land established by our earliest ancestors who settled it so many years ago. This plot of land has seen cattle, cherry orchards, prune trees, a brief stint of asparagus, alfalfa hay, and most importantly Peony flowers.
This beautiful perennial flower has graced its presence on our families land for over 100 years in 5 stunning shades.
I've never not farmed Peonies. Every spring they have been a staple in my life, a constant. Starting in March, they start to poke their little maroon heads out of the ground and make their once yearly debut. We dust them with fertilizer early on and often to feed them and jumpstart their long growing journey. Throughout April we watch the weather and fertilize as needed. Many a night have been spent filling smudge pots and sporting fire torches for bonfires in order to keep the delicate new buds from freezing. After surviving the cold spells we switch gears to prepping the plant to deliver the best bloom possible. A peony plant can produce upwards of 30 blooms on a single bush of we let it, but we are in the business of quality and engineer the plant to give the most attention and energy to the main bloom on a stem. We do this by a process we simply call "budding." We remove the side bud from the proven dominate would be bloom. After the budding process we simply let the plants grow. Peonies thrive in warm temperatures, direct sunlight, and only moderate water. Around mid-May we will see ping pong ball sized buds covered by a strong husk. Peonies are so dependent on the weather to get their buds to swell and if the weather is right, the process can happen in the blink of an eye. Once the husk breaks and we can see color, we generally harvest the bloom.
Cutting nearly ten thousand plus blooms annually (yeah, thats 1,000 dozen) can be back breaking work. We have only 3-4 people (only family!) harvest these blooms and again, weather depending can be an all day marathon, or a sprint at any given time of day. This is where trust and dependence on family, past experiences, knowledge of the plant itself, and good guessing of the weather all play a MAJOR role of a successful peony harvest.
Once the blooms are cut, we sort them by color and bunch them by the dozen. This makes it easier to count and fill orders, considering we sell by the dozen. Cut, sorted, bunched and now stored in our cold storage, these flowers now await their new home to be enjoyed.
Memorial Day weekend is our Super Bowl. My grandmother's vision and intention for our peonies was that they are to be enjoyed and celebrated in remembrance of the family members, friends, and service people who have gone before us. It is a large, aromatic flower with dozens of petals that she believed decorated ones gravesite with such beauty and honor.
My Dad, Uncle and I like to joke that we had a "flower club list" before "wine club lists" even existed. We have a running list of customers who have purchased consecutively from Didion's Peony Garden, some going back 40+ years! These are the orders that we try and guarantee will be filled every year. These are the customers who have brought our business to where it is. Loyal customers really are what makes a business go round.
My most recent venture through Didion's Peony Garden is providing florals for events. I have had the pleasure of decorating for graduation parties, baby and bridal showers, wine tasting rooms, and have even began (with the help of my mama and some extremely talented friends) assembling wedding bouquets and table arrangements. Weddings have become my new creative outlet. I have always had an eye for detail and possibility when it comes to peonies and how they operate. I believe peonies are the absolute best choice for a statement piece at a wedding. They are strong on the nose and the stem, are bold and eye catching, yet delicate and intricate in petal structure. As far as symbolic meaning, the peony is perfect for this type of celebration, representing romance, prosperity, good fortune, compassion and a happy marriage.
When I think about what defines my family, what we are known for, what we will be remembered for, I think of Peonies. Peonies have the ability to stand the test of time. They are a shallow buried root that can come back year after year (we have some roots in our patch that are over 30 years old!), but can be severely damaged by just 1 hour of a freezing temperatures in a late spring frost. The juxtaposition of longevity of overall underground life versus the ability of cold temps to shorten its above ground life is something that boggles my mind every year. I think it says a lot about our family, anyones family, and how we operate as a unit. We have a strong base, will stand up for one another and will do everything we can for each other to thrive.
It is A LOT of time consuming work for weeks on end. Activities missed, lost hours of sleep, unhealthy meals, no exercise and a lot of time with family (the latter not really a con). It becomes so worth it seeing the look on ones face when they see our flowers. The late nights, early mornings, bee stings, sunburns and sore back muscles are worth it. These flowers give people hope and optimism. Remembrance and honor. Love and opportunity. I feel so fulfilled by honoring my families legacy. I hope and pray that can keep this tradition going for as long as possible.
I loved reading this post! Interesting and touching.
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