Another sister trip – this time to Linwood Gardens in Pavilion, New York to see the Tree Peony Festival of Flowers. We love going here, nice drive into the countryside, and you just feel calmed wandering around, seeing the gardens, and looking out over the vista. The Festival is open only when the tree peonies are in bloom, usually mid-May.
Linwood was built between 1901 and 1910 as the country home of William Henry Gratwick II from Buffalo. The original garden areas and portions of the Summer House were designed by architect Thomas Fox. William H. Gratwick III (W.G.) moved to Linwood in 1933 and started the Rare Plants Nursery. W.G. was an artist, a landscape architect, and a horticulturist, and much of the sculpture and new garden areas were his contributions.
W.G. worked for Dr. Arthur Saunders, the first significant breeder of peonies and tree peonies in America and who taught chemistry at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. Dr. Saunders made the cross between the rare yellow peony (Paeonia lutea) and the strong-stemmed Japanese varieties and obtained 70 new beautiful and vigorous hybrids. He was also responsible for 17,000 new cultivars of various types including these 70 tree peonies and 300 herbaceous peonies. Upon his death, his tree peonies passed to William Gratwick who continued his breeding work with a friend, Nassos Daphnis, at Linwood Gardens.
Tree peonies are known as the “King of Flowers,” held sacred in the ancient monasteries of Asia and grown as an exclusive treasure of the Imperial Palaces. In the 8th century, moutan (the Chinese tree peony) was brought to Japan by Buddhist monks. There it was improved with clearer coloring, elegant and more delicate flowers. The tree peony eventually appeared in England and America in the 19th century.
As compared to the herbaceous peony that many of us know and love, the tree peony develops rough-barked, woody stems that continue to grow until a shrub about four to six feet tall and wide is formed. It does not die back to the ground in winter. Additionally, the tree peony blooms about two weeks earlier with generally larger blooms. They are hardy in our area and long-lived, growing best in rich, well-drained soil and protection from strong afternoon sun.
There were so many beautiful tree peonies at Linwood Gardens and I’ve put more pictures of them and the grounds in a slideshow.
Does this inspire you to visit Linwood Gardens next year, or maybe find a spot for a tree peony in your own gardens?
