Blooming Beauties
Peony season is in full swing at Hollingsworth Nursery
Reprinted from the St. Joseph News-Press
May 23, 2002
Article by Robyn L Davis, Photography by Josh Biggs
http://www.stjoenews-press.com/
Maryville, Mo.- Visitors to Don and Lavon Hollingsworth's peony nursery outside Maryville seek something different for their gardens. Don Hollingsworth, too, wanted something different when he turned to peonies. Too many other gardeners were breeding day lilies and other flowering plants. Fascinated with biology since high school, he studied agriculture at the University of Missouri and pursued various careers in that field and then in finance before retiring to his longtime hobby: peonies.
"Peonies are slow and not many people work with them for that reason," Mr. Hollingsworth says. "It takes quite a few years to make the seed grow, and it may be another six years before it's available to the public."
The Hollingsworths have pursued this hobby-turned-business since they married in 1993. The farm that is their home belonged to Mr. Hollingsworth's first wife, and he wanted to continue to live there and raise peonies.
The Hollingsworths grow about 500 varieties of peonies in the 4-acre garden, a bright patch of blooming, exuberant flowers among fields of 6-inch high corn plants on rolling hills. He has bred and named about a dozen varieties of peonies, concentrating on bright colors, especially a yellow peony. Still, at $125 per plant, the Garden Treasure yellow peony is his most popular selling item. Hollingsworth Nursery sold about 400 of them last year.
That's where Lavon comes in. Chief customer service agent and general helper, both the Hollingsworths are deep into the business.
"I knew I was going to help him with peonies," says Lavon Hollingsworth, while zooming around in a golf cart with her dog, Duke, at her side. "But I didn't know it was going to be like this."
The acres of peonies, arranged in neat, bright rows bursting with color now, need constant care and attention. Then comes the work of taking care of customers. The Hollingsworths dig up peony roots and begin shipping them in September, which is the ideal planting time for peonies.
Both also manage the flock of 100 or more guineas that lives at the farm and regularly makes nests in the peony bushes. Duke likes to eat the eggs, and Mr. Hollingsworth coaxes them from the dog's mouth and restores them to their proper nests. A small group of college students helps the farm through the summer, earning a little extra cash and a tan while helping propagate the peonies.
Visitors come to see and buy steadily this time of year.
"I didn't know about this place until a week ago," says Alma Iwen of Omaha, Neb., who visited the farm Monday with her sister who lives in Maryville. "When I decided to get some peonies, I thought I'd better get them some place like this, so I'd get good stock."
Visitors also have the advantage of seeing the flowers in full bloom to decide which ones they like best. The colors range from deep magenta to palest pink, lavender and white, with burgundy and coral colors rounding out the brighter shades. Most customers these days are hunting for the double-blooming variety, Mr. Hollingsworth says, as the flowers are full and the center isn't visible. Those are the peonies that weigh bushes down and nearly drag the ground. The more traditional varieties, with bright yellow centers clearly visible, still appeal to some who don't mind a sparser; cleaner look.
Peonies originated with the Chinese, who used the flowers both as an ornamental and as an herbal remedy. In the early 19th century, the flowers caught on in Europe as a way to fill tall vases with rich flowers.
The flowers came to the United States for the same reason, and quickly became popular with florists, as they would last a long time and could be shipped, Mr. Hollingsworth says. But after World War II, they dropped off in favor of more exotic flowers that could be flown in from around the world.
"After a generation or two of florists passed on and the world-wide stuff became normal, peonies became popular again," Mr. Hollingsworth says.
Peony season can begin as early as late April, depending on the varieties, and typically ends the first week of June. That's prime time for the Hollingsworth Nursery, which finds itself nearly too busy during those colorful weeks.
In winter, Mr. Hollingsworth contemplates what he wishes he could create, but says he is probably done creating new types of peonies. He'll leave that to the next generation of peony breeders.
"Whatever is not out there, somebody is wishing they could get to," he says. "Lay breeders are not worried too much about the attributes of the plant. They look at the color of the plant, the shape of the flower and if it's different than other things. Then he figures he's got something."
Reprinted from the St. Joseph News-Press, May 23, 2002
Article by Robyn L Davis, Photography by Josh Biggs
http://www.stjoenews-press.com/
