Regal, medicinal, & flirtatious - the commanding yet bashful "Queen of the Garden" is a personal favorite of Green Hen Farm. Proudly, many of our peonies have been passed down through generations of family farming.

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Revered by the Chinese for centuries, & considered aristocratic, the peony sat at the top of the hierarchy of flowers. They were often featured alongside magnificent peacocks or grand phoenixes in paintings.  Dually prized for it's medicinal purposes - the dried roots of peonies have been used in Chinese medicine for over a millennium.

To the west the flower was said to be named after the Greek physician to the gods, Paeon. However, there is a different Greek story that has been credited with the name for the flower - where a flirtatious nymph named Paeonia blushed with embarrassment when Aphrodite caught her trying to win the affection of Apollo. And it was with this in mind that the Victorians later associated the flower with bashfulness.

A delightfully refreshing and long awaited, start to the flowering season, the peony takes the front seat in our May garden. Our Sandra Bernhardt and Kansas verities are faithful, decades old plants on our farm. This year we are excited to welcome our newest coral beauties to the team for the 2025 season!