They Named a Peony After Me. This Year, I Can’t Go Back to See It.
- Diana Pierce
- Jun 3
- 6 min read
But There’s Still Good News.
By Diana Pierce | June 3, 2026
I was already looking forward to going back.
So when Swenson Gardens announced they wouldn’t be opening their fields for Peony Days this year, I called Becky Swenson to find out why.
Before I share that story, a quick note for anyone looking for peonies this weekend: The Minnesota Peony Society Show is at Bachman’s on Lyndale, June 6 and 7. And it’s free. There’s more on that below.
Now, here’s what’s happening at Swenson Gardens.
Last year I visited Swenson Gardens in Howard Lake, Minnesota, camera in hand as always, and came home with something I didn’t expect: a peony named after me. (Read that story here.)
The variety is called “Angelic Diana,” part of Swenson’s Angelic series. Standing in the field, Becky and Keith mentioned the bloom hadn’t been named yet. My shirt happened to be almost exactly the same peachy-coral as the flower. Keith looked at it, looked at me, and said it right then: Angelic Diana. Just like that.
I was equally floored and thrilled and you can see that reaction on my face. To have something living and beautiful carry your name, because of a shirt you almost didn’t wear that day, is the kind of gift you can’t manufacture.
Why the Fields Are Quiet This Year
Diana: What was behind the decision?
Becky: First, Swenson Gardens is still very much open. Our online store, our fall shipping, local pickup in September, all of that is exactly the same. What we decided is that we wouldn’t open the fields to the public for field days. And here’s the reason: about every seven years, we do a major rotation of our fields.
Becky explained that Swenson’s rows are working farm rows, actively dug and divided to fill customer orders.
Over time, that digging creates gaps. Rows that were once dense with color become sparse and irregular. When peonies hit about five years old, it’s time to dig them up, divide them, and start fresh. Last summer, Becky and Keith started watching for the signs.
Becky: As the digging season progressed in August and September, we realized: yes, we are going to need to move a lot of fields. So we dug up peonies to fill orders, divided the rest, replanted them into new fields, and replaced the original fields with hay grass. Those fields are gone now. They’re starting over.
The hard winters played a role too. The winter of 2024–25, with its rain and lack of snow cover, was brutal on perennials across Minnesota. Becky said that season confirmed what they were already sensing: it was time.
Becky: Our protocol is that we never let a first-year plant bloom. When buds develop to about marble size, our crew goes through and snaps them all off. We call it disk budding. We want all the plant’s energy going back into the root system, not into producing a bloom. So when you have fields full of young plants doing exactly what they’re supposed to do, it just doesn’t look like the sea of color people come hoping to see.
In other words: those fields are working hard right now, even if you can’t see it.
Eight Years from Cross to Customer
If the field rotation story surprised me, what Becky said next made me pause. I asked her what most gardeners don’t realize about the time and patience behind what the Swensons do.
Becky: From cross-pollination to releasing a new peony variety to the market is about eight years. Right before we talked, I was out in the fields collecting pollen. You let it dry, then you apply it to other peonies, thousands and thousands of times.
The process is painstaking. Of the thousands of crosses made, many seeds won’t be viable. Of those that germinate, some plants won’t thrive. Of those that survive to first bloom, many won’t be exceptional. And even then, the work isn’t done. A reliable grower will let a showstopper bloom, then dig it up, divide it, and wait to see if the divisions produce an identical flower. Only a stable, consistent variety earns a place in their catalog. Meticulous records and photographs track every step.
That process applies even to varieties already generating excitement. 'Angelic Diana' is real, it’s named, and it has already found its first buyers. But Becky tells me they only have a small number of plants right now, so it will be propagated over the coming years to build enough stock for broader availability. So, it’s not available this year and possibly not even next year. Even if a variety people clearly want it, they have to wait for the plants to catch up. That’s the Swenson way.
One more note: I’m not sure I’d have a place to put it. Peonies aren’t exactly container-friendly, and my east-facing brick patio has its limits. That’s why I was looking forward to the visit.
Diana: How do you keep track of all of that?
Becky: Lots of pictures. Lots of record keeping. Very meticulous documentation. And you have to have plenty of land and plenty of stock to be able to do it.
What Peony Buyers Are Looking For
Diana: Are there colors or traits that buyers are increasingly asking for?
Becky: Stem strength is at the top of the list. People don’t want peonies that flop over, and many buyers don’t even know that’s a variable until we mention it. Color-wise, the peachy tones are what people love right now. That’s exactly what you saw when you visited and found Angelic Diana. Yellow is still popular.
Becky: Bartzella is our top seller. But I think the Radiant and Angelic series are going to start climbing. And people are also beginning to think of peonies as landscaping plants, not just blooms, something that looks beautiful even after it’s done flowering.
When the Blooms Win Ribbons
Swenson Gardens also enters their varieties in judged shows through the American Peony Society, whose annual spring meeting rotates cities across the country. Growers and hobbyists bring their best blooms for evaluation: best of show, best new seedling, best landscape plant. New varieties are registered through the APS and listed permanently in their cultivars database. (You can search “Swenson Gardens” under the Cultivars tab at the American Peony Society to see every variety they’ve ever registered.)
Two years ago, the American Peony Society Convention was held right here in the Twin Cities, in Bloomington. My friend Denese Erickson (a member of the Minnesota Peony Society and, for those of you who follow my Art in Bloom adventures at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the mentor who has guided my own arrangements there) was among the designers who took on the arrangement competition.
Keith and Becky generously offered blooms to participating designers, and among them were stems of “Roger’s Showstopper,” a stunning peony hybridized in Wisconsin by Roger Anderson. Those blooms helped Denese earn Grand Champion Design, the top honor at the convention. “It was an honor to be gifted those beautiful blooms,” she told me.
The Part That Makes Becky Sad
Becky: I love peony field days because it’s really the only time we get to meet our customers. Otherwise it’s all online. Not having a storefront has its advantages. You’re not tied to a brick-and-mortar. But you also don’t get to see your customers very often. So it makes me sad not to have peony field days, because I love it so much. But this year it was just necessary. We just didn’t want people to be disappointed.
That’s the thing about a seven-year cycle. The fields will come back. And when they do, they’ll be better than before.
Visit Swenson Gardens: swensongardens.com
Can’t See the Peony Fields? See the MN Peony Society Show Instead.
If the news that Swenson Gardens isn’t opening for field days has you craving peonies, you’re in luck. The Minnesota Peony Society is hosting its annual flower show at Bachman’s in Minneapolis on June 6–7, and it’s worth making time for.
I spoke with Mary Yee, president of the Minnesota Peony Society, to find out what to expect.
Mary: A lot of people comment on the fragrance first. It’s very concentrated in a space like that. This is a judged cut flower show, so our panel of judges awards ribbons before the public arrives, and visitors see the ribbon winners. What’s exciting is that a lot of the hybridizing work happening in peonies right now is producing colors and forms that aren’t widely available in commerce yet. This is an opportunity to see them.
Diana: What do the judges look for?
Mary: A well-formed flower. Symmetrical, petals in good condition, fully open, true to the form of its variety.
One thing that surprises people: if you come Sunday afternoon near the end of the show and see a stunning bloom with no ribbon, it’s usually because it wasn’t fully open when the judges came through the day before.
Diana: What are you most excited about personally?
Mary: It’s social as much as anything. People drive from Wisconsin, Iowa, even Ohio. Somebody is always growing something new. And you always see a really fine specimen of something you’ve struggled to grow yourself. That never gets old.
For a great flower fix, join me at the show and smell the blooms!
Diana
© 2026 Diana Pierce
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