Fragrance is a quality in peonies just like color, form and height. Whether or not a peony has fragrance and whether or not it’s a pleasant fragrance is determined by it’s parent plants.

Many of the old fashioned (lactiflora) peonies that were bred in China and Europe centuries ago have excellent fragrance that will instantly bring you back to grandma’s garden.

A past article from the American peony society that I came across this past week said it very well.

It is a good idea to cut back and clean up peony debris in the fall.

Doing so helps to prevent and spread any fungal diseases that may have settled in over the spring and summer. But now is not quite the time. We aren’t quite there yet.

It’s true, life for us slows down quite a bit now that the peony bloom season is over. In fact, I actually took a nap on Sunday afternoon after we closed. Peony season is hard work!

But even though the flowers are done blooming and our farm shop is only open Saturdays there’s still quite a bit to do on the farm.

Here’s a few tasks that continue through the summer and into fall.