peonies are coming
- Current happenings
- newsletter
- April 30, 2023
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Gonna be honest here, [insert your name here to make it sound like I’m holding a conversation with you personally], I wrote this email on Friday because – dun dun dun – I’m taking Saturday off.
The rainiest weekend to take off, but whatever.
To celebrate that, today’s email will be short. Ish.

So exciting to see the peonies coloring up.
Most of our peonies were planted by Rachel Webster back in the late 1920s (including the one pictured below). So if you’re wondering if a peony plant is a good investment, it is: people 100 years from now could be enjoying flowers from the bush you planted! Technically they want full sun and good soil but I’ve got one growing in full shade and crappy nothing-else-will-grow-here soil, and it still gives me blooms every year.
We do have some “new” peony plants that Ruth planted only like 20 years ago that we also cut from.
I’m planning on taking a trip to Styer’s Peony Farm’s Festival next month because 1) peonies are pretty and 2) 25 acres of peonies in bloom? Swoon. Plus, 3) I can claim it as “research” for what additional varieties we should grow here.
(We do have peony plants available for sale if you want your own. Pink, red, coral, and some mystery colors because remember, putting labels on things so you’ll know what they are in the future is bad thing. I mean, ew, knowledge. Yes, there are varietal names, not just pink and red. No, I do not know what the fancy names are. Matt told me and I promptly forgot)

And good news: no parsley in the shares this week!
I know, I know, you’ve had it 5 weeks in a row (but it feels like 359), and it’s the sixth week that’s the charm.
But despite our best efforts, the parsley decided gosh darn it, it was going to flower and there ain’t nuthin’ we can do about it. So there.
So no parsley this week.

A quick note from Ruth:
Some seasonal inspiration:

Happy Eating!
Elizabeth
This is one of the weekly newsletters that is emailed out every Saturday night (no more, no less). If you liked the information make sure you sign up so you can get Elizabeth’s (sometimes snarky) writings delivered right to your inbox. You can read it on the website – obviously – but a copy of the newsletter isn’t posted to the website until several weeks later.
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About Highland Orchards
Completely surrounded by suburbia, our small farm has been growing beyond expectations since 1832, just north of Wilmington, Delaware.
Growing a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, Highland Orchards provides true “farm fresh” for the community all year. If you want to shake the hand of the farmer who grows for you, here is the farm! With plants in the ground or under cover in tunnels, we grow for every season. A family farm, we have three different generations involved in running the farm right now.
Come see us to eat fresh, eat local, and eat well!