The peony drops for Elonor

WHAT do you do when you have a piece of land in Osgathorpe? Grow peonies on it, that’s what!

That’s the decision made by Breedon-on-theHill’s very own peony farmer: Elonor Tivey

Growing peonies is a long game and it takes three years from planting the flower crowns to being able to cut them for commercial sale

Throw Covid into the mix and for Elonor it has taken longer still – but she is now the proud custodian of thousands of stunning British grown blooms which she sends out to florists all over the country

So why peonies?

“I got bitten by the gardening bug in my 20s,” explained Elonor “I did the RHS Principles of Horticulture as an adult learner

“My partner and I wanted to be growers We tried to think of something we could do that we could sell We started looking at flowers – we thought about aliums I was walking around my garden one morning Some of my aliums had come up There was a red peony in the front garden – everybody loves peonies!”

The “peony” having dropped – as Elonor ’s friend put it! – in 2017 she planted just under 5,000 crowns and did her first commercial cut in 2021

Today the farm has 7,500 peonies in four colours: red, coral, white and pink, along with hundreds of newsletter subscribers and a cool 4,200 followers on Instagram She has also won a monthly spot at the prestigious Chiswick Flower Market in London

A big part of the appeal, Elonor feels, is growing awareness of sustainability and the importance of British-grown, not just for food but for flowers too

It’s something that our new monarch, King Charles III, is also passionate about, having re- quested British-grown flowers at his coronation

“People are starting to understand all this stuff they get in the supermarket is not very good ethically or for their carbon footprint,” said Elonor “Supermarkets are working with companies in Israel, Ecuador and Africa – the majority are not grown very ethically The carbon footprint of your average bunch in a supermarket is quite eye-watering ”

The Peony Farmer is now in full swing and Elonor has moved from full-time teaching to winter supply work to do it – spending three hours a day in peony season cutting thousands of stems by hand with secateurs

The tight buds are then refrigerated before being packed off in boxes of 50 to florists

As many gardeners know, peonies can be somewhat temperamental however How does she keep them happy?

Elonor ’s expert advice is to plant peony crowns “quite shallow” – with about an inch to an inch and a half of soil above them

They also need “at least six hours of sun a day”, she said, and must have good, well-drained soil:

“What will kill them is wet feet ”

But when peonies have the conditions they like, as a commercial enterprise they are extremely viable – coming back each year with the potential for sticking around for up to a century!

For Elonor, she couldn’t be happier with her change in career, and she’s proud to be doing her bit to champion British-grown

“People want sustainable, they want local,” she said “We’re trying to get people to understand that in Britain we can grow our own flowers, quite beautifully But you can’t have roses in January – and you can’t have a bunch of British roses for Valentine’s Day either People need to be more aware of what is in season ”