A private tour of Brian Baker Peonies located in Stephentown is slated for Sunday, June 20, at noon as part of Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s sixth annual Hidden Gardens celebrating the art of the garden.
Visitors will have a unique opportunity to tour the peony fields and enjoy first hand an anecdotal and informative presentation by grower Brian Baker, supplier of specialty cut flowers to retailers worldwide.
Baker’s fields contain over 60 varieties ranging from unusual heirlooms to intersectional, or Itoh peonies – a cross between an herbaceous and tree peony. Many flowering specimens have been preserved in coolers to offset the result of this year’s unusually early flowering season.
“The peony crop was at its peak 8 to 9 days early this year,” said grower Brian Baker. “We have done our best to make sure that there are still plenty of cut peonies to enjoy.”
Brain Baker Peonies is located at 386 Route 43, Stephentown. Tickets for the Peony Tour are $15. Hidden Gardens, an annual gateway to summer in Columbia County, features a lineup of garden activities and events. To see a complete schedule of Hidden Garden programs, or to purchase tickets for the Peony Tour and other Hidden Garden events, visit the web site at www.spencertownacademy.org, or call Spencertown Academy at 518-392-3693.