What if you could walk through acres of blooming peonies and cut your own bouquet to take home? In this episode, Joanne welcomes Valérie Chort of Fleur de Roy to share the story behind Southern Ontario's largest pick-your-own peony farm and its short but spectacular bloom season.

Tickets are now available to Pick Your Own Peony Flowers from June 1st to 8th, 2026.

In this episode:

• How did a conservation property become a pick-your-own peony farm? Valérie shares the story behind Fleur de Roy, a Southern Ontario peony farm located on a 150-acre property near Lake St. Clair, where conservation, family, and a love of flowers came together in a surprising way.
• What does it take to grow thousands of peonies for one short, spectacular season? Joanne and Valérie discuss the patience, planning, timing, and care behind growing peonies, including why these plants take years to establish and why the bloom window is so weather-dependent.
• Why is Fleur de Roy's Peony Bloom Festival becoming a must-visit local experience? Valérie explains how the farm has shifted from wholesale flower production to welcoming visitors for a pick-your-own peony experience, with confirmed 2025 opening dates from June 1 to June 8, with the possibility of extending on either side depending on the bloom season.

Visit them online at www.fleurderoy.com or on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

Tickets are now available. Purchase them here.

Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss?

Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca

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Down the Garden Path Podcast

On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low-maintenance as possible.

In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon.

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