---

The National Peony Society has agreed to add the Taylors Falls Cherry Hill Peony Gardens to its official list of “reference gardens.”  There is only one other public space in Minnesota that has earned this distinction, and it’s in the southwest corner of the metro suburbs at the Landscape Arboretum.

Submitting the Taylors Falls application for designation was a longshot, remarked garden coordinator and keeper Pastor Kevin Schumann. But, he had momentum on his side. as a peony advocate Pastor Schumann has seen things  coming together in recent months and he couldn’t be more pleased.  Taylors Falls is one of just 13 reference garden spaces in the U.S. he noted.  Now there are benefits like inclusion on listings of locations such as this, there are donation possibilities and access to additional financial support.

Cherry Hill Park had a local spotlight put on it when the Chisago Lakes Community Foundation awarded grant funds  for its continued care and improvements as part of this fall’s foundation funding cycle.  

The park has a number of volunteers and four months ago, in June,  the inaugural peony patch public picnic was co-sponsored with the Lions, officially welcoming the community to appreciate the gardens.

The Peony Society sets conditions that Cherry Hill had to meet to qualify as a reference garden; including containing at least 80 cultivars of  peonies,  and the plantings need to have individual information posted for the public to learn from.  

The society was established in 1903.  See the website for details on membership to support its work preserving and promoting this Minnesota hardy bloom.

---