‘The highlight of my spring’: Peonies popping in St. James neighbourhood

A row of popping peonies has been attracting admirers to a Winnipeg home to see them in bloom. Joseph Bernacki has more.

Michelle Finley has lived on Albany Street, in St. James, for 30 years and every spring, her front yard has been full of Sarah Bernhardt peonies.

“Everybody get ready, the peony parade is coming,” she said with a smile. “I’m just really proud to be their custodian and they’re just the highlight of my spring every year.”

What Finley did not know was just how old these peonies were, but a few years ago she got a knock at her door with an answer.

A man with his grandchildren asked to show them the home where he grew up. He told her the backstory of the beautiful flowers.

“He let me know that his mom had planted these in the early 1950s,” Finley said. “They’re (the flowers) somewhere in their 70s now. They’re senior citizen peonies.”

At St. Mary’s Nursery & Garden Centre, co-owner and president Carla Hrycyna sells a variety of peony plants each growing season.

Hrycyna said peonies have a hardy rooting system that makes them ideal to grow in Manitoba.

“They have the ability to adapt to different conditions, whether it’s sandy or in heavier clay soils, they have that strength in them and hence, workhorse,” Hrycyna said.

She said peonies were originally brought to Canada from Europe centuries ago and it’s not unusual to see them grow back each year. If properly taken care of, the flowers can thrive for decades.

“It’s heartwarming because you can see that it dates back a long period,” Hrycyna said. “We saw it in farmsteads, and it brings back memories of me with my grandma having peonies on her farm.”

Peonies come in all different colours and Finley said her pink ones are the talk of the town.

“I can see in the morning people walking to the bus, and they’ll stop and pause and smell the flowers, which is wonderful. That’s what they’re here for,” Finley said.

“I’ve posted about these in the Winnipeg Gardeners Facebook group, and I’ve actually made some really great friends that stop by every year.”