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Left to right, Patrick Cole, Kyong Hollen and Nicole Levin take a look at Cole’s floral arrangement. Hollen, who was teaching the Certified American Grown Floral Workshop, showed Cole and Levin how to emphasize a round shape. The two work with Lazy Mountain Acres in Palmer. Kyrie Long/News-Miner It might not be obvious in the frigid winter months, but Alaska is the perfect state for growing peonies. The voluminous, ruffled flower blooms in the state in late June, early July according to Ron Illingworth, co-owner of North Pole Peonies. “They don’t bloom any place else in the world at that time. So we’ve got an opportunity that doesn’t exist elsewhere,” Illingworth said. That opportunity centers around peonies as a staple in the wedding industry. David Russell, president of the Alaska Peony Growers Association, addresses his audience of peony farmers and enthusiasts in the Westmark Gold Room. Kyrie Long/News-Miner “The peonies are one of the most popular flowers. They’re particularly popular for weddings. Most weddings in the United States happen in July,” Illingworth said, noting some of Wedding season carries into August. In Alaska’s case, according to Illingworth, it’s the only place you can get peonies for that time frame. The Alaska Peony Growers Association, an organization of commercial peony growers, holds its winter conference annually in the state, in Anchorage, Fairbanks or Homer depending on the year. This year’s conference brought peony growers from across the state to the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Conference Center for a few days of discussing flowers, pest control, marketing strategies and experiments in the peony farming industry. Alaska Peony Growers Association President David Russell addressed a room of farmers at the Friday start of the conference, some novices and some experienced, to briefly talk about the growth of the industry. Deborah Champion, with Champion Peonies out of Wasilla, works on a floral arrangement during the Alaska Peony Growers Association Winter Conference. It was her third conference and she hadn’t done a formal floral arrangement before. “The other thing that I’m really excited about today is—as I was kind of walking in and looking […]

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