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Reinhardt Peony Garden debuts new Bed G as early blooms arrive
Summary
Volunteer Stephen Hessler unveiled a new planting area, Bed G, at the Howard and Chinwan Reinhardt Peony Garden and described the garden's collection, early bloom timing and a recent theft reported to police.
Stephen Hessler, retired piano professor at the U and a volunteer committee member for the Howard and Chinwan Reinhardt Peony Garden, led a narrated tour highlighting a newly installed planting called Bed G and the garden's blooming collection.
Hessler said Bed G contains 21 new peonies and framed the amphitheater to balance blooms across the site. “Here is bed G,” he said during the tour, noting the garden now fills the musical sequence the volunteers had used to label beds A through G.
The new bed opened into a larger collection Hessler described as having 252 plant spaces. He said the garden includes 18 Ito hybrids, 17 tree peonies and about eight species (wild) peonies. He told visitors this season’s blooms arrived about nine days earlier than typical, with an early bud burst on May 5 in several specimens. “You can come and see this new garden taking shape, already growing fantastically from being planted just a few weeks ago,” Hessler said.
Hessler walked listeners through the garden’s four major types — herbaceous, tree, species (wild) and Ito — and explained visible differences such as woody stems and pointy buds on tree peonies versus rounded buds on herbaceous types. He discussed form names such as single, semi-double and full double and pointed out named plants in the beds, including varieties labeled Ezra Pound, Hephaestus, Promenade, and Bartzella.
The tour also touched on a problem the garden has faced: repeated cutting or removal of blossoms. Hessler said the garden has identified a frequent taker and has shared information with police. “We’ve identified the person, but we’ve never seen her in the act. So we’ve shared that with the police to keep an eye out,” he said.
Hessler encouraged repeated visits through the peak season, noting that different varieties open on staggered schedules and suggesting visitors return every few days to catch different blooms. He said garden labels match the soon-to-be-updated 2025 directory that the garden posts on Facebook under Reinhardt Peony Garden. “You are welcome to come. Please come every few days, till July 4 at least,” Hessler said.
Details Hessler provided about plant counts, types and specific named varieties were given as part of the guided tour. The presentation mixed botanical notes (bloom forms, stem and bud morphology) with practical visitor guidance about when and where blooms will be visible.
