Whitehall House & Gardens is pleased to announce that it will host its 6th annual Peony Festival on Thursday, May 14, 2009 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. at historic Whitehall, 3110 Lexington Road.  The public is invited to tour Whitehall’s grounds and enjoy its extensive collection of over 50 varieties of peonies, one of springtime’s most loved flowers.  The alluringly fragrant blooms and lush foliage of the peony create an enchanting effect in the garden, and as a cut flower, there is simply no equal!  This event is free and open to the public. 

A number of peonies will be offered for sale, including old-fashioned varieties and those grown at the notable Klehm’s Song Sparrow Farm in rural Avalon, Wisconsin.  Also available at this year’s sale will be a limited number of the gorgeous tree peony, as well as an assortment of perennial plants.  Whitehall’s team of expert gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions about the many featured varieties and how to best care for the peony.  For more information, please contact Whitehall at (502) 897-2944 or email at whitehall@historichomes.org. 

Proceeds from peony sales benefit Whitehall House & Gardens, a historic house owned and operated by the not-for-profit Historic Homes Foundation.  Whitehall epitomizes the stately beauty of early twentieth-century architecture.  Originally built in 1855 as an eight-room farmhouse, the mansion was transformed in 1909 into the iconic Classical style mansion we know today as Whitehall House & Gardens.  At just under ten acres, the grounds feature an array of unique and beautiful gardens, making Whitehall truly the place where “history grows.”