[inquisitive piano and gentle brass]
[shimmery music]
[upbeat music]
- Angela Fitzgerald: In rural Shawano County,
family farms still dot the landscape.
- Lee Mielke: You always got the weeds starting off.
- Angela: But on this farmstead,
a unique crop has taken root.
- You hear a lot of stories that people retiring
from dairy farming, they didn't have nothing to do.
- Angela: In retirement. Lee Mielke has plenty to do.
Working the soil at one of Wisconsin's
most picturesque flower fields.
[upbeat music]
- After farming, he wanted to pursue, you know,
his dream of just being able to have peonies.
Lee had started planting the peonies as a hobby.
- Sue Mielke is Lee's sister and business partner.
- Sue: He had enough peonies
that people would come out here just to visit.
- Lee Mielke: The first years, the local yokels,
they'd come up and drive up on the yard,
and they'd turn around.
- Sue Mielke: About the time he had the second or third garden,
I said, "Lee, you really need to do something
"about these peonies.
"We either need to start selling them as cut flowers
or wholesaling them or something."
[upbeat music]
- Angela: That hobby did turn into something.
- We have about 150 varieties of different peonies here,
and we have about 2,000 plants.
On a scale of a grower is probably small,
but we're happy with that.
You take a tour around the garden.
- Visitor: Okay, thank you.
- Thank you, thank you so much for stopping.
They all are just in awe of what they see.
So, it's a lot of fun.
- Angela: It all started with just one peony
and a chance encounter.
- I was visiting my sister and she had a Red Charm peony.
They were big flowers and I said, "Oh, my peonies."
[upbeat music]
- Angela: That simple phrase, "Oh, my peonies"
launched a Christmas tradition.
- Sue: Every year we would ask him,
"What do you want for Christmas?"
And he would tell us "A peony gift certificate."
- Lee: That was the easiest part for me.
[upbeat music]
- Angela: Every year since then, Christmas arrives in June.
It shows up in full bloom with a pop of color.
[cheerful whistling music]
- This is Wisconsin Cream.
It's often difficult to get.
This is Morning Lilac.
It's always been my favorite.
It's more of a purple color.
Wisconsin's a great state for growing peonies.
- Angela: Through the years, Lee learned something
from dairy farming that translates to his peony patch.
- Lee: So, you find out mother nature's the boss.
She'll give you rain at the right time.
Don't worry about it.
It'll come through.
It's the gamble you gotta take.
- Angela: And it's paying off.
The price tag can be eye-popping for some of these peonies.
- Sue: This is Bartzella.
When it was first introduced into the market,
I believe ran for about a thousand dollars.
- Lee: Mystic Pink, it's a beautiful peony, $350.
But there's only eight of them in the world.
I've never seen a pink color in a peony like that.
It just stands out.
I suppose it ain't any different than cows.
Some cows will give you more money.
Some peonies'll give you more.
[upbeat music]
- Angela: At the end of the day,
it's a sentimental journey for these siblings.
- I appreciate the beauty of this place a little bit more.
I think when you're growing up,
and this was our home farm,
you don't take a real strong appreciation in that.
[upbeat music]
- Success is just waking up every morning.
You got the world by the tail.
You look at the peonies or find out something to do.
That's the name of the game of success.
[upbeat music]
[shimmery music]
[inspirational vocalizing]