Each spring brings surprises to Henry Chotkowski’s peony farm on the outskirts of Fayetteville, when the three-acre plot of land transforms from bare earth into a sea of green leaves and bright blooms. “No two years are the same,” says Chotkowski, as weather conditions leading up to bloom time influence when the plants, which grow each year from root stock, will appear and how many blooms they’ll sport. “Some years, a plant that seldom blooms will surprise me with a big show, and one that blooms often will be more spare,” he adds. “It keeps things interesting around here, waiting to see what happens each season.”

The fact that the plants have endured through time, changing and adapting to a variety of climates, is part of the intrigue that drew Chotkowski to his profession. “What hooked me is knowing their history,” he says. “The roots are living tissue that connect all the way back to the original plant—I have a French peony that was hybridized in 1824 and a piece of that plant has endured nearly two centuries and made its way to my farm in Northwest Arkansas.” Much like the plants he now cultivates, Chotkowski followed a similar circuitous path to make his way to the Fayetteville farm he calls home.

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