Chateau CharMarron Peony Gardens

Our new Sunday morning ritual is to try a new place. Today we decided to visit the gardens to see the peonies.
The drive was slow but beautiful. The views were breath taking.
The flowers were not all abloom and we came to know that May is better than April, but it was a feast from eyes and soul. The lady who owns the nursery, Marcia, was very helpful and answered all our questions. Hope to go in May again.

Let’s start with the drive up to this beautiful farm. TAKE CALAVERAS instead of Sierra road. It’s a nice drive for those who loves curvy roads with a lot of blind spots. I didn’t mind it, but my mom was not very thrilled about the ride up.
The farm is a little hard to find but the bright yellow signs definitely made it easier to find. We came to the farm today before they were officially open to buy some tree and bush plants for my mom.
Do your homework before you get there! Make a list of plants BY NAMES and not colors. There’s so many variations and options you’ll be overwhelmed by how many plants are available to you. JUST DO YOUR HOMEWORK, write down the names you like/​want. And bring it with you.
Marsha, the owner, was such a delightful woman! We didn’t have an appointment, but she was still helpful and gave us a lot of advice on growing our plants. She spent a good amount of time really helping us pick out plants and giving us detailed information in growing them successfully.
Overall, we came before bloom time and we will definitely be back when the season opens so we can pick out more plants! Thank you Marsha! My mom is excited about her plants!

I just bought bulbs through the website for this place. I was a bit nervous initially to send them a personal check to the owner. However, I got a prompt response from my email and very good service from them. I am writing this review to confirm this. I got a tracking # and got my bulbs within a few days. The reason I wanted to buy from this place is the bulbs are so amazing. They have 200 varieties to choose from. The ones they grow are heirloom varieties, gold metal winners and exotic ones from China. I bought 7. I looked at plenty of websites before I got enamored with this one. The bulbs on other sites go from $ 15-​$ 150 depending on color and desirability. I wanted something unusual and special. This was a special birthday gift. At the Château the bulbs were $ 20 each. I chose to buy from them because they are local and I know the bulbs will survive in a similar climate. Wonderful service and I want to go there someday. Its on my bucket list!

We made a visit to this garden just before Mother’s Day hoping to get half a dozen or so peony stems but unfortunately the stems are not for sale this year (may be in the future years). We found the lady owner quite friendly and helpful, quite contrary to a previous reviewer. I totally agree with the other reviewers about taking Calaveras instead of Sierra to get there. There are 2 sections on Sierra where the road is only a narrow one lane with blind curves! It’s the blind curves that make this section of the road particularly dangerous. I made it once and will never drive those sections again.

Such an awesome little place.

You’ll love this place if you’re a fan of peonies. They have over 200 varieties and they are gorgeous when in bloom. Plants start at $ 35. Martha, the owner was very friendly and told me how to plant in ground and take care of them. Also you can purchase stem cuttings to put in vase by walking around and letting Martha know which ones you want. There are hundreds of olive trees – none of them for sale but you can purchase their olive oil. Suggest taking Calaveras Road to get there (it turns into Sierra Road); do not take Sierra Road unless you’re a fan of driving up mountains with roads edging the cliff, many of which are only one lane with blind spots. Definitely a hidden gem in Silicon Valley.

Let me first say that the view going up to the Garden is beautiful. It is high up, so you get to see San Jose from up the hill. Lots of greenery and cows in the spring time.
Now on to the garden, it was well worth the drive. If you like peonies, you must come if you are near by. There are so many different breeds, and the smell is very lovely. The fragrance is not as strong as roses, but it has its own light smell. The farm is not huge, but big enough to enjoy. The person in charge seems to be helpful, but if you ask too many questions she looks to be annoyed.
I was a bit dissapointed, since I came too early (and all the peonies were not bloomed yet) and we wern’t able to have any cuttings. But I will be coming back next week, when all the flowers bloom!
CAUTIONS: On the way up you must watch out for very fast cars and bikers. The road is very windy and narrow, on some parts of the road it becomes one lane.

Why one star when everyone else gives it five? In short, the peonies are five stars, while the owner’s attitude rates a negative number. Add it up and you get the one star, which still feels generous.
The Peonies are beautiful. It is fun to walk around and at your leisure and pick out your favorite peony at $ 2 a stem, but the experience at the end when you have to interact with the owner negates any sort of fun or novelty that you may have just experienced. Her bad attitude and complete lack of customer service skills make the drive up the hill not worth it.
I was already leery of the hospitality and lack of courteousness I observed when the owner was snappy to a sweet elderly couple when we walked in. The couple was simply asking how the system works (ie, which flowers to cut, etc.). Most people were having fun, because it’s a field of peonies and they were most likely able to just ignore the grouchiness of the owner.
I can’t ignore it however since the owner decided to yell at not only me, but my mother-​in-​law. That’s were I draw the line. Long story short, they don’t have water easily accessible– you have to go find the end of the hose and turn it on. It’s not a big deal, though apparently we weren’t as quick and adept as the owner thought we should be and felt it acceptable to yell at us, literally yell about what to do and when to turn off the water. How can being in a field of peonies leave someone so upset? We had just completed our purchase and if we hadn’t, I would have walked out of there.
In summary, madam grouchy owner, if you don’t want to deal with people, don’t have a peony garden and invite people to cut flowers. I wasn’t expecting you to be standing there waving at me with a tall glass of lemonade, but I did expect some simple respect for me and my mother-​in-​law. Especially sad, since it was Mother’s Day and all.

If you want peonies and iris, look no further! I went there and they got so many choices, I had to ask them to pick one for me. Plus, the prices are very reasonable, I got a 5-​eye herbaceous peony for $ 20. Now, I’m excited to see my new peony come into bloom when summer arrives!!!

We appeared late in the afternoon over Memorial Day weekend. This being an untypical year, there are many peonies still in bloom. The fragrance was intoxicating. Such beauty, so much variety, a neat and tidy nursery is one indication of the good care given to the plants.
The nursery is a pleasant drive up to the top of the hills of San Jose. The direct route is via Calaveras, from Rt 680. If you go west on Sierra, a portion of the road is one lane. Unbelievably gorgeous country.
The owner was working on the flowers, yet was unbelievably gracious: clear instructions as to how to grow the plants. She was extremely patient with these 2 customers who didn’t have a clue as to which variety to purchase, so many choices from which to choose!
There are many nuances in different varieties represented. Visit the nursery and see them all. The beautiful peonies that are now at our home were only $ 2 more than those bought at Costco in 2010!
Best of all, the owner indicated that the peonies are not relished by gophers!
This business deserves your business, you will not be disappointed.

For those who are not familiar with peonies, they are beautifully fragrant flowers with a ridiculously short blooming season. Not to mention they’re crazy expensive at a lot of florists and aren’t the easiest flowers to come by.
Now you might get lost finding the place, (I know I get lost almost every time) but once you get there it’s amazing!
Seeing thousands of peonies in bloom is a breathtaking site… not to mention they have llamas. Yep llamas.
I have also made many friends of mine fans of the olive oil… not really good for me since that means I have to get it for them but any excuse to drop by is worth it.