Noblesville slated to host several peony gardens at businesses and landmarks along newly conceptualized Indiana Peony Trail
Mill Top Banquet and Conference Center has broken ground on an expansive peony garden that will be the first of many along a new self-guided walking/driving attraction in Noblesville, called the Indiana Peony Trail. The trail is a follow-up concept to the well-received Indiana Peony Festival, which was first held on May 22, 2021, with an estimated 10,000 people in attendance.
Mill Top is working with GKM Property Services to create an English-inspired peony garden so that there’s full coverage year-round, GKM CFO and Co-owner Brody Kalbaugh says. The garden will be two street blocks long and half a block deep. It’ll wrap around the Mill Top building and feature gazebos and a patio walkway.
The garden will display 400 shrubs, 62 perennials and 17 ornamental trees of hydrangeas, roses, irises, lilacs, butterfly bushes and, yes, lots of peonies – more than 100 bushes in seven different varieties.
Rocky Shanehsaz, manager of Mill Top and major sponsor of the Indiana Peony Festival, wanted to be the first to commit to a peony garden for the Indiana Peony Trail. He knows how much the community loves the peony – Indiana’s state flower – based on the sheer volume of people he saw coming and going from the festival.
Not only are peonies the Indiana state flower, but they are also a bridal favorite, Shanehsaz says. At Mill Top, he is in the business of weddings, so he’s always looking for unique and beautiful backdrops. Peonies are the perfect fit.
Other businesses in Noblesville have committed to planting peony gardens, thus adding future stops along the trail: Hamilton County Courthouse, Hamilton County Government & Judicial Center, Noblesville City Hall, Nickel Plate Arts, Randall & Roberts Funeral Homes, Nexus Development, Tom Wood Volkswagen, Riverside Cemetery, Bolden’s Dry Cleaners, Jason Jackson Attorney at Law, Preservation Alliance and Seminary Park.
The concept for the festival and trail were born out of a genuine appreciation for the state flower and all its varieties. “There’s history and nostalgia with the peony, and we need to celebrate that!” said Indiana Peony Festival Director Kelly McVey.
For more information on Mill Top’s involvement with the Indiana Peony Trail, or if you are interested in being on the Indiana Peony Trail, email Kelly McVey at ipfkelly@gmail.com.
Noblesville businesses: Be a part of Noblesville peony trail
The Peony Trail Project was born in 2019 when Noblesville Parks purchased over 100 peonies to be planted in the newly renovated Seminary Park.
The peony was then celebrated via the Indiana Peony Festival in May of 2021, with approximately 10,000 people in attendance. This fall, additional peonies will be planted in Seminary Park, and also at the Courthouse, Judicial Building, City Building, Pocket Park, Mill Top, and Tom Wood Volkswagen.
Help beautify the city and become a part of the Noblesville Peony Trail project by purchasing and planting 15 or more peony roots for your local business. By purchasing 15 or more from the list, you will be included in Indiana Peony Festival promotions including the festival website, social media, and illustrated maps of the city with your peonies and business location highlighted.
Orders will be hand delivered to businesses in mid-October along with planting ideas, instructions and contacts for planting help, if needed.
Email ipfkelly@gmail.com with questions.