Through a gravel alley that runs through the interior of the Beautiful valley -Cwm Hyfryd- You reach a peony park located in the Andes. In the background stands out the mountain range known in this town as the Welsh Cordon the cone-shaped glacier with eternal snow. The Valley of Flowers deserves its name.
Every spring, from mid-November to mid-December, you can visit the mountain garden, which opens a few days after the tulip harvest.
“The idea is to extend the season with other plantations. We also plant.” lavenderwhich bloom in December and January to give continuity to visits to this city known as the garden of the province,” says Cintia Figueroa, Minister of Tourism.
“Even at the beginning of autumn we have a plant as exotic as the peony: saffron, which has the southernmost growing region in Argentina,” he says.
Originally from Asia, peonies have the largest harvests in the country in this corner of Chubut, in an incomparable picturesque field overlooking the mountain range.
The whole city supported the initiative: the entire community was present at the season opening. “The peonies are new. They are unique, they complete the entire field. They make you want to stay here for hours,” he says. Maura Bianchia reference for the Nant and Fall vineyards, and known as the owner of the first of the 17 wineries in these latitudes.
Peonies were an innovation, just like vines that came onto the market a decade ago. The flower bulbs arrived in Trevelin through the hands of Martin Sasaki a producer of Japanese origin who initially owned an experimental plot in a field near the town of Aldea Escolar and three years ago began to shape the new crop that finds its way through the gravel alley in the beautiful valley, two and a half kilometers from Route 34.
Martín started with peonies on an INTA property more than a decade ago. Then he thought about developing a field with tourist access: so he planted the flowers in front of the mountain range framed by the cone-shaped glacier. There are white, fuchsia, pink and white peonies with pink spots. The flowers each have a diameter of 35 centimeters. And the bars are up to one meter high.
Each plant stands erect and forms a bush covered with triangular leaves, which then become buds until the petals unfold in all their lushness. The aroma is slightly similar to that of roses. But the shape is broader, more expansive.
The varieties in the Cordilleran garden are Duchesse, Sarah Bernhardt, Gardenia, Shirley Temple and Dr. Alexander Fleming. There are others at INTA and in a tree nursery in Martín, where the export variety Alertie is produced.
In the mountain garden –Taiyō– There are one hundred and fifty thousand flowers and about ten thousand rhizomes in just over one hectare, where a few other species have also been planted for viewing purposes only. The Lord of the Peonies doesn’t just regulate planting and harvesting. It also prevents insects and pests and prepares each bulb for the next season. “I’m the harvest manager,” he explains. “Mine is the earth and the shovel.”
Like Martín’s family, the peony comes from Japan. The factory and producer found fertile land to expand in this city. It is a tuber with medicinal properties, a large cut flower market and from now on also many benefits for tourism.
The entire city is deeply committed to extending the season through flowers. The community developed different experiences: from making paper with petals to making peony tapestries together at the end of the season. In the vineyards of Nant and Fall, candles in the shape of Asian plants are sold. And in the field is a food truck from Rincón del Molino, a classic restaurant in the city.
Chefs and sommeliers were inspired to make tea and wine from peonies. And in spring even a dessert with flower petals, the most sophisticated dish of this cuisine.
Flowering is celebrated in the mountain garden. A melting pot of cultures in the heart of Patagonia, this remote town founded by Welsh immigrants hosts ceremonies linked to the Asian peony culture.
Malena Higashi The Japanese tea ceremony takes place here every year. Chadó is a journey into Japanese culture through flavors. The ritual, celebrated in silence, begins with tasting the sweet bean yokan in a tent set up among the flowers. And move on to preparing matcha, an antioxidant green tea, to be shared as the scent of peonies emerges from the plants.
The thick tea, known as koicha, is held in the left hand as visitors partake in an experience that is an allegory of simple and austere beauty. The ceremony takes place without words: it is a moving meditation to restore the spirit, just like the experience of remaining immersed in a harvest of thousands of flowers that sway gently in the wind.
“Two petals fall and the shape of the peonies changes completely,” says Malena. This year he attended a ceremony with local Welsh pastry chef Susana Fontana, who explained to him the ceremony she performs No, Maggiethe iconic teahouse.
Near Taiyō, Marilyn Jones, another Welsh descendant, invites you to experience all of Celtic culture in her garden on Druid Hill with music, stories and Welsh tea. This garden remains open to visitors throughout the summer.
Planting peonies inspired the creation of a tea made from the petals of Asian flowers: it’s called Haiku. This blend of white tea with pears and dried carrots with peony petals was developed by sommelier Estrella García, who created a blend that evokes the flavors of the simple and ephemeral.
There are even more experiences for the palate: Paula Chiaradia, from South Fonda, He created a pavlova with peony petals and lemon zest made from Asian flowers, which is already a registered dish at the bistro.
Other local entrepreneurs such as Nawal Glamping offer peony field entry tickets as compensation to visitors who spend more than two nights in the city during the flowering season.
This season, the Trevelin plantation introduced a peony ferment – Pet Nat or Petillant Naturel – developed by the chef Mariana Müller together with her husband Enrique Wolf, associated with sommeliers Paz Levinson and Gabriel Dvoskin, based on the floral production of Martín Sasaki.
First they developed a nectar from peonies until they produced about three thousand bottles of Hanae. The connection between Müller, a manufacturer of vinegars in Cassis House, and Martín Sasaki was founded by local chef Paula Chiaradia.
“The nectar was a sweet peony juice, it was not wine. It was used to make a non-alcoholic peony lemonade, as a concentrate of the aroma of the peonies into juice,” says Müller.
“This ferment was left in the fridge and when we opened it it was cold fermented. At that time Paz Levinson came home. She tasted the ferments and said, ‘This is really different.’ She immediately noticed that there was something different about the peonies.
“It is a maceration of flowers that ferment. No alcohol is added, it is the fermentation itself that triggers a sweet maceration: We add alcohol there because the flower contains very little sugar,” says Müller.
“It is a sweet wine to eat like ice cream, a dessert, not yet a dry wine for a main meal. We really want to find the peculiarity of each variety: because at the moment we make white and red wines, but we have tried others. Each with its own scent,” says the renowned Patagonian chef.
“It would never have occurred to me to make peony wine,” says Sasaki. “It doesn’t exist on the entire planet,” he says. “It is only made here, in Argentine Patagonia.”. Flower season is a sensory experience to enjoy in Chubut.
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