I felt the same way. It is very slow going since the Balancing Elephant has a collection time of 8 hours. Peggy costing 300 gems seems a bit unreasonable. Everyone should be able to get Peggy. Her character is a splendid addition to any realm!
The Dangerous Lions don’t just spawn from the Novelty Flowers - they also spawn from the Rock Outcroppings.
So this means you can maintain more of a balance in Circus Peanuts and Clown Noses, by collecting Ringleader Hats from lions spawned using both rocks and flowers.
I agree. If you need 16 circus balls, with both elephant and Peggy having 8h collection times, it is not an advantage from a time and gem cost perspective to purchase Peggy for 300 gems. Speeding up the elephant 8x 32 gems would only be 254 gems and you have to spend at least 5 days doing the crafts for goals 9 and 10 anyway.
For those whom did not buy the Circus Tent, the Fast Worker Boost is helpful :)