Daisies As Fillers & Extenders

Monday, March 17, 2008

A beautiful morning here at Vermont Flower Farm until you go outside. The sun is bright but when the wind makes snow flow horizontally, one has to wonder about being outside. Gail and Karl the wonder dog just returned from an abbreviated morning walk and I could hear Gail's repeated "Boy is it cold out there...." before the inside door even opened. 12 degrees and windy will do that for a morning.

I wrote last about gloriosa daisies but all daisies are nice. Places that sell those cans of wildflower seed mixes that disappoint people often make huge (what's bigger than huge? millions?) annual sales based upon the colors on the labels. Everyone has a portion of their landscape that can benefit from swaths of color and all the daisies do that work nicely.

I mentioned 'Mahogany' the other day as it's one I try to keep going by reseeding each fall. It's always a problem because people want it and I've never had the time to produce any for sale. I always tell customers to return in the fall and help themselves to seed but that isn't appealing in today's "Want-It-Now" world. 'Goldsturm' is another example of a good grower. (pictured below) Some equate it to just-another-orange daylily type thinking but I don't agree. When you're looking for mid-July until frost flowering plants, these are the ones to include in the plan.

About three years ago Gail ordered some plugs of Rudbeckia 'fulgida'. We were busy and they didn't get planted and they didn't get planted and finally I asked Michelle to mix them in the display gardens. The following year I had no idea where they were and the second year they started to show nicely. This past year they were in abundance and I could see how well they reproduced. This is a smaller flower than 'Goldsturm" but there are lots of flowers and the seeds disperse nicely. In a pasture setting or on a perimeter away from the house they are excellent.

As you scout the seed catalogs you are likely to find new varieties every year. It's not that they are necessarily "new" but just plants that companies put on the market to provide new choices to familiar products. Rudbeckia 'nitida' is an example. I have no idea where Gail bought the few that we have, probably at one of the area greenhouses in Cabot, but these are nice. They're planted outside my office window and they really are special. I like tall flowers and these are eye catchers at about 38-42" tall. It's always dry there and that's the perfect setting.

As you plan your gardens with the time left between now and leaf raking- garden prep time, give all the daisies a chance. The original plants probably will not last much beyond three years but once established they will continue to produce seedlings and nice flowers for some time to come.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where trout fisherman have ended their winter season but three feet of ice holds tight to the surrounding shore. If you enjoy brown trout, try those waters in later April when the ice breaks up.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener Our other blog
Vermont Flower Farm Our on-line website for when a real visit just isn't possible

Gloriosas Galore

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A blustery evening here at Vermont Flowerless Farm. It's 25 degrees but the wind must be at about 20 knots and the snow continues to move in sheets, kind of parallel to the earth. I was just getting Karl the wonder dog convinced that it was time for his after dinner walk and a car came down the road and backed into the drive. It was Gail returning from Wednesday night Community Dinner downtown at the Marshfield Community Center.

This is an almost-never-interrupted Wednesday night event with Lawrence Black the chief cook and bottle washer. Lawrence makes a red sauce that somehow always becomes the center of the meal accompanied by whatever people bring. Not only is Lawrence the cook but he is one of the local justices of the peace, local storyteller, and the tallest man in Marshfield or Plainfield. He'll drive a car if you make him but he prefers a vintage "English" bicycle, walking or hitch hiking. Lawrence is a story all by himself.


Anyhoo-o-o-o, Gail arrived when Karl and I were exiting the back door. She didn't need any encouragement to get in the house and Karl followed suit, totally unconvinced that there was any possible smell that couldn't wait until tomorrow. This is March and this is the month of the year when storms arrive like this with giant snow flakes and snow that scoots across the frozen ice and hard pack. It's also the time when maple sugaring is supposed to be in full production but that just isn't the case this year.

I've had this thing in my mind for a while now about how nice these pictures of common old gloriosa daisies are. They almost have some Georgia O'Keefe personality to them although my artistic ability hardly pushes a decimal on the artistic interest meter so I really shouldn't say that. What should be said is these are a plant with potential and they do best when seeded-in where they will live versus being purchased as potted plants. That concept is a hard-sell to gardeners who stop for a visit and see swathes of colors which differ from year to year. Some years it's shasta daisies, some years gloriosas, some years echinacheas or combinations of all. Fact is, however, that gloriosa daisies have a shallow root system and a woody stem structure that easily succumbs to spring moisture or repeated freeze-thaw cycles or adjacent pools of water. That's why it's best to seed them in and get the root structure caught tightly to the soil that is going to support them.

Years ago I bought a packet of Burpee gloriosa seed named 'Mahogany' and these pictures represent some of the offspring. My advice is that when fall approaches and the seed heads have dried, pull them off one at a time and work them back and forth between your fingers, freeing the abundant seeds from the head. This takes a few minutes because even when completely dry, they hang tight. Chances are the critters of the earth will eat a majority of the seeds before spring but of the millions that probably dropped, you'll have ample new seedlings. After a couple-three years, you'll have a proud display. In the meantime, think of Georgia O'Keefe and boisterous flower portraits challenging spring to hurry.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the wind builds stronger, forcing an occasional puff of back draft from the woodstove's efforts to keep us toasty.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

the "other" blog and....

Vermont Flower Farm
our website from which we try to sell a few flowers to those who
cannot come visit

Amphibian Monitoring Project

Thursday, March 6, 2008

A beautiful morning at Vermont Flowerless Farm. Today is kind of "the" day of the week with more bad weather moving in Friday night and on into Saturday. In the meantime, the sun rising above frozen Peacham Pond suggests the makings of a beautiful day.

I collect piles of notes of things I want to work into this blog or The Vermont Gardener

and some make it and some do not. It's one of those "how much time in a day" things. One would think that winter would be a calm time for us but once the taxes are finished, it's on to the website, checking and double checking orders that are coming in, and readying for orders going out. It's nice to say that the orders destined to go out are already coming in and that's encouraging at a time when the stock market drops in numbers like 2 or 3% all too often.


One of the things I have had in the pile for almost a month is an announcement from Larry Clarfeld of the North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier. Gail and Alex and I met Larry last year at the Jaquith Library here in Marshfield. He was offering a presentation on amphibian monitoring and it was one of the best nature presentations we have heard. We took what we learned and as soon as the snow was gone we headed out at night in search of eastern spotted salamanders and a variety of toads and frogs and other salamanders. I have to admit that I didn't follow through as much as I should have but my observation skills added a new crossing site to Larry's list.

If you have a minute, check out the Amphibian Monitoring Project. As info, Larry will be providing the same great presentation at these sites. Amphibians play a big part in gardeners lives but because they often work in invisible darkness, they don't get credit for what they do.

We guarantee you'll enjoy Larry and his work!

Wed. March 19, 6:30pm Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, Williston

Thurs. March 20, 7:00pm Fairbanks Museum, St. Johnsbury

Tues. March 25, 6:30pm Maple Corner, Calais

Wed. March 26, 6:30pm Goddard College, Flanders Building, Plainfield

Thurs. March 27, 6:30pm University of Vermont, 119 Aiken Building, Burlington

Tues. April 1, 6:30pm Lawrence Memorial Library, Bristol

Wed. April 2, 6:30pm Richmond Free Library, Richmond

Thurs. April 3, 6:30pm North Branch Nature Center, Montpelier

Sat. April 19, 11:00am & 1:00pm ECHO Center, Burlington

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a Pileated Woodpecker is already blasting away on our neighbor's dying sugar maples, somewhat out of cadence with the Downey Woodpecker sitting outside my window and pecking deliberate pecks of suet through half inch hardware cloth. I don't think woodpecker's miss, do you?

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Thoughts and Aromas of Baking

Sunday, February 24, 2008

A really beautiful day here in Vermont with a high of 32.6 but no wind for a change and a nice clear sky. I worked on the website, brought in some wood, went snowshoeing with Alex and
worked on a sketch for a garden at the new property. Time flew by and that grilled cheese and sprout sandwich at noon seems a distant, hungry past. I hear pots clanging in the kitchen but have no clue what Gail is preparing.

Speaking of chefs and cooking, a quick mention of yesterday's trip to Norwich and Hanover. For as long as King Arthur Flour has had a Baker's Shop in Norwich, we have never gone. It's a mile off the interstate which I go down at least once a week if not more often but I just never have made that last turn. Yesterday I convinced Gail and Alex that we should go and we did. You should go too if you're in that area.

The Baker's Shop is a combination bake shop, retail store, and baking school but it's not just baking and cooking items that are for sale. I found myself picking up and putting down a number of specialty pans and forms for everything from scones to shortbread to popovers to Easter egg cakes to madeleines.

The Vermont Flower Farm crew is in kind of a time of financial restlessness now as we enter a new year at a new business location. I'm holding tight to every dollar for unforeseen expenses when we move but the thought of a new baking opportunity made it difficult for me. Gail is always resourceful and has money squirreled away and she got a few things she wanted. Alex parted with no money but made it out the door with an apricot scone from the demonstration table and a bottle of Harpoon Root Beer Gail added to her purchases. FYI, the Harpoon Brewery in Vermont is Windsor, Vermont's answer the the brewery on North Avenue in Boston. Same great beer and soda products and less than twenty miles south of King Arthur's on I-91.

Right now, however, I'm trying not to think about food as I want to finish my astilbe thoughts from yesterday. Astilbes are a very useful flower. They give contrasting foliage, color, texture and height to other aspects of your perennial gardens and there's not an animal around here that is interested in eating them. As you pick various cultivars, you can extend your bloom time into late summer, all the time experiencing nice flowers for mixed arrangements.

I've always had a little difficulty taking pictures of astilbes and a couple years back I took to doing close ups. It's probably confusing to some who can't make their mind up on purchase/do not purchase but the flowers are very interesting on close inspection. Elizabeth and Amethyst are pictured above and Elizabeth Bloom, Hyacinth and Visions follow below. Mix some of the

18-24 inch varieties in the front of you garden border with different heucheras and some of those flashy new coleus and you'll have a display that visitors will be talking about.

I just heard the oven door open and yelled out an inquiry. Gail has just made pear tarts, "an experiment", with some kind of an interior sauce of cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice . Still don't know what dinner will look like.


Good garden thoughts from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it is so very nice to see that at 5:45 PM it's still light out.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Time For Garden Planning

Friday, February 22, 2008

The moon is rising over Peacham Pond and it's looking smaller and smaller as it gets higher into the sky. It has been special to us this week with the eclipse and then its clarity in the mornings as it sets over Route 232 at the top of the hill. I went to Springfield and White River Wednesday so I was a little later than usual heading up the hill. As I crested the top and headed down, I could see all the way to Camp's Hump behind the lunar giant. I reached for the little camera that is sometimes with me but the shot was missed again.

Tonight as I write, the sky is clear and the temperature is dropping. I was in St Albans this afternoon and I had a scary ride home. For a guy that drives 45,000 miles a year, I know bad driving. The road glassed over quickly today as the snow hit in blinding, blizzard format. When I arrived here I came in and hit the couch. Not moving was good. Prying white knuckles apart was better. Then the phone rang, "Hello, I'm calling about astilbes."

For a couple weeks now the phone has been ringing and customers have been asking for astilbes. Gail and I have, without doubt, grown and sold more astilbes than anyone in Vermont. We've been growing them since we first met and generally we have over 70 varieties, sometimes more, but never less than 60 varieties. I usually remind people that if they see something they like, buy it now because when we have to stop selling certain varieties to grow some along, it might take several years before we are ready to offer them again.

During the past two years, astilbe sales have been exceptional. We've been happy because we have really promoted them for years now so it's nice for us to have sales coming together on another plant product. Just the same we couldn't figure out why people were calling and all asking for astilbes. I always have to remind myself that when the snow is thigh deep here, gardeners someplace in America are out in their gardens tilling the soil and planting. When it's cold and snowy or icy, those thoughts just don't germinate with me.

A few nights back the phone rang at around 2 AM. We have been receiving too many 2-3-4 AM calls lately from a certain 91 year old mother-in-law who has a.) succumbed to macular degeneration and is blind and b.) dropped her talking watch too many times so that she has to guess...and let me confirm, she's not a good guesser....what time it is. About the time I was putting together a response for the old gal, I found out the caller was not my mother-in-law at all but a gardener from the west coast. She wanted astilbes. She was from Oregon, second from that state in two weeks, and she was very, very pleasant. I took the order and then couldn't stand not asking how she found out about Vermont Flower Farm. "You know, I saw your address in the back of Better Homes and Gardens Perennials". I agreed as if I knew what she was saying to me, thanked her for her order and said goodbye. With sleepy eyes and a sore elbow I rolled over, checked the order for accuracy and went back to sleep.

Morning came quickly and I felt more like an old boxer than an old gardener as I don't do well with interruptions while I'm sleeping. I don't need more than 5 hours of sleep to get by but it has to be "hours in a row". Boy was I tired!

When I returned home that night, Gail wanted to know who I talked to on the phone. I had a question for her too. "Who put our name, number and website in Better Homes & Gardens Spring Perennial Issue???" For a response, I received a question. Understand me, if I ask a question it's because I want an answer but truly, I have never seen anyone like Gail. She can answer a question with a question and get a conversation mixed up in seconds. Without doubt she could bring down a political debate in just minutes. This time I received a half question "So that's what that was about?"

"What's about what?" I asked. Now I was confused...and tired. Then it came out. Last summer in the middle of a rush of customers and everyday confusion, someone called and said they had been referred to us as sellers of nice astilbes. It was the magazine and they wanted permission to add us as a source. Gail gladly replied but forgot the conversation. All the recent calls had obviously been generated by the spring issue of BH&G Perennials. Two days later I found a copy in Barnes and Noble and the mystery was solved.

Astilbes are a great flower. I wrote about them in 2007 and will continue to praise them time and again. Although I'm in the process of changing our website http://vermontflowerfarm.com to a Dreamweaver format, take a look at the Astilbes page and you'll see some of the varieties we carry. Check back in mid April and with luck you should see a new look and some new astilbes. Feel free to call with questions, but try if you can to reach us before bedtime.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's an even 10 degrees above zero.

Good night!

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Petunias Wave Hello Again

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Difficult for me to believe that I've been up since 4:30, it's now almost 11 AM and I'm still feeling behind in my schedule for today. Weekends here at Vermont Flower Farm are busy no matter now deep the snow is. I'm feeling a little better today but this cold virus that finally caught up with me seems to take a lot of energy with it. Hopefully in a couple more days I'll be back in shape.

I finally got to the second set of bird feeders this morning, half shoveling, half wading through the snow. I put fresh suet out and got the feeders filled save for the thistle feeder. I don't have to fill that one as often and can't recall where I left the bag of seed. The deep snows have forced scores of new birds here and they clean out everything in little more than a day. If you know what it costs for bird seed now, you have a good grasp of how much I enjoy the wild birds.

Yesterday I finished up a post on Wave Petunias but it appeared before the one named Feathered Flyers. That's because I started the petunia thoughts a few days back and never remembered where I left off until yesterday. Go back to that if you aren't on the email subscriber list as you probably haven't read it yet.

My point today is just to show what you can do with the Wave Petunias which are offered from Ball Horticultural Company. That's the company that produces the seed for these petunias no matter where you live or where you buy your plants. All these pictures enlarge with a simple "click". All the pictures are made available from Ball for promotion of their products. The pictures have been taken at various trial and display gardens they are affiliated with.

Planting the displays you see pictured here are slightly more difficult when you move into zones four or three because it's colder in the spring and it takes longer to get the plants well established. Some people try to purchase advanced packs and slightly over plant their containers or gardens to get them to fill in more quickly. It's actually a better approach than to try to add extra fertilizer and then end up with leggy plants that do not stand up well.

Because these petunias self prune, they flower all summer and will bring you lots of compliments. Planted within your gardens they spread nicely and draw quick attention to parts of your garden you wish to highlight. As you work you way through these pictures you'll notice

how easy it is to create dramatic compositions with annuals of different heights and textures. Perennials such as echinacea, helenium, or rudbeckia can serve as good back drops as can hollyhocks or any of the acteas.
We have seen an interest in dark black and brown foliages in recent years and that stark contrast as in the previous picture make the petunias stand out. You could accomplish the same thing with other annuals but petunias by the nature of their growth habit fill in quickly and are inexpensive.


Four blue jays are feeding outside my window right now but one new one is looking straight at me and shouting indeciferable jay language. I fear he is challenging my apparent laziness and that's enough for me. Back to the snow shovel for me!


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where the heavy snows of last Valentines Day can remain a memory that doesn't ever repeat itself as far as I am concerned.

Good catalog and magazine gardening today,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Feathered Flyers

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Winter weather slows me down a lot and at times I have to turn my attention to other curiosities including birds. A blog visitor wrote two days ago and asked if I didn't have a slew of pictures I could float out to readers so there were not such long spaces between posts. Just because I can't garden doesn't mean I don't have projects and lately Gail has been adding to the list.

This barred owl pictured above has been a frequent visitor here at Vermont Flower Farm. The newspaper article to the left was written by Chris Rimmer for the Burlington Free Press. It mentions some very interesting bird sitings and includes barred owls which are one of my favorites. Hope you find it interesting too.

Today it's snowing lightly but the weather hasn't discouraged the ongoing irruptions of pine and evening grosbeaks. If you get a chance today, get outside and go for a walk. Feathered flyers come in all sizes, sounds and speeds and make for an interesting afternoon.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where serious ice fisherman headed onto the ice at 3:30 AM.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Waves of Snow, Waves of Petunias

Friday, February 8, 2008

Morning greetings from Vermont where in this part of the state, the temperature is 19 degrees and the snow banks make shoveling for kids and less tall people a vertical challenge! For me there's a list of overdue assignments such as updating Vermont Gardens and The Vermont Gardener.

The past couple weeks have been hectic with work in Montpelier on the autism legislation, a radio appearance in Burlington, an unplanned dental day with Alex, two snowstorms worth an accumulative 2 feet, two ice storms and a sick dog. Karl the wonder dog has been sick again and he spent last Friday and Friday night at the vets hitched to IVs and feeling pretty bad. Remember that this dog is not always on my "Best Buddy List" but when he's down and out my sympathies reign.

I think we are back on the right track as I have been throughly chastised about the dilimma. I have also been warned about the consequences of feeding a dog "non-traditional dog food products" which translates to loading him up at meal time on whatever is close to my plate or just inside the refrigerator door. The vet said that when she spun his blood for a cholesterol check, he broke the 220 mark with ease. Saying that I gave Karl part of a cheeseburger and a couple fries didn't cut it and as I fessed up I just buried myself deeper and deeper into the origins of the poor dog's health. Probably the final score was when it was suggested that I could probably tie my boots easier if I'd put myself on the same "good food only" diet. I have always loved paying pockets of money to be reminded that I'm doing something wrong but that's how things work.

I have mentioned before that I belong to the Garden Writers Association Gail always questions the annual membership fee but she's often asking a bunch of "Where'd this come from?" as she opens packages of promotional garden materials, CDs and products. By virtue of belonging, companies make the assumption that if you think you can write, perhaps you will write about them and as such they shoot things your way. Mercedes cars and the companies that make new pickups with snow plows that don't need a hydraulic fluid change apparently don't read gardening articles as I have yet to see a car carrier unloading a freebee in the drive. Just the same, the relationship is worth it and CDs are frequent gifts. That makes sense because pictures sell and there's no better way to get your new flowers out there than to give a grower like me Internet ready pictures.

A month ago a CD arrived from Ball Horticultural Company in West Chicago, Illinois.This is a
very old, well established , stalwart of the horticultural world. They have incredible development credentials and produce scores of new flower varieties each year. The recent CD was on petunias and there's another that just arrived on geraniums and marigolds.

I'm sure you are familiar with their registered Wave Petunias which have been out for a few years now. These are the vigorous petunias that come in a rainbow of colors and do not need pinching. They look terrific when mass planted in the ground and they flow out of containers all over the place, held back only by container types and imagination.

One of the great things about Wave petunias is how inexpensive they are in comparison to the rich look they provide. You can buy them in flats at your favorite greenhouse or you can make arrangements to buy some in quantity in plug trays. Regardless of your method of purchase, you'll have quick color that will last until a good frost. If you paint a landscape with broad stripes of color, you quickly hear a number of "How'd you do that's?" which translate to good sales.


Here at Vermont Flower Farm we have never grown annuals for sale. Each year customers stop and ask for this or that and we refer them to greenhouses nearby like Grahams, Amanda's or Cabot Greenhouse. I'm not going to say that we won't sell annuals at our new location some time but right now we'll leave it up to the people who have experience doing it best. In the meantime, as you work your way through the part of winter when weather patterns are in flux and outside gardening is still a dream, check out gardening magazines, visit greenhouses, go to garden shows and think about Ball's Wave petunias. It all began in 1995 with Wave Purple but today there are many more great choices to make your garden "the garden" for friends to visit.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where this morning's bird visitors wait in nearby treetops, ruffling feathers in displays of dissatisfaction for slow-to-get-going George, his shovel and bucket of seed.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Cold Weather, Warm Sliced Bread

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Almost 5 PM here on the mountain. Just home from work and I'm kind of cross eyed from two busy days and an almost sleepless night thanks to Karl the unwonderful dog. There seems to be a point every year towards the end of January when the wild critters from the Groton State Forest yearn for a menu different than they can find in the woods. Last night in the bright moon and cold weather, wildlife came to visit and Karl went nuts. This critter thing is reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are except that my usual fear is that I'll never get back to sleep before it's time again for work.

Sitting here now and looking down the hill and into the field I can see the problem. Tracks from the woods converge in the vicinity of the compost pile so that location must have been on last night's animal party invitation. I can see three distinct sets of coyote tracks, two larger than the third, and one fisher track even from here on the hill. Fishers are amazing animals with an ability at maturity to leap over 20 feet without missing a beat. If you weren't familiar with them you might ask just how long the legs were on an animal that could leave so much space between tracks. I know they weren't looking for the leftovers in the pile but instead
for the visitors that came to them.


It's going to be cold again tonight and for the next couple nights. Below zero is predicted but I'm not sure how cold. Fortunately the predictions have been off lately and the oil burner hasn't run quite as much. When Gail is here during the day she keeps the woodstove burning but on days like today, we resort to oil. When I returned home there was a delivery receipt in the door and for six weeks we have used 91 gallons. That's not too bad considering all the company we had over the holidays and the times when we couldn't use the wood stove because of little feet pattering about.

A couple weeks back Gail caught on to the collection of Fleishman's Yeast in the door of the fridge. Sometimes I leave reminders and in this case I was hoping for some home made bread. Bread isn't difficult to make but few attempt it any more. Gail is a good cook and a good baker too and she tries to get Alex involved as much as possible. His Portuguese bread is excellent but the loaves here are few and far between.



In this case all I was looking for was some white or wheat. Gail uses the Joy of Cooking cookbook that was my mother's. It's the 1946 edition which had five previous printings and who knows how many since then. It's a real simple book, easy to understand and with dependable results.

Here's the recipe which makes 2 loaves.

Combine: 6 cups of flour
3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsps salt

Heat until lukewarm:
3 c. water

Dissolve in half cup of this:
1 package of yeast

Add dissolved yeast to remaining water. Stir in the dry ingredients until the dough is well blended. Put it in a bowl topped with a covered cloth and put in a warm place where it's about 85 degrees until it has doubled in bulk (takes about 1 1/4 hours)

Split the dough and place in two greased five by ten inch bread pans. Let it rise again until it has doubled in bulk. Bake in a 400 degree oven until it is light brown, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until done. Usually this is about 1 hour total.

These direction are pretty much copied from page 469 of the book. If you have dogs, do not put the bread even close to where they could get it as it rises. Dogs love yeast and will go out of their way to give you an opportunity to yell at them. If they got into a bowl of rising bread they would puff up like party balloons and might succumb to the event. If it didn't get that bad, you'd still wish it was a different day. I remember such a day with Rusty, my Irish Setter. I was about 6 and my memory is the only thing worse was the day she went after a porcupine.

As winter continues, if you determine bread making is not your sport, grab a stack of catalogs, do a few web searches for garden design or take graph paper and pencil and work on some new gardens. These are all good pursuits on a cold winter's eve.

Right now Karl is barking and that means Gail and Alex are home. I have to get the door.

Good garden wishes!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Cold Weather Thoughts

Monday, January 21, 2008

A very cold morning here on the mountain. It's 12.2 below zero right now and the wind that pounded the house much of the night is subsiding a bit but the wind chill is certainly still a consideration. There had to have been a bunch of very cold people in Green Bay football land last night where the temperature was -4 and the wind chill was -24. I suspect that after the game, medical centers had visitors with common problems of frostbite.

Here in Marshfield, last night was only the fourth night this year of below zero temps. That's not bad compared to many previous years. The hard part for many, many Vermonters is the price of fuel oil which is above $3.89 a gallon now in most places. I understand that many people on limited budgets are buying off road diesel fuel at gas stations because it is still less expensive than oil dealers. That's a laborious way to go but you have to keep warm.

Despite the cold, our thoughts continue to include gardening. I stopped at Borders in West Lebanon, NH the other day to pick up a web design book and the magazine rack that contained gardening magazines was surrounded by a convention of gardeners. It was kind of like an encampment and many "lookers" had been there long enough that they rocked back and forth flamingo-like, first on one leg, then on the other as they thumbed through the pages. I think if a garden author held up her latest book and motioned to the book group area, there would have been an instant discussion. Garden books and magazines abound today and the opportunity to expand your interest grows annually; so do garden blogs and garden websites.

Here at Vermont Flower Farm we rotate our subscriptions over time. Fine Gardening, People, Places and Plants, Horticulture, Country Living, Martha Stewart all seem to be integrated with journals from the various plant societies we belong to. Every plant has a society someplace and most have a newsletter if not a formal journal. To us the American Hosta Society is hands down number one, with the American Hemerocallis Society second. Each has a nice series of journals, 3 for hostas per year and four for daylilies. The hosta journals are by far the best anyone has ever seen and as people who love daylilies, we always wish the daylily folks would catch on to improving what they deliver. Regardless of our wishes, we have the greatest respect for those who expend countless hours turning out these super publications.


We belong to the American Conifer Society, American Peony Society, American Iris Society, North American Lily Society, Pacific Northwest Lily Society, the Lily Preservation Group, some New England sub-societies of the larger hosta, daylily and lily societies, the Hardy Plant Club and the Garden Writers Association. These memberships keep us in good reading and good friendships and help keep us up on new varieties, insect and disease problems, new sources and new gardens. If you have a growing interest in a plant type, search online for one of these societies and you'll learn how to subscribe.


If you are considering the big step from crazy, compulsive, collect-a-bunch-of-one plant gardening to starting your own specialty nursery, the American Nurseryman is a good investment. It costs $48 a year and is published 26 times so there's plenty to read. I like it because it reminds me of things I should be doing that I have overlooked and it always contains lists of suppliers, reviews of new products and info on the latest insect or invasive plant problems. A subscription will place you in touch with other resources and your work quickly becomes a little easier.

There won't be a lot of reading going on today. I have some information to get out on some very important autism legislation that is in Montpelier, and then I promised Alex we'd get to a bookstore and a computer software store so he can spend some more of his Christmas gift money. Before I know it, Karl will want to brave the cold and Gail will tell me there's some breakfast ready. Just as I have written this, the temperature has dropped three more degrees and it's not encouraging me to get going. Some winter days are like that. Enjoy yours, whatever it brings!


Cold garden wishes from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the old blue jay with the battered wing has returned, still displaying his "step aside, I'm the boss" attitude.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
http://vermontflowerfarm.com

Rain Drops and First Thaw

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Almost 7 PM here on the hill where we are anemometer-less but wish we had one. The local television news just announced the wind speeds at various Vermont towns and 55-60 mph was common. The wind continues with great ferocity here and a brief step outside with Karl the wonder dog scared both of us as a large maple tree bit the snow. That's apparently common tonight (the falling tree part) as Channel 3 reported the number of people without power. It includes 561 Green Mountain Power customers burning candles and kerosene lamps and looking for more flashlight batteries as are our friends at the Marshfield Inn. The outage extends to parts of East Montpelier and beyond. Green Mountain Power happens to be one of the better utilities when it comes to line maintenance and speedy repairs so hopefully everyone will be back to normal soon. January thaws are like this sometimes but this one is giving plenty to remember.

A week ago it was minus 15 degrees and blustery cold. Yesterday and today new records have been set and now rain and wind cut away at one of the nicest early snow packs we have seen in several years. Fifty degrees and pouring rain reminds me of mid June when our hostas are looking great. I have always enjoyed seeing the raindrops bead up on the big leaves of a Hosta 'Elegans' (above) but today the picture is only a memory.



As I sit here, letting my mind walk through the lower hosta gardens of summer, it's a calming journey. The garden I have created over the years within the walls of that old barn foundation is a peaceful place. It's easy there to pull up a rock and sit down for a few minutes to reflect on the world and enjoy the quiet.


As my mind skips through the greens and blues and whites and yellows, names come to mind. Jimmy Crack Corn, Feather Boa, Jewel of the Nile, Captain Kirk, Dick Ward, Robert Frost, Bobbie Sue, Blue Moon, Little Sunspot, Blue Jay, Olive Bailey Langdon, Yellow River, Popo, Venusta, Amber Tiara, Hacksaw, Risky Business, Royalty, Donahues Piecrust, Red October, Regal Rhubarb. There are hundreds of different hostas here and in the slide show that works through my mind.

These are some of my favorite plants and this garden is a favorite too. If winter cold begins to get to you and you aren't sold on hostas yet, take a look at the American Hosta Society site. If that shows promise try the Hosta Library Those two sites will take days to get through but if you still have some ambition, go to our Vermont Flower Farm site and try the links for
Building a Hosta Garden or Hostas A-K Those links should help you make a decision on how much you do or don't like hostas. For me there is no question......I can't buy enough!


Writing from the mountain where tomorrow's sunlight will make obvious all the rearranging tonight's winds have done.

Drive with care.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Cold Nights, Friendly Vermonters

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Just past 7 PM here on the hill at Vermont Flower Farm. Gail just brought Karl the wonder dog in from his post supper relief. It was a short trip outside and a hasty retreat up the steps and back beside the wood stove. For the 99th time since yesterday morning I have heard Gail say "Boy is it cold!" If you heard her speak the words, you'd agree without challenge. You have no choice but to agree when the thermometer reads 13.9 degrees below zero and there's a light wind blowing. As pretty as the stars and the moon are shinning from above, no amount of beauty will keep anyone out there for long.



Today I had to take Alex to Burlington and when we finished the business part of the day we did a few things he liked. We started at Barnes and Noble where I was looking for a special garden book. Alex scanned for H.P. Lovecraft books, decided against a new Star Wars Jedi v. The Sith book and bought a cook book on North African cooking. He loves cookbooks and is especially fond of things from around the world so this was a find for him.

Then we stopped at our favorite Cheese Traders on Williston Road where we picked up two loaves of Challah bread from Stewart's Bakery (yes, Vermont!), some fresh buffalo mozzarella from the farm in Woodstock, some honey mustard and a few odds and ends. We sat in the truck and had a little buffet of goodies and watched people coming and going to the store. This is a routine the two of us have and although it's never the same menu, it's always fun. Good business people know their customers and know what they like and I think the Cheese Traders folks have this figured out.

We decided to squeeze in a trip to Church Street to visit Quarterstaff Games which is Alex's favorite gaming store. This is located at 152 Church Street on the second floor, just a few steps from the corner of Church and Main. He made a purchase only after working through the Made in China label which bothers him immensely. Just the same it was a good purchase and a complicated role playing board game that he is already learning.

Our trip back to the Burlington Square parking garage was a treat as the wind off as-yet unfrozen Lake Champlain was about all either of us could handle. All the while we were out and about, I watched people and how they were shopping.

Really good businesses study their customer base and can describe who their typical customer is and what they purchase or what they ask for. To be good at this, you have to understand people and be able to describe them. I believe I am beginning to get good at this.

For Christmas I received a number of books from Gail and Alex. I reported on one nice book last night on The Vermont Gardener. It was Dan Snow's In The Company of Stone, and it's a must-read for any gardener But two books that are about people and specifically Vermonters are Vermont People by Peter Miller and Sweet Days and Beyond by Burr Morse.

Miller and Morse know a Vermonter when they see one and their writing gives great example of their skill at this. Each book is entirely different from the next but they are both great gifts and fine reading any time of year. My business point for anyone contemplating any business venture, horticultural or otherwise, is to know your customers, listen to them and talk with them. Make no assumptions about appearance, the car they drive or the dog that barks in the back seat. Knowing people and displaying this knowledge brings people back time and again. It's an issue of trust and an assurance that you know what you are talking about. In the case of a nursery business, repeat customers means all these things including your obvious knowledge of what you grow and sell.

So as you continue to work on your business plan and you get to the "How do we market?" section, give attention to the people you think will be your customers. The reward to understanding people will be in the cash drawer at the end of the day but it will also be in the friendships that you seed and the warm greetings that you will harvest for years to come.



Writing from the now -15.1 degree mountain above Peacham Pond where looking out at the snow is just fine when you're sitting by the wood stove.

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm