New Roof, New Lessons

Monday, May 18, 2008

Cold, raw morning here at Vermont Flower Farm. The wind is blowing and last night's rain has made it feel a lot colder. Aching muscles will not get working as fast this morning.

The roof is now on both sides and the only part to finish is the roof vent. Buildings must have a means for allowing internal air circulation but some builders forget the importance of this. Houses with multiple levels and sections need to be vented externally and internally for good flow. For a building the size of ours, the important part is circulation over the 2/3's that will be the office but we are venting the entire roof.

Roof vents come in plastic material which nails to the roof peak. They come in 20 foot rolls or separate pieces 4 to 10 feet long. The builder needs to remember to leave space on the top course of plywood and also be sure that if using GRACE for waterproofing or just traditional felt paper that the roof peak remains open so air can flow. I had a house once where the contractor put the vent right on top of the water proofer and it took forever for me to figure out the problem. t wasn't too handy a thing to fix after the fact.

We continue to work on the daylily display garden. Richard Ducharme from Hillcrest Nursery in Cabot is closing his nursery and doing stone work and Adirondack furniture full time so he is selling all his stock. Gail and I bought a truck load of trees the other night including some weeping crabs, a couple Korean Lilacs, four ninebarks and some weeping pussy willows. If you look closely at the preceding picture you can see the pots layed out with a bench in the middle. This is the center of what will eventually become an American Hemerocallis Society certified display garden.

Right now I have to load up the truck and get going. Austin, a UVM student on summer break, will help put up the 20 by 60 foot shade house this morning. We'll see how good his math skills are figuring the third dimension of triangles. Shade houses are a series of 2" pipes in 10 X 20 foot sections. To keep them square and tight, you have to understand a little geometry. Guess we'll see.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where two wild turkeys are pecking at something in the lower daylily garden. If you stop by to see Gail, walk down that way and catch a glimpse of the Trillium grandiflorum and the Trillium erectum. Special this year as are the hellebores.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm Check out the astilbes and hostas on our site. More available at the nursery.

Motionless morning

Saturday, May 17, 2008

A dark and quiet, almost motionless morning here on the mountain. The birds are quiet but the tom turkeys off in the field are calling in their hens and strutting with full displays of plumage and colorful mating season head colors. Karl,the wonder dog and I had a quick walk this morning because there's much to do today and little time. He was obviously bothered by an abbreviated walk when there were so many good smells from last night's animal traffic.

Gail and Alex leave for Jericho just after 7 and the potting crew will be here by 9 so I have to get clicking. Michelle will lead the crew today and I'll try to clean up some of the loose ends around here. Time is very short and Memorial Day is fast approaching. We still have one shade house to be disassembled and three to be rebuilt at the new location. Not difficult work but not something that goes quickly. Holes to auger into hard clay soil and lots of ratchet work with bolts and arm braces.

The new construction is really advancing with the encouragement Gail and I need. It seems as if not a day goes by but what there is something I have to run to the store for and just keeping ahead of Lenny and Kim is not easy. They are no-nonsense workers and when they quit their regular granite worker jobs for the day and turn into carpenters, it's best not to get in their way.

Last Sunday the rafters were all up and by Tuesday we began installing the roofing. Plywood should come with some built in levitation process because after the first sheet, each new 4 X 8 foot sheet gets heavier and heavier to lift and push upward to someone standing at the wrong angle pulling upward at a disadvantage. That's construction.


Even though we designed this building to sit on 6 X 6 pressure treated timbers, it is being built so it won't go anyplace. The roof will hold big snow loads and the walls will stand straight. I placed the windows so building occupants can get light and air and not have to deal with customers looking in to see what's going on. The interior ceiling will be high to allow for good air flow and it will all be insulated.

Probably one of the more difficult parts so far has been installing GRACE on the roof. This is the name for a rolled asphalt product originally designed for roof valleys where Vermont winters might cause ice build up and penetration of water under the flashing and shingles. In older days tar paper which was really asphalt impregnated felt paper was used but it dehydrated over time and leaked. This new product is exceptional. The nature of it's components allows every nail hole to immediately close in and the entire roof is waterproof. That's the good news.

GRACE is the name of a giant conglomerate that in the old days controlled all the vermiculite mines in America. Vermiculite was used for years as pour-in insulation which you dumped by the bag on top of the rafters above your ceiling. It was light weight and just sat there preventing heat loss. Trouble was that vermiculite was mined in the same location as asbestos and that's the story that needs no explanation. This new roof coating is the company's money maker and it's probably doing a good job helping pay off the law suits from the asbestos problems. We can't hold the absence of medical research against a company as for long years no one knew what asbestos could do to humans. But that's the past, not the current installation problem.

GRACE comes on 200 square foot rolls and sells for about $90 a roll. The product comes on a peel off waxed paper just like those strange tasting fruit roll ups you buy in the store. You unroll about 6" of the product and stick it over the side of the roof with the plan of keeping the roll parallel to the bottom of the drip edge and then moving upward, one roll width at a time. But rolling the product across the rood if not easy. One person has to roll what starts out as a very heaving, awkward roll while the other person pulls the paper covering from underneath the roll. You have to keep everything centered and once the stuff sticks, sorry folks, it's there forever. The product must be kept cool before you start and a hot day is not the type day to learn to install it because it gets even stickier in heat. Installation sites should be absent of children and women who claim not to have ever heard profanity. The flow of expletives, although not included in the warning on the box, is colorful.



As of this morning, the GRACE is on, the face sure boards have been primed, painted two coats, and have been installed along with the drip edge. Everything is ready for the shingles and roof vent. I have half the ship lap siding (above) stained with Cabot's cedar stain and we've already installed it on the end where the electrical and data/telephone entrance will be. Tuesday night we framed in the peaks and the window framing materials are all cut. Progress is good.

We are down to about 3000 plants which need to be potted. Today I hope to see us get about a third of those out of the way. We'll miss Gail's speed at the potting bench but I'm positive we'll do well if the rain holds off. Gail has hired an additional person for the summer and that should help us along. If anyone has seen our friends Harold and Leila from Cross View Daylilies in Morrisville, kindly remind them how to get to our house. They are good planters and often leave their own business to come help us.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where two turkeys are looking curious in front of the office window. I noticed a large moose had walked through a neighbor's newly seeded lawn last night. Footprints are nature's message that creatures like to know what we do.

If you have some time on your hands today, report to the Marshfield Inn and volunteer to work with the Friends of the Winooski River as they complete some riparian plantings along the Onion River in an attempt to solidify the river banks and stem erosion problems. This is a very worthwhile project and I hear that Tracy will be in the kitchen helping with treats of encouragement.

Have a nice day outside!


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Physical Construction

Sunday, May 4, 2008

A damp, raw day here on the hill with a gusty wind and heaviness in the air suggesting that last night's rains have no intention of vacating the area for some time. It's 38 degrees this morning, two degrees colder than yesterday and 10 degrees worse than when I wrote here last.

Karl the wonder dog and I walked out into the back field this morning. His sniffer was in full operational mode as spring time encourages wild life to travel lots and Karl finds one scent trail after another. We heard a male partridge drumming across the road when we left the house and then in the back field saw a large tom turkey identifying his presence and telling other turkeys to leave his hens alone. His beard is about 10 inches long so my estimate is that he weighs about 20-24 pounds. Turkey season is under way here but he's safe from me as my "things-that-must-be done" list does not include turkey hunting.....only turkey watching.

I'm lame today because yesterday started at 5:30 am when the morning light allowed me to load tools in the truck and head to the new nursery. Kim and Lenny were scheduled to begin construction on our new building and it's a good thing they are outdoor guys as the wind, rain and temperature were not pleasant.

We were at the property by 6:30 and unloaded fifteen minutes later. As soon as thing were clear on who was dong what I returned here to get things prepared for Gail's planting crew that were arriving at nine. It was a mostly "work for barter" type crew of folks who appear annually at a phone call from Gail and work diligently despite some bad weather to help us get things potted. Vermonters still do a lot of bartering and frankly it establishes an interesting relationship that goes beyond getting plants and labels in pots.

Over time, Gail's informal groups have become known as "potting parties" where people show to work for hours or days and in the end everything is ready for sale. The events include some kind of a treat at coffee break time in the morning and then a super good lunch usually long after traditional lunch time. Gail has this philosophy that well fed workers don't work as well so she gets the main work accomplished before she brings out the food. People laugh, seldom complain and in the end everyone comes back to do it all over again.

As soon as I returned to the nursery, I saw that Kim and Lenny had the 6" X 6" pressure treated timbers in place and bound together, and the 2 X 6 X14 pressure treated floor joists in place . Conceptually this building will be 28 feet long, 14 feet wide with the first 12 feet on the right side as you face the structure, open and lacking a floor. This will be the wrapping and sales area so there will be a packing bench and a dirt floor. The infamous "money Box" ("http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com/2007/12/money-box.html) will be located here until we can afford a cash register. Entrance to the 14' X 16' office will also be through this room. I say "dirt floor" but it will be compacted Stay Mat, that crushed rock, coarse sand mixture that packs and hardens well. It will absorb water from freshly washed plants and is a cheaper way to go.

Kim and Lenny work well together. They have known each other since they were little kids and now they both work full time in the granite industry in Barre. They both have exceptional skills and are in demand for their ability to do any production job with ease. It is a pleasure to watch people who know what they are doing. There is limited communication but each takes visual cues from the other and completes the next required step without conversation. They seem tireless in comparison to me but I know they feel the same way at the end of the day.

When we closed down for the night at 6 PM, the two long walls were framed and in place. The area on the right shows where a garage door will be installed. The window in the back wall will be a sliding window so we can help customers in the shade houses out back or pack web orders. Directly in front of that window will be the kids sand box where customers can leave their kids while they shop. The other two windows on the left will let us see who is entering the business if we happen to be in the office, on the phone or computer, sending a fax or working on an order.




Today if the rain is not too heavy, the end walls and the one internal wall will rise. The weatherman is less than positive and I fear we will get washed out at some point but time will tell. Here on the hill I have to get things set up for today's potting crew. Yes, it is Sunday but the nursery business is open seven days a week in Vermont's short season. Come join us if you wish.



Writing from the hill above Peacham Pond where trilliums abound in the woods, hellebores are in full blossom, bloodroot hold their petals closed tight this time of day, and sadly, hepaticas begin to go to seed. If you drive by our new location, check out how the building is coming. We have a long way to go before the sign maker installs Vermont Flower Farm on the roof but it's all very exciting to us.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm where web sales of astilbes are exceptional this year, probably because of mention in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

Electrification

how to install electricity

Thursday, April 24, 2008

48 degrees and overcast here on the hill this morning. The ground squooshes as you walk from all the rain that fell last night. It is uncommonly dark which is unusual for folks who have had 11 consecutive days of sun and temperatures at 65 or above. Karl the wonder dog enjoyed his morning walk and was not frightened by the smell of a fresh bear track which followed last night's rain.

A powerful thunderstorm arrived last night when I was finishing up my piece on big diggers. I had to close the computer down quickly. The light show lasted well over an hour so the part I was going to write on electrification waited in safety until now.

Most businesses need power to accomplish something. Electricity is one of those things like water in most of America. You turn on the switch and you expect water to flow or lights to pop on. Electricity can be expensive. When we arrived here in 1989 from Burlington, our monthly light bill was programed at $39 a month. Today it is at $115 and it gets reprogrammed quarterly. Yes, things have gotten more expensive. Just the same, we cannot run a business without electricity.

Last fall as people stopped at the new land to find out what we were doing, many suggested we go solar. I applaud that thinking but could not find one single person with the suggestion that had any experience, could tell me what they were talking about or could recommend an experienced user who could help. Solar power is interesting to me anyway because Vermont ranks third in the continental US for darkness. We have to look for the sun here so getting solar power without an elaborate system is a feat at times. The most experienced in the field put their panels/collectors on mechanized trackers that follow the sun and adjust the collectors to maximize aborption. Just thinking about the cost of that would deter most from looking further. In our case we need dependable energy for water pumps and sprayers and everything in between down to the telephone and computers. No solar for us yet! Plus I couldn't possibly live long enough to see a pay back.

Getting electric to a site is not difficult but it can be costly. In our case, the utilities were close by as they run along US Route 2. Except for one thing. They run on the opposite side of Route 2 so that required a new pole for $809 to get the power above and across the road to our land. Green Mountain Power is the vendor in this area and they are easy to work with as long as you have a couple bucks. They consented to place the meter on the pole which made it easier for us and the meter reader since this is a seasonal business right now.

I first met with the field rep, mapped out the pole location, and made like Robert Amundsen at the north and south poles and sunk a stake laying claim to the pole site. The only stipulation was the pole had to be planted by a truck that was stationed on US Route 2 itself. A stability/safety thing I think. Once the pole was planted were were ready to do our work. That's where the real cost began.


First I had Kevin trench from the pole to the new building site. That was a distance of 110 feet. The trench must be a minimum of 2 feet deep to meet electrical code but we went deeper because we are going to be running heavy equipment over the top. When digging any trenches, it's best to call Dig Safe first and have them come scan the area for underground wires or pipes. In this case I did not use this service because I knew the existing utilities were across Route 2. Just winging something like this and making a mistake is not prudent because if you dig up something that's not yours, you pay to have it fixed. Dig Safe is a free service paid for through the contractor consortium so there's no reason not to use it.

The other point to remember about trenching no matter where you are is that you just plain do not put a person in a deep trench without providing for his safety in case of cave ins. Many have said "I'll only be down there for a couple minutes.", and never lived to tell about it. Not many mind you, but one is too many.

We dug the trench and the electricians ( Rachel & Chris, B&B Electric from Plainfield) appeared ready to complete the underground installation. One of them started installing the meter socket on the pole while the other one laid out the PVC pipe, threaded a pull rope, got ready for the cable and built the ground fault protector. Basically you are installing plastic pipe in the ground to protect the electrical cable from water or intrusion and deterioration caused by frost heaving, rocks rubbing, etc. There's not much good to say about pulling electric entrance cable through PVC conduit. It's actual three big wires bound together, it's heavy and like a snake, it's never straight.

As soon as the meter socket was up, two ground rods were driven into the ground and connected six feet apart. Grounding is part of the electrical code. Copper prices make you scream but it has to happen and from a safety and system protection standpoint, there is no thought about the importance of grounding an electrical system. It has to happen.

On the opposite end of the run near where we will build the new sales area, I built a temporary structure to hold the breaker boxes while we build the building. I used two 4 x 4 posts 8 feet long and screwed on six pieces of 36" 5/4 pressure treated decking. That made a good area to mount the breaker box and the receptacles. When the building is built, all of the electrical components will be moved inside the building and the interior and exterior wiring will be wired into the breaker box.

When the wiring was completed we began to backfill the ditch a little, I installed my own PVC and wiring for our telephone system (no cell service in our area yet) and then we rolled out a banner of yellow plastic warning tape the length of the hole. This is so if anyone decides to start digging in that area, they will hit the tape first and be reminded to stop what they are doing before they fry themselves. Kevin came back in with his equipment and filled in the rest of the ditch. The following day Green Mountain Power stopped by and made the connection from the meter socket up the pole to their line and across to the transformer. Presto! Electricity, expensive installation, but done right forever!

Installing electricity to your business site is expensive. Doing it right the first time means you only pay once. I find contractors and power utilities helpful and know they want to do a good job too. In this case. we needed electricity. By doing an underground installation we have enhanced the value of our property while meeting a power need. Another exhausting job scratched off the list!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the sun is trying to push between two big, dark clouds. Maybe, just maybe, we'll have some sunshine soon.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Big Diggers, Big Holes

Wednesday, April 23, ,2008

It's been a week since I had a chance to hardly breathe but as spring broke and the snow began to melt, it was time to get moving on some important issues at the new nursery. When I started Vermont Gardens I was committed to using this blog as a means of sharing with interested gardeners what is involved in starting a nursery literally from the ground up. Although we were moving an existing business to a new site, much of the work would be no different than starting from scratch. I thought some folks might be interested and I was right.

As last fall approached, I encouraged readers to stick around and share some winter type thoughts until spring arrived. Along the way I lost a few who didn't want winter chit chat but here we are again. Now we are in full activity and I am prepared to offer some info that should be of interest. For those with a curious nature , skip back to the start of the blog and speed read through the articles. One good reference is where I suggest a favorite book, Tony Avent's So You Want To Start A Nursery? Tony discusses many of the same things I have said or will say. As I indicated before, I intended to write the same book but Tony did such a great job it's just not needed right now.

So here we were a week ago with good weather upon us, the land finally free of snow on the high point, and Kevin Hudson, a local contractor who has helped me for years, able to squeeze in a few days between other jobs. That combination was the catalyst to nail down an electrician and get on with the show.

As we left the project last fall, we had done a nice job on the entrance off Route 2. We had obtained permits from the Agency of Transportation, went through site inspection before and after the work, and ended up with a 44 foot wide entrance which was almost level to the three rod road. We buried a 2.5" underground quality PVC pipe the width of the entrance so we could snake wires or other lines through if we ever needed to. We did this work in compliance with local requirements and completed the entrance using sand, road fabric and Stay Mat.

Road fabric probably has a professional name someplace but to me it's a woven plastic cloth that comes on 12.5 foot wide rolls. Essentially you roll out the cloth flat on the land then place material on top to aid in road construction. It is used to stabilize various soil types and it permits water flow while encouraging compaction. The Stay Mat which was the final course we applied is again a common name which looks different depending upon where you live. In many places it might be crushed shale or stone. Up here the local supplier mixes sand and gravel with crushed rock which compacts to a surface as hard as asphalt at much less cost and with real ease of maintenance over time. Anyway that's kind of where we left off last year.

Our plans for spring included getting in electricity, and then preparing a large area about 80 feet X 70 feet X 6" thick for a new building and three shade houses. We also planned to expand the parking area by 45 X 70 feet and bring the new part up to grade with where we left off last fall. That's where Kevin came into the picture. In four days time we did the parking area, finished the area for the building and shade houses and added on an unplanned area of 12.5 feet X 80 feet for a used shade house we just bought. We also reconfigured the flat area to accommodate a drive through road for the truck and tractor.

The good thing about any of our projects is that we always have a plan that has a budget attached. We also try to build in the opportunity to upgrade a little if the time seems right. No matter how many diagrams you draw, sometimes things look different when you are standing in the middle of a project. In this case our changes meant we needed 18, not 8 truckloads of Stay Mat and another roll of road fabric at $600 and a third more hours labor but we had the money built in and the final project is all the better for it. This all occurred because we got a good deal on a used shade house--kind of like the time I wanted a new roof on the house and ended up with a new roof and an addition. Some guys will do anything to get a private office for themselves!

Kevin has a small dump truck but uses an assortment of other contractors to do quantity hauling like this. We began by rolling out the fabric and then the trucks dumped their loads on the fabric and Kevin used his equipment to spread out and compact the Stay Mat. It's best to spring for $35 for a box of ground cloth staples and staple the fabric down ahead of time and then no matter how hard the wind blows, the fabric remains in place and the job goes along faster.

I have to admit that I created a little hazard in the project kind of like a water hazard to a golfer. Last fall I dug a 200 foot by 10 foot wide display garden that was four feet deep and filled with compost, manure, peat, and dirt. I had forgotten that a road across it would have to be created. In this case we excavated all the loose soil and replaced it with crushed rock, added another PVC sleeve for outside lighting and topped off the 15 foot roadway with fabric and Stay Mat. That change cost about $750 extra. It would have been needed anyway but I messed up last fall and could have done a better job planning.

As soon as we were done with that I had Kevin dig the trench for the underground electricty, scuff out an area for a porta potty and then spread out four extra loads of useless clay that came from somewhere???? To bad we were short of potters that day or anyone who needed clay to line a fresh pond site. Right now we are finished with moving earth and the place looks like the Ponderosa Ranch in size. Within the next two weeks things will close in quickly as our 14 X 28 foot building goes up, then the shade houses, split rail fence and the plants. Should be interesting.

Not everyone knows how to hire contractors, price projects and serve as straw boss and quality control agent. Prices can get scary and you have to make yourself think twice before you change a firm plan. Doing that even once can be costly. I've always had a good vision for what a project should look like in the end and I am never afraid to ask questions. If you know a trustworthy contractor, that's great. If not, do some competitive biddings, meet some people and check some references. In today's economy, it has to be that way unless you have a pocket full of money.



From the mountain above Peacham Pond where today I saw three turkey vultures, one spruce grouse and three deer. It's 9:30 PM now, 52.8 degrees and a couple moths are dancing by the office window. If it rains tomorrow night the Eastern Yellow Spotted Salamanders should be migrating and my night monitoring project will begin. Spring is here!

Good spring wishes!

George Africa
Vermont Flower Farm
The Vermont Gardener

Johnnys Seeds

Sunday, April 13, 2008

31 degrees this morning with a snow squall occurring at the top of Hooker Mountain but not a flake floating to earth here. There's light frost on the truck and the wooden walkway is a challenge for Karl and me and he has four feet to my two. Too early to get a handle on the weather, especially after yesterday which defied everything two different forecasters predicted.

Yesterday morning Karl and I stopped at our new place for the first time. The snow had melted off the entrance and parking area enough that we could get off the highway. The sun was warm even yesterday morning and Karl was eager for a walk and to have an opportunity to determine who had intruded on "his" domain since last fall.

As we looked west towards Plainfield, the large rocks we had placed last fall were finally out of the snow cover. They will be the bones for a 120' X 75' display garden for hemerocallis but will also be a place to sit and get out of the sun. No telling what trees we will plant there but Gail is working on that right now with a couple suppliers. These will be native trees and shrubs from Vermont nurserymen no matter what we arrive at.

The fence didn't do as poorly as I had expected. Several fence people told me to expect a lot of movement of the 4 X 4 X 10 pressure treated posts because the area parallel to Route 2 is quite wet. The far right corner post heaved the most and that was one I didn't put in myself but should have. It moved about 18" so the entire line of fence slackened enough to begin to sag. That stretch alone will be about two hours work to bring back together.

Up at the top, things look quite sound and the parking area we started last fall compacted nicely and remained firm. Since the ground is heavy clay underneath, I put down some sand first, then highway fabric, then crushed stone and gravel. It seems good except for the leftover potholes from so many trucks bringing in topsoil and manure. The picture just above here faces the Winooski River. In the middle of the picture is kind of a line of dirt which is really the end of a soon-to-be 10 X 200 foot display garden. Towards the top of the picture is where the building and shade houses will be built. There's another $5000 in preparatory ground work to do first and that will start in a couple weeks when the rest of the snow is melted and things settle a little more. Any year but this one, we would already be building but 7 feet of snow slows the best of plans a bit.

The land to the east facing Marshfield Village is as yet unspoken for in our plan. There is a little less than two acres there that rolls down the hill from where the building will be. It continues to a flat plain bordered by some trees and a wet area. Long term, the wet area will become an extended wildflower and hosta garden with an assortment of plants that like wet or damp feet. The perimeter will work into flowers that can take some moisture. The main field is still up for grabs and we've had suggestions for grapes and pick your own berries on the hill and propagation fields below. We're always happy to hear ideas but right now we are intent on getting the other areas established and the buildings up.

When I returned yesterday morning, Gail and I sat down and ordered a bunch of flower seeds. Johnny's Seeds in Winslow and Albion, Maine is a great company that's been around for a long time. (http://www.johnnyseeds.com 1-877-564-6697. It's employee owned and in fact the originator just retired (sort of) after a long and successful career building one of the finest seed companies in America. After going through the on-line commercial catalog three times we agreed "that's all folks" and we transmitted the order.

Not only was the order a success but we found that they carried the tomatoes I was looking for as a gift for Winnie, our Director of Hydrological Services. The good thing about these seeds is they are tried and tested in New England and there's no guessing, no disappointment. Gail and I were on a mission for asters, zinnias, calendula, ....a whole raft of cut flower varieties and then sunflowers, also for cuts. Johnnys has about 50 varieties of sunflowers and we were looking for an assortment of early to late 4-6" flower sized sunflowers which would make good cuts, by themselves or mixed in with other flowers. Sunbright Supreme, Autumn Beauty, Sonja, Velvet Queen, Pro Cut Lemon, Chocolate.......the list went on. Some places do cut your own but our plan is that we will do the cutting. They will be planted along the Winooski River so they will serve as a backdrop to the gardens and will hopefully produce a little revenue while brightening up Route 2. Sunflowers have become a popular cut flower as they hold up about a week in a vase, a little longer if you recut them when you get home and add some lemon juice to the water.


As I head out in a minute for the Sunday paper and a carton of milk, I want to remind you to consider trying some alliums this year. Like most all bulbs they are typically planted in the fall but alliums, a member of the onion family, are readily available in the spring too. They come in heights from 3" dwarf varieties up to 4 foot giants and different ones bloom from early spring on through into late July here. I wish they would self seed better than they do but it could be the acidity of the soil here that slows them down. Just the same they aren't really that expensive and they are very interesting flowers. Spring for a few bucks and try a few. I guarantee the comments from your friends will be pay back enough.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the snow shoes just got hung in the cellar until next year even though there's still over 4 feet of snow in the woods. Plenty to do here at Vermont Flower Farm even though I really wanted to get out back to the swamps around Peacham Pond to see how the deer made out. Next year????

Spring gardening wishes,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Spring Thoughts, Snowflake Sparkles

Friday, April 11, 2008

Already 7:30 PM here on the hill. The temperature is down to 34 degrees and the rain continues to pound the standing seam roof as ice crystals from somewhere high above bounce off the windows. The snow is melting to our pleasure even though there is a chance that tomorrow morning will find heavy wet stuff everywhere. This is April in Vermont and this is what is supposed to happen.

Gail is off visiting friends tonight so Alex and I are on our own. When I returned home from work, the pile of mail was on the table and some spaghetti and meatballs was the intended meal. Self service is kind of ok with me as Gail has had a difficult time lately with her Mom. Frankly I don't know how she does what she does but Gail has great concern for others and never seems to forget what they need or when they need it.

Near the mail was a catalog opened to page 28 "Orange". I knew in an instant she had been successful in locating a source for a hybrid tomato named Sun Gold that our Director of Hydrological Services was having trouble locating. Winnie is 80 years old but don't tell anyone. She is also the only person we have ever found who really and truly enjoys watering with a garden hose and talking to the plants at the same time. She was having trouble finding seed for these small fruited, cherry type tomatoes which are described as "Very sweet, bright orange...taste not just sugary but also fruity and delicious. A vigorous grower, these tall plants bear long clusters of fruit." The catalog was Tomato Growers Supply Company, PO Box 60015 Ft. Meyers, Florida 33906

I can't vouch for the catalog but after stopping at half a dozen stores and trying web searches from companies I know, this was quite a find and I'm grateful Gail remembered. I know Winnie will be pleased too. One store owner tried to sell me something that was "close, and also very good". I replied, "Thank you very much, you do not know older folks yet." Old folks want what they want and they don't want substitutes. It could be something as simple as Quaker Oatmeal or Blue Bonnet Margarine but that's what they want. Nothing new, nothing different. I'll order a package up on-line in a few minutes and next week I'll put together a flat full of seed starting mix and make the delivery. With snow still on the ground here, there's plenty of time for Winnie to get these going.

As the snow melts here at 1530 feet, gardeners in low elevations already are on their way to a joyous festival of hellebore blooms. This is an interesting plant I learned of years back from Barry Glick of Sunshine Farm and Gardens, Renick West Virginia. Barry bills his business as selling Uncommonly Rare and Exceptional Plants for the Discriminating Gardener and Collector. People have told me that I am an uncommonly rare and exceptional gardener including Gail so perhaps that explains why I like everything Barry sells.

It seems odd that I am so pleased with a plant that looks so ratty in the spring with brown, tattered, left over foliage, prostrate on the ground, flattened from winters' snow pack. Just the same, to be able to see incredible color surrounded by melting snow is a welcome sight we enjoy here.


Hellebores come in lots of varieties but so far I have stuck with the most common. They are doing well in the lower garden and have begun to seed in well. I have no plans to relocate any to our new nursery and will just buy in some more from Barry to get going. That won't be this year as we're already too busy but this fall or next spring we will for sure.

This plant will be blooming here in about three weeks. That's a guess because they are under two feet of snow right now but that is going fast. Any where that the ground has been bear, my guess is they are showing buds by now. Although Barry is at over 4000 feet at his nursery, his website temperature gauge says it's 69 degrees there so I expect he has some real good bloom.

It's June here before we get some good looking foliage back on the plants but by then you don't even notice because so many other flowers are in bloom. In the meantime you received that spring jump start you needed and even if snowflake sparkles had been pounding on your window or your spring thoughts had been dampened by three consecutive days of rain, I'm sure the colors of hellebores would have brightened your thoughts. It always works for me! Try some and you'll see.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where enough of the edge ice of the pond opened today to permit a flock of Canadian geese to set down tonight for a rest and a snack. Think I need a snack too!

Good gardening thoughts!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Mourning Doves in the Morning

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Sunrise is camouflaged in gray clouds this morning and the sun appears to be having difficulty recognizing morning responsibilities. It is dull outside, and the ground crunches as you walk. Last night's 24 degree temperature solidified yesterday's snow melt. Karl the wonder dog and I just returned from our morning walk and it's apparent spring in here in his mind as he resisted a return to the house. I had slip-slided about enough on the patches of ice along Peacham Pond Road but minor slips to a dog are meaningless when spring smells abound.

The call of the mourning doves is welcoming. Somewhere I read that they pair for life and that may explain the single whatever that has been at the feeder outside my window all winter. I am seldom into male-female bird identification but the bird kept me company all winter in a strange relationship as it appeared when others birds were not interested. They are silent as they land and leave and when you see them on the roadways eating grit, they seem fearless or stupid. They do not spring into the air until you hit the brakes and share commentary they cannot hear and would not care about anyway.

As Karl and I walked down George Jewett Road, we faced Hooker Mountain straight on. It's a beautiful mountain with some thick cliffs I want to climb some day in search of bobcats. The backside was clear cut a few years back and is a messy representation of man's greed. Two years back a logging trail was cut across the summit to access another 60 acre woodlot and for some reason that road was obvious to me today. When we woke to our first spring day here in Marshfield in April 1990, bears talking about their winter hibernation were audible from here but since the clear cutting, even the bears have said enough of this and have moved on. I miss those calls as they remind me that I live in a place apart from bustle and noise and interruption. That has changed.



Last night I went out three times to listen for barred owls but they were silent or perhaps absent from the area. It has been a difficult winter for owls and those that live on ground rodents because of the snow. Several years ago Alex and I made a nice wooden house from plans we found in an old bird book. This winter we made two more but only got as far as dragging them on a sled out back to where they will be hung. Getting the ladder out is a chore and this all should have occurred last year but time was short. Sometime soon? Barred owls supposedly nest once a year here between February and August. I don't understand that behavior but that's what I have been told.

I just wrote an overdue check this morning to the Species Lily Preservation Group I am three months overdue but I figure they will forgive me. This is a the kind of catch up work I do at 5:30 in the morning before the real stuff has to start. The SLPG is an important lily group because it seeks to protect and reproduce important lilies from which today's favorites derive. I really have to get with the program here and write the Pacific Northwest Lily Society and find out when I need to renew with them. Plant societies are always looking for members but members don't always do their share of responsibilities. Gail and I belong to more than a dozen societies right now and I almost need a spreadsheet to remember how many years I renewed for, what the membership fee is and who the treasurer or secretary is. Regardless of my forgetfulness, these are very good societies.

Bulb lilies are a special plant to us. We have elected not to sell any this year as we make the move to our new nursery. It's not because we are giving up as much as they require a higher maintenance in pots and we have lots going on this year. Gail reminds me it would have been easier to have some for sale as opposed to having to tell everyone why we aren't carrying any this year. She's probably right but in our business, I am the juggler and I have too many things in the air already. Box stores and ag stores like Agway and Blue Seal often carry some lilies and Gardeners Supply in Burlington recently merged with Four Seasons and both of them offer lilies.

The Internet has a number of companies which mail order lilies. It's best to go with companies which specialize in lilies and also better to stay away from the companies that say they carry everything and always run some kind of low cost special. There's nothing like ordering what looks like a nice apricot or a muted pink that grows up orange or white. Just a thought.

We send all new lily growers to Judith Freeman in Washington State. Her business,
The Lily Garden, is only lilies and her personality is nothing but friendly and professional. She's always on top of the lily world and always has a lily which will make you and your friends stop in awe. As for me, I better stop everything right now and get on with today's projects.


Good gardening from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a Hairy Woodpecker is pleased with the new chunk of suet I put out last night.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Trying to sell some plants on-line at Vermont Flower Farm

Healthy Lilies

Monday, March 24, 2008

Another sunny day here in Vermont but another day when the sun was prominent but the rise in temperature was not. The snow banks are still so high that they don't seem to move. I fear for a repeat of last April's snow which in this area amounted to almost three feet of new snow in about three weeks. It went as quickly as it came but this year that kind of storm would draw out spring and create big problems for the state's deer herd.

Gail and Alex were at a neighbors when I returned from work and Karl the wonder dog was anxious to get outside. So was I. I leashed him up and we headed down to the pond. The ice on the roadbed crinkled and crunched as we walked along. It was cold as soon as we got into the woods cover. Red squirrels were busy everywhere and we crossed three sets of coyote tracks which bothered Karl some. It was good to get out just the same.

I received a comment yesterday from Frances from southeastern Tennessee where she writes a great blog named Faire Garden: Humble Thoughts About My Garden. She inquired about Eucharis grandiflorum which I pictured, and she also wanted to know more about the less than admirable Easter lilies I observed just prior to Easter. She asked about identifying lilies with problems.

Eucharis grandiflorum is a plant I have grown for ages. The green leaves aren't anything special but when the blooms begin, not a visitor enters the house without making a comment. This is a flower which you might not pick up in a greenhouse or nursery even if you saw it because when not in bloom, it;s just a pot of big green leaves. With good potting soil that is organic and drains well, the plant grows quickly and flowers three or four times a year.



Frances inquired if it was hardy outside and I knew it was more of a tropical but didn't know the exact zone. Coincidently, a flower catalog showed up today and part of the mystery was answered. Understand this is just a catalog that came in the mailbox. I have no experience with the company but they do sell Eucharis grandiflorum. They list the plant as zone 10 and higher and they sell it for $19.95. They mention that it likes high humidity but I can vouch for the fact that it's about 6 feet from our wood stove here so I guess it can survive without the humidity as long as it gets watered on schedule. The company is Stokes Tropicals from New Iberia, Louisiana. The website is http://www.stokestropicals.com

As for identifying any lilies with problems, let's just say that when you have grown tens upon tens of thousands of them over twenty years like we have, you can spot problems or good health from a distance. Botrytis is a common floraculture problem. In lilies this fungus first appears as small round, brown circles on the lower leaves. Think of something not bigger than a pencil eraser sized spot. When you notice these on the leaves, it's usually too late to do anything. The fungus is common in the ground and garden debris and it attacks the underside of leaves, essentially growing through the leaf as it spreads about the plant.

Botrytis will not kill the lily but by virtue of destroying some leaves, the lilies will be less vigorous the next year. Oriental lilies and some Longiflorum Asiatic hybrids are strong and less susceptible than most Asiatic lilies. If you have ever seen lilies in a garden and the bottom 8 inches of leaves are browned and shriveled, then you have seen botrytis. This is an easy problem to care for and should not have been something I noticed in a greenhouse grown lily. Those problems were common at one place I stopped at.

Lily virus which I found to be more prevalent is something unstoppable. To see it in a large number of crops suggests the bulbs were infected to begin with. Although lilies with a virus will often grow in your garden for a few years, they usually weaken over time and eventually just give up. The leaves are often curled and contain yellow stripes or variations of leaf color. It takes more than a quick glance to figure this out because over or under use of certain chemicals can produce confusingly similar discoloration. Lilies with virus should be removed from your garden and discarded (no composting!) so the problem doesn't spread. Green and clean is what you want to see in a leaf.

Lilies are in tremendous production because they are so heavily used by the florist industry. They can be cut while still budded and they ship well so they are a popular plant. The industry changes colors annually to provide plenty of opportunity for the floral industry. The downside is that fields and bulb crops do not always get tested as they should and a bulb growing in a pot, unless tested, takes a while to develop signs of problems. If you see lilies exhibiting any of these descriptions, leave your doubt about the real diagnosis and the plant at the store or garden center. No matter how tempting the price might be, there's no sense in bringing home a problem.


The chef has given second call and that means I must close for now. Someone...somewhere... reading this has the luxury of fresh spring flowers or forced forsythia branches on the table. Our azalea and tulips continue to do the trick for us but we can't wait for our own flowers.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Easter Wishes

Saturday, March 22, 2008

It's very close to Easter here at Vermont Flower Farm. I remember there was a time when virtually everyone I knew celebrated Easter. Times have changed and some who did, no longer do, and some people I know are of other faiths while some have no interest in any religion at all.

I always have had an Easter Lily or two or three and have always enjoyed them. What we know of as an Easter Lily is really a longiflorum and not at all like Madonna lilies associated with a far different part of the world in a much earlier time. This year I don't have any Easter lilies because I couldn't find any that looked good enough to purchase. After four stores, each with lilies that had botrytis and had been over fertilized, I was about to give up. There's only one greenhouse that produces them up this way and it's still 65 miles away towards Burlington. I knew they would have very good lilies but the trip didn't make any sense. I tried one last store and those lilies looked as if they had been frozen. I was disappointed and settled for a nice azalea just starting to open and some tulips. Gail was quite pleased but still wanted a full explanation of why we were going to be lilyless.

Several years back I bought Easter lilies from a box store. They looked exceptional and they were. When I got them home I found out they had some pretty hungry red ants inside but the ants didn't seem to bother us and the plants were well enjoyed. Lilies are a very good investment and reward you for a long time if you purchase them when they are just starting to open.

This Easter presented a real challenge for growers and that's probably part of the problem with all the lilies I looked at. Balancing light and fertilizer is very tricky. Growers now days use growth regulators to compensate for the lack of sun when the bulbs are first planted --say 80 days ago, and the increasing sunlight each day since planting. The number of variables involved is where the challenge comes in and just anyone can't figure this out. This year Easter is very early compared to other years which means the bulbs were planted and grew under artificial light during much of their early start.

A couple alternatives to consider if you can't find a nice longiflorum is a potted lily or several stems of lilies of either Orientals, Asiatics, or the crosses of those two. Oriental lilies are the nice showy and fragrant lilies while Asiatic lilies come in a large variety of colors, hold up well and are fragrance free which is something to consider if you're having company with possible allergies. The various longiflorum hybrids are also readily available as cut flowers and are very impressive.

In early August I always think of Easter because the nice trumpet lilies begin to bloom here including Regale. This one always gives great pleasure with it's burgundy backing and pure white petals. Just looking at this picture makes me wish I had a few pots going right now.

Finally, I have grown to love Eucharis grandiflorum, the Amazon lily pictured at the top of the page. Ours are just finishing blooming again and probably would have been on target for mid April if I hadn't moved the pots into my office when we had some company over a few weeks back. They are not as easy to find any more but you can track them down on the Internet.

With a twitch of a bunny's nose, Easter will be here. Regardless of your belief, I know that you probably enjoy plants. I hope these thoughts have been helpful as you purchase and grow plants for Easter in years to come. In the meantime, enjoy time with family and friends and give some time to think about the origin of Easter.



Easter wishes from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the moon is just now rising above the fir balsams and tamaracks and the wind I thought had stopped, reminds us again that cold days will remain for some time longer.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

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