Forest From The Trees

Sunday, March 15, 2009

A bright sunny day here in Vermont today. The temperature is up to 50 degrees on the sunny side of the house and I can almost see the ice melting off the driveway. In a few minutes I'm going to put on the snowshoes and head out into the woods for an hour or so.

Forests are friends to me and I fear for their health on the one hand while also being thankful for all they do for us. On our Vermont Flower Farm web site I wrote a piece years ago entitled "Our Forests, Our Responsibilities." That page will be available for a few more days so if you are interested, look at http://vermontflowerfarm.com/ourforests.html and see what I wrote. The whole subject means more to me today than the day I wrote those thoughts.

All forests have a life term dependent upon the tree composition. The following picture shows a stand of red pine that was planted over forty years ago. They weren't well cared for so they did not produce as much growth as intended but they are still somewhat of an asset. This time of year the returning crows find refuge there, barred owls eat their evening meals of rodents from lofty perches, and incoming flocks of robins find refuge in large numbers when they return in the midst of spring snowstorms.


We need to do a better job teaching our children the importance of forests and what they can do to help nurture good forests around the world. This next picture is from several years ago when Alex took an introductory forestry course. There were seven or eight home school kids and they obviously felt comfortable in the woods and they learned a lot. We need more programs like this one!


Sometimes we have to take advantage of an assortment of tools to make the woods feel more comfortable to each other. I have been walking the forests since I was five or six. I have had good teachers and that's made it easier for me. Just the same I am quick to walk with anyone who has more skill than me and I reference new books and guides as they come along.




You have probably heard of the Arbor Day Foundation before. They have released a great book named What TREE Is That? Here is some background on an excellent pocket guide.

What TreeIs That? A guide to the more common
trees found in North America

"The Arbor Day Foundation is offering for the first time a tree identification in book form. What Tree Is That?: A guide to the more common trees of North America, published by the Arbor Day Foundation, is a perfect resource to help people identify trees in a simple step-by-step process.

What Tree Is That? will help people identify more than 250 species of trees that live and grow in North America. The book uses a step-by-step approach to identifying trees, explaining what to look for determining the species for a specific tree, such as the shape of the leaves, the differences in the leaf stems and twig structures, the fruits and flowers, and the details of buds and bark."

What Tree Is That? features advanced, hand-drawn illustrations of many distinctive characteristics of many species of trees in full color. The book was illustrated by Karina Helm, who specializes in scientific illustrations."

I'll detail more about the book on The Vermont Gardener in the next day or so. In the meantime, learn to tell the trees in the forest and help new generations learn too! Click on
What Tree Is That? It's available at bookstores and on Amazon beginning April 1, 2009.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a fine day has developed! If you haven't purchased or ordered vegetable seeds yet, you better get going. Estimates for seed sales suggest as much as a 19% increase in sales this year. Plant start sales may reach the 100's of % increases. While you're at it, consider putting a copy of What Tree Is That? on hold.


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

31.1 and snow

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Returned to Marshfield today and as I began to climb the hill out of the village, the sky darkened noticeably. By the time I had reached Hilltop Auto Body where wrecks put on new bodies and drive again, snow was spitting from the sky and it had the appearance of a big storm. Now it's an hour later and the wood supply for the next couple days has been brought in. Karl the wonder dog is barking at a neighbor getting their mail out front and Gail is preparing a pot roast for tonight. The wood stove has been cleaned and fired up and I have to pay good credit to Gail and Alex for today's labors.



I enjoy watching the birds and animals just before a storm as they busy themselves in flighty movements and gorge themselves on seeds of choice. Someplace under the snow there is a red squirrel magnet this year and it is drawing in squirrels from adjacent woodlands. As I sit looking out the window, three reds move like little vacuums across the snowy crust, picking up cracked corn and black oil sunflower to store in temporary storage units beneath the snow. They work relentlessly like blue jays and apparently have a similar appetite.

When snows come like this year's have, there's no worry about wind dessication to plants. Instead the caution comes when the snow begins to leave in late March, for then there's no telling how much damage was created by little critters like voles, hungry for good food throughout the winter. I have yet to determine if there are more plant eaters each year or if it's merely the fact that we seem to increase the size of our gardens and provide a more enticing buffet.

Some folks tire of talk of global warming, Kyoto Protocol, Bali and the suggested books and movies which raise credence or discussion about change. Today it is snowing. Today in 1866 a storm came up the coast and dropped three feet of snow in the Berkshires and left a couple feet in southern Vermont. If we get 4 inches of snow and some rain that constitutes change. If the temperature here in Marshfield changes 2 degrees one way or the other, we will either have a pile of snow or melting snowbanks. That's change.

I for one am not going to dispute temperature change. I see it in the temperature, the type of snow, the amount of precipitation and the creatures new and since passed that result from the change. Every growing season there are too many new insects gnawing away on our plants--insects I have never seen before. I just learned that the hardiness zones have been updated. The Arbor Day Foundation site has some interesting information and the new


hardiness zone map and accompanying information deserve a look. Our half of Vermont is now Zone 4 with the exception of a dot of land from Canaan in the Northeast Kingdom to adjacent Pittsburg, New Hampshire. As you get a chance, take a look and compare what hardiness zone you are in.

Our new land along the Winooski River is Zone 4 but the river rises and falls each day as Green Mountain Power releases water to make electricity. The movement changes air flow and temperature and should allow us to try some zone 5 plants that might be tricky in other places. In contrast the heavy clay soil where our building and shade houses will stand may stay cold later or warm up faster. It all depends on how quickly the snow will melt off that piece. I guess the story then is that temperatures have changed. Gardens will be affected by everything in proximity and a gardener's success or challenge will relate to temperature. As you consider a new garden for next year, view the proposed site all winter. Make note of where the wind blocks, the snow piles up and the water gathers. Those little pieces of information will make for a stronger project next spring.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where two inches of quick falling snow has covered the seed in the platform feeder and closed down the evening meal for our birds.

Snowy garden wishes,

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