Vermont Flower Show, Let's Go!

Centaurea Amethyst Dream

Thursday, March 5, 2009

One of those afternoons when the air feels as if bad weather is coming soon. No precip but 29.9 degrees and a deadness to the outside air that confirms what they have been saying this afternoon about a mix of weather by morning. Karl the Wonder Dog is stretched across the bed snoring as if the weather doesn't matter. Alex is working on his computer and Gail just left to meet some friends in Montpelier for a meeting of the Hardy Plant Club. She and her friends should have an enjoyable time as tonight's presentor is David Lewis. A recent introduction of Mr. Lewis and his experience reported :

"David Lewis has decades of experience growing, breeding and propagating rhododendrons. He will give a slide show about rhododendrons that bloom reliably in northern Vermont, others which are potentially hardy here, as well as a few which he wishes were."

(Intro by Don Avery, owner of Cady's Fall's Nursery, Morrisville,VT)

I'm hoping Gail can give us a brief summary of this presentation. Rhododendrons are not popular yet in Vermont although more and more people are showing their success with them. I think as more get out there, the colors will encourage gardeners to ask their nursery suppliers to buy in more varieties. Personally I have always been reluctant to grow anything that I have to protect from 4-5-6 feet of snow but the more I see growing, the more I think I may give it a try soon.

As for me, I'm cleaning up paperwork and making lists for the weekend. What I would like is to locate a day stretcher so I can catch up on some reading. Plant material abounds this time of year and being a member of the Garden Writers Association seems to guarantee additional treats, by e-mail and in packages.

Today some pictures came from Blooms of Bressingham and they were just enough to divert my attention from what I should be doing to what I'd like to be doing--planting new gardens this summer. Just about any new flower catches my attention while making me wonder if they will be successful here or not. In today's world, gardeners are looking for more unusual plant material and if it's easy to grow and presents a nice display, it's sure to catch on. Here are a few pictures from Blooms of Bressingham. Most of these introductions are listed as zone 5 but I wouldn't be surprised but what they would make it in much of central Vermont on South.

Dendranthema Frosty Igloo

Dendranthema Cool Igloo



Penstemon Loganberry Ice



Penstemon Amelia Jayne



Eryngium Big Blue

Whoops, someone is knocking at the back door and Karl the Wonder Dog is not the best of greeters! Have to go. Remember, everyone, that if you are within traveling distance of Chittenden County/Burlington/Essex Jct, Vermont, the Vermont Flower Show starts tomorrow at the Miller Convention Center in Essex. This is a spectacular event sure to jump start your spring. Sponsored by Greenworks, the Vermont Nursery and Landscape Association.


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Very Cold Thoughts

Thursday, December 15, 2009

Good morning from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the wind is calm and the thermometer registers 19.8 below zero, and slowly drops lower as the sun contemplates rising. Karl the Wonder Dog just made a Superman-like, "faster than the speed of light" trip outside and back and neither of us debated the decision.

I've been busy at work, had a carpal tunnel repair job on my left wrist, and here at the house I have been working on our new website. I'm down to resizing hundred of pictures and that takes time just to get organized. I have always said I am not a "New Years Resolution" person but one thing that has to change this year is when I take pictures, they have to get sorted, labeled and stored in proper files and folders. I am spending too much time trying to find what I know I have and it's all my fault.

I belong to the Garden Writers Association and with that membership comes product information from many plant and supply companies. The DVDs are interesting and most work so after you get excited you really can see what is available. I planned to show you the latest poinsettias before the holidays and the DVD I received was messed up. I called for another and half of it was missing so I gave up on that one. By next year there will be more varieties of this fine holiday flower as a great deal of hybridizing work is being done on color and style. I'll try again!

Before I head out the door this morning, here are a few selections to think about. Nothing super but everything has a place. Gaillardia Arizona Sun is up top.Change is good in the garden too!

Vinca Pacifica Burgundy

Osteospermum Asti White

And finally, a new pepper named 'Carmen' . Hot thoughts on a very cold day!

Be well, keep warm and remember your pets and animals. It's cold out there!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

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