August Colors Continue

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

It's quiet now, almost 8:30 PM and an in-between time that occurs just after the sun's last rays absent themselves and before the night celestials turn on or the night animals begin to sing. There's an interruption of sorts going on in the kitchen as Alex is mixing a grapefruit spritzer--cling-cling-cling with the spoon and Gail just took a Honey Spice Cake out of the oven--the second in as many days. The recipe comes from a World War II cookbook Alex and I found at the used bookstore in Plainfield some time ago. We have cooked many recipes from it and this one served as Alex's birthday cake yesterday. Three boys came over, all friends from pre school days. They are all good guys who have learned to accept their friends autism and not forget him despite how the world turns.

Gardeners ask for help this time of year in their quest to bring more color to their gardens. For us, much of the color is accidental as everything we plant has a purpose and a place but for some, this is difficult. The top picture includes orienpet lilies from Judith Freeman and The Lily Garden, Vancouver, WA. If you like the lilies, go to her site by the same name and you'll be fascinated by your opportunities. The backdrop includes a hydrangea of unknown origin but one Gail acquired and planted several years back. It started slow this spring after begin covered by 8 feet of snow this winter but it is a champion and adds nice contrast. Look carefully and you'll note a yellow hollyhock flower which adds the contrast collections like this need.

The Lilium superbum are bordered on the left by hosta flowers and backdrops of shasta daisies. The fence post that is sticking up was salvaged perhaps 15 years ago, maybe longer from a long fence that someone was throwing out in Woodstock, Vermont. It's covered with blue and gray fungus now but it sure provides a definition to our gardens.

There are many, many cimicifugas out there now and these are an example. Gail goes for the dark one like James Compton, Pink Spike, Hillside Black Beauty or Brunette but I'll take waves of ramosa or the height of atropurpurea any time. These were renamed actea but I'll accept cimicifuga for some time.

August color is a must and this year, although our new nursery gardens are lacking in maturity, they are on their way to being special too. Sometimes gardens that reside in past memory or current mind have sufficient display to get the garden designer in us working better when we visit plant club sales and nurseries we like. If you have a question or an incomplete thought, ask Gail when you stop by. She is forever completing sentences for me so i'll bet she can help you too.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl the Wonder Dog is already snoring and spice cake aromas seem more tantalizing than tv convention noise. Maybe with vanilla ice cream tonight--the spice cake, not the convention!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm Our website that can serve as a place to pull together great gardening ideas

Zinnia Time

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Heading for 9 PM already so it has been a long enough day here at Vermont Flower Farm. I was later than usual getting to Route 2 to open for business today but figured folks would not stop by until well after lunch because of the good weekend weather. I was right about that so I had some time to get a few things caught up. Every morning we begin by picking a representative daylily from the garden of each variety we have in bloom. This time of year things are slowing down so it didn't take as long.

I just got in full swing with one row remaining to draw from and I heard a car coming down the flat, obviously in trouble and sputtering like an engine on it's last leg. It coasted into our driveway entrance, half blocking the area. Before I could make it to the top of the field, the owner, a woman with three kids in tow, asked if she could use the phone as her cell phone didn't work in our area and her car, (why yes!) just "stopped".

Many people in Vermont, and around the country for that matter, try to make a car go forever. Cars are expensive and so are clothes for three kids going off to school next week. This car was a 2000 Ford van and my money is on the fact it won't ever run again. Two calls to her friends, one to AAATravel for the wrecker and by 9:40 things were back to normal for me but not for the "carless" family.

I got back to picking sunflowers for sale as cut flowers and then zinnias by the bucketfull. People always have liked zinnias and I remember them from my first days in Vermont when the neighboring farm ladies, Fidelia and Lillian, and their mother, Eunice, had a flower garden with rows of 'State Fair' zinnias growing tall all season.

As I finished the picking, I checked the water pump and happily found that it was still working well. I began dead heading the daylilies in the field when Winnie, our Chief of Hydrological Services (80 something years old and better fit than me!) called to see if Gail had arrived and if so was she ready for some fresh coffee. Winnie is a special person who does the work of many local people helping our community. We are somehow on the list she maintains and she helps water plants and do odds and ends including making coffee for Gail when she needs a cup.

Gail arrived and the coffee and conversation seemed to give sufficient jump-start on the bouquet making project which went on for an hour. I had picked buckets of various sizes of zinnias as well as foliage from cosmos and some stems of Eupatorium maculatum 'Gateway' I thought would make nice filler..... and it did.

I had some errands to run too including a stop to pick up a load of calcium sulphate, more commonly known as gypsum. I am getting closer to tilling 8 more 12 X 50 foot gardens and as soon as that is finished, I need the gypsum to break down the clay. By the time I got back at 6 PM, the place was quiet and I could sit for a minute and enjoy the things we have accomplished so far this summer. If you get a chance to come visit, you'll probably be as amazed as we are.

As I sat in the hosta shade house, I was reminded that Austin is with us for one more week before returning to college. He'll keep the Chevy loaded next week and will continue planting the various display gardens. He's been a real asset too and like the zinnias, has grown this summer and learned a lot about this kind of business.

Time for sleep as I have to move the tractor in the morning. Hope you enjoyed the day.

Good gardening!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Daylilies Continue To Bloom

Alice In Wonderland

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

58 degrees here on the hill with a heavy fog hanging down towards the pond. It would be a great morning to tour the various kettle ponds around here and take pictures of the fog over the water and the moose and deer drinking at the edge. The nursery calls me to set up for Gail for the day before I head out to the real job. Sadly for me, there's no time for taking pictures or enjoying the wild critters. Today it's just a thought, but maybe I can squeeze out one early morning this weekend.

The summer has been a summer with no summer with heavy, constant rains which have made the daylily fields a muddy mess. Just the same the daylilies are blooming and blooming and some like the Chicago series are now putting forth more scapes. Double Dream and Classy Lassie are two basic daylilies but if you don't have them in your garden, you should stop by and take a look or call Gail and order some. They bloom on and on, not with a couple blooms here or there but with a profusion we haven't seen before. I expect them to bloom for a couple more weeks like this but the weather will be the influencing factor I am sure.

Patio Parade

Around the garden there are some daylilies that catch my eye. These are not fancy, new-to-the market, collectors favorite type plants but daylilies that are backbones of a garden, daylilies that bloom dependably and fill the palette. Patio Parade is blooming strong and 32" tall right now. The petals are thick and high winds don't waste it away. I planted two dozen this spring by the lower nursery border next to some tall white veronica and close to some Eupatorium maculatum 'Gateway'. Next year this spot will be an attention-getter as the contrast in foliage, height and color are dynamic. Folks who want a couple noticeable daylilies by the back garden or entrance are noticing Patio Parade for this use.

Grape Velvet

This is not a good picture of the beauty of Grape Velvet. I can't seem to get the color right. The name says it all but the picture doesn't show what I want. This is an older daylily which is difficult to find. We grow on all we can and never have enough. For three years now Gail has tried to order in a quantity from our supplier and they never are correct. The color is really darker and the velvet part of the name is very true. We have about three dozen left for sale this year so if this tickles your interest, call Gail soon.

Double Firecracker

Doubles never intrigued me--kind of like streaked hostas but it's something that grows on you. I always loved Double River Wye, a light, lemon double that has started blooming in our garden again. This Double Firecracker and Double Dream, Double Yellow and Double Gold are all blooming off and on now and it's nice to see the stand-out colors as we are half way to September.

Guess I better get going here. I was interrupted once already by Karl the Wonder Dog. He heard a small buck entering the hosta garden and I don't know what possesses me to try to protect a garden that has been neglected and well eaten so far this year. Just the same, we ran out and non stop barks with mild ferocity got the buck down the road far enough that he knew Karl wasn't coming. The buck's challenge was really an insult to Karl's ability but Karl and other dogs seldom pick up on animal insults. A dog with a wagging tail clearly thinks he "did good".


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where good gardens soothe tired bones and sore muscles and make me feel proud about what we have accomplished this year at the new nursery. Come visit if you can!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Flying Beauty

Friday, August 8, 2008

A wet evening here on the hill. Gail and Alex and I had a hasty dinner, caught the first ten minutes of the local news and watched a 47 minute recreation of an H.P. Lovecraft tale. It was a movie recreation made to look like a silent movie from the early 1900s. The similarities between an icon in the movie and something in the Johnny Depp/Pirates of the Caribbean series were amazing. Alex says that Lovecraft was not enamored by spiders or octopus tentacles so I guess that explains some of this. This all has absolutely nothing to do with gardening except that it was a prelude to our getting outside before the sun retreated in fear of more rain.

We made Karl the wonder dog go out back for a walk. He hates evenings like this because it is so silent he can't pick up the sound of intruders to his space. We walked some and stopped to pick wild blueberries which he loves. Too much sitting and riding for me in the past two days so the berry picking (bending) was brief.

When it rains like this, I wonder where the butterflies and moths go. The Great Spangled Frittillary pictured above is one of many here this year because the food sources they enjoy are so plentiful. The thistles, milkweeds, bee balms, and coneflowers are too thick to believe and the butterflies abound. I have been intrigued by a bumblebee-like clearwing hummingbird moth and I have found this website very useful because it can be made specific to Vermont's counties. We live in Washington County but you can find yours too.

As we walked around tonight I noticed some of the flowers were drenched from too much rain but still looked nice to me. The Oriental lilies have great fragrance when they first come out but even after today's rain, the perfume was apparent. Gold Band and Sheherazade are a couple I like.

As we walked along, I noticed that the purple echinacea which have been blooming at the nursery for two weeks are just unfurling petals here on the hill. 700 feet does make a difference.

In contrast, the beautiful color of the vase shaped hosta, Liberty, is as pleasing as ever. This one lost part of a leaf to a nibbling deer but it's still a beauty anyone would like in their collection.

The weekend is almost here and we hope for some improvement in the weather so gardeners can get out and see us. If you live nearby, stop in for a visit and let me know if you read this blog.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where the rain has started up again. The sound is tranquilizing and a little reading should put me away for the night.

Best weekend wishes,

Tired George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Thistle madness

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

A damp day here on the hill created by residual rains which just won't stop. Today is supposed to be the only half nice day between now and next Monday so we will have to make the best of it. I start the day at Root Canal City and hope the balance of the day improves.

The amount of rain we have received over the past three weeks is measured in quantities greater than one foot. I don't know the total here because I never had the courage to put up the rain gauge. Three storms measured in excess of 3" each and many other storms exceeded an inch at a clip. Just when the water in the daylily fields was receding a little, it rained another .7 of an inch and we are back to mud. I have had to use survey tape and re-bar to block off certain areas where it's too slippery for folks. The other day when I arrived at the nursery, Gail had a woman doing kind of a grape stomp dance with her feet inside 5 gallon buckets of water. She had

tried to do what Gail said not to do and got buried down around the daylily, Garnet Hager. The color caught her attention but the mud caught her feet. As soon as she exited the buckets, she slipped on Gail's spare boots and went back into the mire to pick daylilies herself. I guess Gail will go to lengths to make a good sale.

Forty Carats (above) just came out. There are a lot of goldy-yellows out there but this one is special. It's big and thick and the ribs coming out of the throat are powerful.

Daveo Holman is a plant I picked up from a supplier in Wisconsin. It's a giant flower but after two years, it's still quite short here.

Decateur Bullseye has made Gail quite happy. She likes distinct eyezones on big, tall scapes. That's this one for sure. On any given day, we try to pick three dozen or so daylilies to show customers what is in bloom. The table always draws attention and sure encourages sales, especially from those who can't easily walk into the gardens, slippery mud days or not.

If you're out and about today, stop by our nursery at Route 2 and talk daylilies with Gail. She's juggling home care for her 91 year old mother right now but my guess is she'll be at work by 9 like she always is.

Gardening wishes from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl is barking at a feral cat and I better be heading to the world of work.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Gardens
Vermont Flower Farm A website that should remind you to visit us on Route 2, just west of Marshfield Village

Reminded of Reminders

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Another fine morning here on the hill despite calls for more rain and some thunder boomers by later this afternoon. I'm scurrying here this morning en route to an early appointment and a brief trip to the doctor. Summer is a busy time anyway and trying to get a new nursery off the ground during challenging times is more work than days are long. Good friends and a stream of customers has kept us busy but still tired.

There are always things which need to be accomplished in life and with a business. Gail and I are "list people" and we keep lists which sometimes work into two or three lists and then a list of what can reasonably be accomplished. We work well together and help each other remember. When you throw a 91 year old mother in law and our work with autism into the mix, some days are too short. Today is probably one of those days.

There are a couple reminders I never got to yesterday and one involves garden safety. A lady visited yesterday who has been a customer of many years. She is a farm lady with a large family. She is so nice that hugs and good wishes are never enough. She advised yesterday that one of her sons had been caught in the power take off on a farm tractor and was seriously injured. There are no words to describe how we felt when we heard this.

Farm and garden safety are important. Operating a lawn mower, a rototiller, a chipper, a weed or brush whacker all have inherent threats and people now days don't seem to think about this enough. I am amazed to see so many people not even wearing eye protection when they are doing a task that generates flying debris. My reminder here is care about yourself, family and friends, teach young gardeners the safe way and constantly remind each other when you notice infractions. When you are tired, do not use any equipment. I have a general rule not to climb up on the tractor when I am tired--I just won't do it no matter how deep the grass is. I never operate the chain saw for more than the time it takes to go through one tank of gas. That's about 40 minutes and that's more than enough to cut more wood or brush than I want to clean up before the end of the allotted time. Think safe is the reminder here.

If you are a lily grower as in lilium--the martagons, asiatics, longiflorum asiatics, orienpets, orientals, species, etc., check again for lily leaf beetle and take necessary action. This is an insidious insect and if you grow lilies or want to grow lilies, be reminded you have to act regularly on this problem.

August is almost here and if you grow peonies, be sure they are well watered in mid August. For us that's not a problem because Vermont has set new records for rainfall this summer. Recent rains have come at 3-5" at a time so I am not worried about our peonies. If you live where it has been dry, water well as this is when peonies set buds for next years flowers. A little work now will pay dividends next year.

Make a quick tour of your gardens and be sure you have picked up all your tools. Tools with wooden handles or even the more modern plastic coated wooden handles will rot quickly. You are listening to a guy who preaches but doesn't obey and I have a collection of tools that need repairs because I have been very poor, downright lazy, about bringing tools back in after use.

Tonight as you tour your garden, take a look at how things are growing, what needs to be weeded, what needs moving or dividing. Make a plan. There was a sign by a health club the other day that said "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail"/ Nuf said. You have your own reminders I'm sure.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Cedar Waxwings (the birds) are as beautiful to me as the daylily by the same name. See Gail at the nursery and she'll help you find one or more to purchase.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm A nice website with good information and no directions on how to get to our new nursery on Rt 2 Marshfield. Reminder..... George???

P.S: Last reminder. Pictured above is Gooseneck Loosestrife. Check your gardens for troublesome weeds and invasive plants. The is a good plant if you do flower arranging but a poor plant for the garden unless it is planted inside a container with a set of eyes trained on days when it crawls over the top.

Garden Colors, Garden Reminders

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

It's a strange beginning here on the hill this morning. The sun is poking up through the balsams and tamaracks while a bank of thick, dark gray clouds is moving in. We'd all like sunshine and warmth but it almost seems as if more rain is on the way. Vermont has already set new records and we'd just as soon stop where we are.

Karl the wonder dog was very reluctant to return to the house this morning. Sharp tugs and sharp barks from the master were to no avail this time. He had a scent at the end of his nose that wouldn't go away and as I relented and went back down the hill, I crossed a bear cub track and then the mother's giant print. Karl usually displays stark fear at fresh bear scent but this was a night rover and Karl was more interested in finding what was at the end of the line. I was not. We returned to the house where the smell of fresh coffee was the scent I wanted.

The gardens here at the house look like a scene from a modified Piet Oudolf design with grasses and large swaths of color. Most of the swaths are weeds however, but the accentuating colors are Crocosmia Lucifer, shastas, gloriosas and rudbeckias. The vertical dimension comes from some lilium and the very tall Lilium superbum which I absolutely admire. Superbums are tall flowers, towering to nine-ten feet. They grow wild along parts of the Passumpsic, White and Connecticut Rivers although most botanists tell me they are not Vermont natives but simply represent escaped seeds that travelled from cultivation on high waters. To find a colony is to lose one's breath for a few minutes.

Sometimes chipmunks and other rodents seem to pick places I wouldn't have thought of to plant superbums. Here is one along the cedar garden fence. It's an odd place for a single lily ever so tall but perhaps by accident it will work well over time with the nearby Bellingham hybrid lilies, the species daylilies of the "robust class' (3 to +5 feet tall) and my favorite Tetrina's Daughter daylily.

I have many thoughts this morning but the real job beckons and I have to head north. If you have a chance today, stop and visit with Gail at the nursery on Route 2. Chicago Apache is just coming out, Green Flutter is fluttering goodbye for th season, South Seas is that special coral as only it can be. The tall yellow of Patio Parade remains strong even in tough winds and Lusty Leland's velvety red draws chuckles and people with open checkbooks and debit cards.


Best gardening wishes'

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Vermont Flooding

Friday, July 25, 2008

A bright morning here on the hill and a nice change after days of rain. We don't have a rain gauge this year and it's just as well as the past week has brought us over a foot of rain. The Winooski River that borders our nursery is up 8 feet above what it was last week and I am afraid to check the lower river bank as it had eroded to 3 feet from the fence and gate as of last night. This is the worst flooding up this way since the early 80's. If the river continues to rise, it's likely I'll be missing a good chunk of deer fence.

I got going early this morning and actually want to be out working right now but my chauffeur, Gail, rolled back over after one cup of coffee and there's little hope for another half hour. I was at the nursery at 4:45 loading the rototiller in the truck and fueling the tractor for a couple day's work here at the house. The lawn has gotten ahead of me and the back fields and woods roads haven't even been mowed once this year. I try to keep them all well mowed as it only takes a couple years and they get so far ahead that if takes a long time to catch up.

I was in southern Vermont yesterday and when I returned to the nursery by way of Groton and Rt 232, I was met by flooded roads and tree branches. I have never seen that much water on 232 before as it made new brooks straight down from mountain tops. When I got to the nursery to relieve Gail for the balance of the afternoon, she said they had experienced terrible winds half an hour earlier but no rain. The daylily beds were floating though as it had rained inches earlier in the day. It won't be easy deadheading things this morning but that has to happen.

Despite the rains, the daylilies have been great. Green Flutter (above) is exceptional this year although a little waterlogged in this picture. It's a thick scaped plant with high bud count and probably one of those older daylilies that has been passed over. We like it a lot. Next is Joylene Nicole and Grape Velvet.

I have to get packed and ready for a day at the nursery. Today we start bare root daylily sales and that's a busy time. If you get a chance, drive out Route 2 and check out the daylilies.

Good gardening wishes,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Bursts of Color

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

A fine morning here on the mountain. Karl and I have already been for a walk and he is sulking now because I cut our walk shorter than he would have preferred. In minutes he'll be back to snoring away on the bed and will forget being slighted. I have to head for the Northeast Kingdom today so there is little time for morning pleasures. The temperature is 54 degrees and as the sun rises above the tamaracks and balsams, it has the makings of a fine day.

Work at our nursery has left little time for any but the most critical responsibilities. The house here looks like the makings of a flea market with everything laying wherever it was last placed. The new washer and dryer get a daily test of several loads and at times it seems as if the floor could become a flower garden. Just the same we are happy and getting along and that's important.

During the past couple weeks we have reorganized the shade houses a couple times. Gail and Michelle work hard on all the displays and the daily sales show the merit in making things look different for customers. I have to pay high compliments to Michelle for the progress she has made on her own learning how to arrange attractive displays that are easy to pick from. She has become very good at this. She's a hard worker and the kind of employee and friend who you wish you could clone.

Brien Ducharme helped me get the long fence up a couple weeks back and that was a chore. It was in the high eighties when we did it and it took two tries for me to not run out of materials and not have to leave him to wait on customers. It's up, it's planted and with a little more grooming, some wood chip mulch and a few pieces of vertical eye catcher (green shiest stone from Waitsfield via John Cleary's stone park in Richmond) it will be complete. At +200 feet long, it separates the future parking area with the growing fields and it directs folks to what will become the large daylily display garden.

With the fairly consistent rains and sporadic but hot periods, the daylilies I planted last September and early October are throwing out great scapes and strong roots. We are selling these are field dug daylilies now and that means folks figure out what they want and then we go into the field and dig, label and bag the plants. Little red kids coaster wagons serve as delivery vehicles from garden to cars and customers seem happy with their prizes. Sometimes I just dig away because decisions on which one to dig become too involved. Some places that dig daylilies give no customer consideration and always start at the beginning of the row. We may get to that point but right now the customer is considered. 90 per cent of the daylilies are double fans and many are triple or better just since last fall.

As I was reminded yesterday by a man with southern experience, these are not southern sized or priced daylilies. And as I reminded him, this is Vermont and we work hard for what we get. He must have agreed as he purchased 4 daylilies to take to his house in the mountains by Berlin, NH.

Creepy Crawler, pictured above, has a nice toothed edge and thick scapes and lots of buds. It almost reminds me of the way Mary Todd blooms. It has good branching too which makes for an extended bloom period.

Chicago Gold Coast is a plant I recommend for distance planting around the house. To me it looks so bold, especially as the sun goes down. It has a strong scape and lots of large flowers. It grows very fast and can serve as a contrasting focal point if you're new to daylily gardening and trying to find good accents to go with a bank full of Vermont's famous "ditch lilies".

Bertie Ferris is not pictured well here. (just above) It's getting to the end of the line for this small daylily as sales have been very good and flowering time is growing close for her. This is an older, respected daylily which I have seen in northern markets for up to $28. Here at Vermont Flower Farm it's less than half that and the clumps are nice.

Ann Warner is one I picture a lot because it works so well with a variety of companion plants. It blooms for some time and the yellow throat always brings people back to it. Leslie, a customer from Peacham Pond who frequents our nursery, picked one yesterday, walked away for a minute and came back for one to contrast with Bela Lugosi, a couple reds and two astilbes. It will be a nice grouping.

Finally, Along the Way (just above here) is a big daylily which grows tall and has a great bud count. The flowers are 6" across and stand out well. One visitor wanted to buy a display clump yesterday but my answer on that is always the same: "Display is for display, patience is a virtue."

Well there's some pot banging in the kitchen which means Gail has found her morning coffee and moved on to the sink full of dishes. I promised to make a potato salad for the crew today so I have to get going if I'm to be on time for my trip north. I wanted to stop at the nursery first and set up the display table but there's no time today. Gail and Michelle will have to pick fresh samples and get them set up for the day. The table full of samples never includes everything




we have blooming but usually we have about 30 samples for customers and visitors to look at. It seems to be worth the time it takes as it makes it easier for customers and makes for quicker and I think better sales. For us, it's a way to hear more oohs and aahhhs!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a Junco is perching outside my window on top of a white Queen Anne's Lace, a profound contrast in size and importance.

Best gardening wishes,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm-an older website that needs to make some sales to distant gardeners who cannot make the trip here

Perennial Tired Gardener

Sunday, July 13, 2008

An interesting morning here on the hill as morning breaks through presenting a mackerel type sky with red hints and an accompanying wind. The temperature is 63 degrees and the morning ground is dry for a change making flower picking a bunch better. The weeds outside my office window are so tall they obstruct the view to what is left of the lower daylily nursery, much of which was moved to our new business location. It's a big assortment of weeds with the predominant bloom coming from Queen Anne's Lace.

Karl the wonder dog and I made a quick walk as I have to get going here. Gail is already banging pans in the kitchen as this time of year she has a super good blueberry coffee cake available for early morning customers. Yesterday she made two large pans but I noticed as the first one arrived at about 9:30 that the berries were absent, suggesting a tired mother, gardener and business woman trying her best to please all. The second cake, so hot that pot holders were in order, had the berries and had a quick following that dispensed it before I had much of a taste. The recipe has appeared on this blog before and probably should be reposted or have the link referenced. It's a very good cake and serves just as well after dinner with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This time of year is the crossover time for major sales moving from hostas to daylilies. The new nursery has been a challenge on a number of levels but if you forget the economic ones, learning the new climate and soil has probably been the biggest. There is a 700 foot difference in elevation and that means it's warmer in the valley. The adjacent Winooski River creates its own micro climate and the clay soil, once warmed, appears to hold the temperature longer. That means daylilies which were late bloomers here on the mountain are already in bloom or bud in the valley. An example is Chicago Apache which is a later bloomer here. Yesterday I noticed it had set buds and was about a week away from flowering. Alna's Pride on the other hand (pictured above), a Barth daylily I purchased on 9-11 at the farm in Alna, Maine, is about as close to on target as can be. Lots to figure out.

Gail bought a poster from the American Hemerocallis Society to hang on the shed and help people understand the difference between lilium and daylilies. We have come to be known as the "lily farm' because of all the bulbs we grew and sold so for some reason, many neophytes think all "lilies" are bulbs. This infuriates some hemerocallis growers but to us it is a responsibility to be better educators. Many are getting into gardening for the first time now and they need and want answers.



Already six here and I have to get going. I want to mention this book that I found at Borders the other day. C. Colston Burrell's Perennial Combinations:Stunning Combinations That Make Your Garden Look Fantastic Right From The Start. It's one of the few books I have located that has a section on growing in clay soil. It mentions some good combinations. When I get a minute, I'll explain some more. For now, it's off to work!

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where does with new fawns teach bad hosta eating habits to their young. Deer lettuce.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Lilies

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Climate change may be the cause here, if you are into that philosophy, but for the life of me I don't know why the lilium are coming on so strong when all it has done here for weeks is rain. Today, on a day when I wanted to garden in rain-free weather, I had to travel north for client visits. By the time I got to the garden, the air had warmed and big clouds had amassed. Customers were nowhere to be found until the evening commute began and even then most folks wanted to look and talk and not part with any money.

The lilies look quite nice, especially considering the fact that I refuse to spend time I don't have this year trying to spray for the ubiquitous lily leaf beetle. There aren't any lilies at our new location, just here on the hill where we have raised tens of thousands over the years. Although the leaves and stems are totally disfigured on some lilies, the bulk remain unscathed so I guess my use of dormant oil spray last year may have done the trick. If you haven't considered this, scroll back and find a blog I wrote about defending against the beetle.

This is the time of year when travel within about 30 miles of here confirms the number of people who visited Vermont Flower Farm over the years and purchased lilies for their gardens. I wish I had a list of those customers so I could send out an invitation to come to our new location on Route 2. When we were at the top of our game with lilies, the list would have been a long one. Now we have already begun to fade from the numbers and when we visit Harold and Leila up in Morrisville we don't know the fine lilies they display in their collection.

Asiatic lilies usually bloom around July 4th, starting with the pixies and moving to the regular size, then the longiflorum-asiatics. Right now there is a mix of everything in bloom. Factually, if you travel through Plainfield which is about 800 feet lower in elevation than here, even the shorter Orientals are showing color. Sure is an interesting year.

The peonies have had about all the driving rains they can take and although many still have buds, the majority have been driven to uselessness. From a distance, the colors look fine but as you approach the plants or rows, it becomes clear that the short season is shorter still. Today I hung up two bouquets that didn't sell on the back nursery wall. They will dry well there.


The daylilies are beginning to bloom and early varieties like Stella, Happy Returns, Lemon Lolypop, Golden Chimes, and Lady Scarlet are out. I have seen a few Nile Crane, an older Munson daylily that Gail and I like, Selma Rose, and then Rooten Tooten Red from Oaks. Many are budded up nicely and some look early to me but who knows--maybe there is a temperature change that is moving things along.

It's heading for 9 PM and the truck still needs to be unloaded and Karl the wonder dog needs a walk. Gail is preparing a lasagna for the crew tomorrow and Alex is asking for some assistance with a computer question. Guess I better get going.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's 61 degrees out, calm and clouding over. A barred owl hoots from across the street, perhaps commenting on the sign I placed in the drive today. "MOVED---the nursery has moved......."

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm A fine place to buy some very good plants

Grow An Extra Row

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

58 degrees here on the hill and water continues to drip from everything after last night's rain. I came home from the nursery about 7:30 and barely made it to the house before the thunder boomers began. It was a noisy affair with lots of lightning flashes but all the hits were 5 to 7 miles away. The rain fell hard and long and will be apparent later as I make my way down the mountain and off to work.

Gail and Michelle worked at the nursery all day trying to fill in the intended daylily display garden with more and more daylilies. We are trying to incorporate examples of every daylily we have in our collection and want to have large plants which will carry their example for a maximum amount of time. I have been digging extra holes in my spare time and Austin has too so it makes the planting a bit easier. The hard part is getting them out of the various planting areas here on Peacham Pond Road and then up into the truck. It's looking better every day and from Route 2, the color is beginning to become apparent.

Gail has been selling cut peonies and sales have been exceptional with everything selling each day. I am amazed at the reaction from some folks when they see we are selling half a dozen fresh stems for $9.50. Yesterday a customer doubted the accuracy of my price calculation but when I got to the root of the problem, I found she was used to paying $7 a stem in Boston. She favors peonies and had quite a smile when she left. Last week we received a call from Florida and a florist wanted a "ton" of peonies for a special wedding. We turned down the request as we are just too busy right now to spend the extra time. It is apparent that those that love peonies will spend a bundle to advance their enjoyment.

Emma dropped by about 6 en route to some local kayacking. She works with the Lake Champlain Basin Project and we worked together last summer on a water flow monitoring project on the Winooski River here in Marshfield, Plainfield and Cabot. Emma conducts a rain garden project and has planted a number of gardens around central and northwest Vermont. This is a subject in itself but the foundation of water gardens is something you might consider exploring as they have great merit and help the environment a lot. As we stood by the miniature hostas and talked, a Coopers hawk came bursting out of the sky and grabbed a songbird, dragging it to earth and heading into an adjacent tree for dinner feasting. This all took seconds and was a National Geographic quality shot I can only relive in my memory. The speed of that accipiter is amazing.

I am including a poster that Anson Tebbetts sent us. He is the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture here in Vermont and he has lots of marketing experience from previous work with Channel 3 television in Burlington. He's a great person and he and his family have been Vermont Flower Farm customers for some time. Vermont's Grow An Xtra Row campaign is similar to the Garden Writer Association's Plant a Row For The Hungry campaign. Both convey the message that extra fruits and vegetables have a great need and benefit the hungry when donated to your local food shelf or community kitchen. The need has never been greater and a couple extra seeds means some extra food of excellent nutritional value to those in need. In the winter time I sometimes help unload the food truck at the Marshfield food shelf and you only have to do this once to see the line of those in need and the message comes home. I always think of children first and remember the hard times when I was a kid. This year will be especially difficult with the price of heating fuels so help others by growing a little extra and donating. Don't put it off, just do it!

Guess I better get going here. I have a few things to load up and drop off at the nursery for Gail. My work day includes Berlin, Waterbury and Morrisville so once I head out the door I won't be back until after 6. Hope your day goes well too!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the peonies are in tremendous bloom and the astilbes are beginning their summer display. If you don't have astilbes yet, stop by Route 2 and take a look at 70 varieties. The almost constant rains have made them grow better than ever.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm Our website where we sell nice flowers and offer fine visual enjoyment. Take a look!

Sign of Progress

Friday, June 20, 2008

60 degrees outside and just after 7 PM. There is a constant dribble of rain from the great gray clouds and limited hope that tomorrow will be fair. Even the soil around here is green with constant, heavy rains leaching much nutrient from the land. Garden soil in Vermont is in a constant state of rebuild this year but unlike the mid west, most of the soil is staying where it should.

We've been home from the nursery for less than an hour and Gail has already visited her mother, checked the care givers for tonight and come home to rustle up omelets for supper. Karl, the wonder dog, has had a ride out back, a nice walk down the road and now he is running around here with one of his toys trying to find someone to play with. It won't be me for a while.

Last night Kim and Lenny showed up to get the new sign on the roof. There was a threat of rain but Kim knew this was important to me and he wanted to follow through on a promise. The sign had been here for a week and I wanted to see it in place on top of the building to see what influence it had on the customer base. (The sign, by the way, was prepared by Joe and Tina at
Sign Depot in Lyndonville. 802-626-0990 signdepot@charternet.com This is a great family of some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet.)

I had forgotten that Kim was supposed to be at school for the 8th grade graduation at 7 but once he started the sign, it was clear he'd leave when it was finished. Even when his wife and kids stopped by with a vocal coaxing, he said he wasn't finished and they left in a fury.

If it clears tomorrow long enough for the sign to dry on top, I'll climb up there and silicon on the protective border. The sign is 2 feet high and 16 feet long to comply with local zoning. It was prepared on two pieced of metal board with vinyl lettering. The signs are screwed to pressure treated 5/4 decking and the whole affair is screwed into the frames. If that sign leaves the building, Dorothy and Toto will have returned from Oz as it's all lagged into the rafters. It looks sharp and does the advertising trick we wanted. If you have a business or are contemplating one, think about road signage and visibility. Lots of issues there--enough for a winter's discussion when topics are more sparse and time is more free.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where dinner is ready.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm