Sunday, June 30, 2013

Bears Abound And Rebound All Around



Sunday, June 30, 2013

61.2°  here on the mountain this morning. Quiet. Windless.  The valley below my office window is a field a floating fog that drifts in layers so slowly I have to watch carefully to see movement. My eyes keep searching for Mrs Doe Deer, a recent mother and a frequent visitor to breakfasts of timothy and clover grasses which she seems to prefer. We watched the morning she delivered her fawn in the field in front of us and marveled as she coaxed it to its feet to nurse. It is fascinating how a fawn, still wet from birth, knows how to bump against its mother and get more milk. Mrs. D is ever watchful when she feeds as her ears stay perked up to catch sounds of danger and insure that her baby is safe. 

Spring is an interesting time in Vermont and early summer provides frequent animal sightings. Some of these we enjoy, others we enjoy less. Friday's view of a young skunk heading to my honey bees was neat to watch but unpleasant to think about. I banged on the window and scared the little one away before (s)he encountered the electric fence for the first time. (maybe, maybe not). Just the same, the fresh, spanky clean black and white fur and wet black nose were fun to see, especially from the safety of my office window. 

Less than a week ago, friend Michelle was standing in our dining room looking out the window in preparation to say goodbye after a visit. Then her voice had an obvious "octave experience" as she looked out the window and found that Karl the Wonder Dog's barking was not at the neighbor's oft antagonizing cat but instead at a two year old black bear. The bear was in Gear No. 1, Lowest-of Lows,  and walked so slowly that you wanted to go push him up the hill. No amount of yelling made him go any faster. He had just walked right by the back door and at under twenty feet from the window, he showed no fear and actually seemed irritated to be coaxed along. When Michelle left ten minutes later she had to wait while the bear exited the woods by a neighbor's home and walked right up the middle of the road to Rt 232, not speeding up and continuing to show he was fearless and in charge. I don't know if the "he" was a "she" but it was a two year old for sure.

For three weeks now I have been trying to put the flower farm back together after a terrible wind, rain and hail storm arrived while I was enjoying some hiking in Acadia National Park. The repair work is about down to fence repair and although I probably should have done that as soon as I finished with the downed trees and brush, I put it off. Yesterday as I walked down to work in the hosta display garden, a track in the mud caught my eye. A bear had come across Route 2, walked under the floppy fence, and through the lower daylily garden. What was most interesting was the way the tracks went to the edge of the property behind the display garden and then returned to the daylily rows. This bear was apparently checking buds and looking for pretty but as yet unopened daylily blooms as it went up and down two different rows before returning to Route 2. The Winooski River is running at almost maximum force now and the bear obviously decided it was not going for a swim. 

Vermont's Fish and Wildlife Division reports that we have over 6000 black bears now and the population exceeds what they feel can be properly managed. They have extended the fall hunting season for this year and they are confident they can keep things in control. I am not sure their numbers are correct as last summer we had three sows here at the house that had a total of 6 cubs between them. Work the math and you might see the source of the regular bear sitings. A friend down Route 2 from the flower farm has a bear with dumpster experience and those guys are difficult to retrain (not possible). I suspect I will be commenting on bear behavior again.

A month's worth of rain has kept gardeners thinking of gardening but not in their gardens.There's only so much sqwoosh-sqwoosh, sqwoosh anyone can take and even rain wear gets too wet after day upon day of heavy rain. The sun is breaking through the clouds now and we're hopeful that gardeners will stop by the flower farm and make purchases. The daylily fields are still wet with over 16" of rain in a three weeks but the resulting scape count is exceptional.  Daylilies are well budded and although it appears that the bloom time of some varieties is off by a couple weeks, the display should be really special at the farm in a couple weeks, maybe less if we get some sun. 

We are digging from the fields now although I have to say that it takes courage to dig along the top rows that are heavy clay as boots sometimes sink faster than a shovel or a spade and we end up hosing off the plants and ourselves after digging. The yellows and oranges that are first to bloom will very soon be accompanied by every color but blue and the field will slow traffic on Route 2. Here's an image of what will be obvious in a couple weeks.

Gail, Alex and I hope you will stop by for a personal visit soon or order on-line if you cannot get up/over/down to see us. Farming is difficult work no matter what the weather or the type of farm, so please try to support all farmers and understand the stress that bad weather all over the country has caused. There are dairy and beef farmers all over who have yet to make their first cut of hay because it will never dry and there are folks who rely on single crops like strawberries that have poor crops this year because of the rain. CSA's have typically made bountiful offerings of spring greens by now but rains have not been helpful to even fairly easy crops such as lettuce, chards and choys. I have no idea  how the potato growers are doing but know for sure that in many place save for certain quick draining river bottom soil, the corn crops will never make "knee high by the 4th of July" and some crops have already been replanted at great expense. Again, think what it's like to put food on your plate, flowers on your table and support farmers for what they do.

For me, it's time to get to the flower farm. I'll probably be sitting at the front table in half an hour reading the Sunday paper but when I close up the last section, another day will be under way. Stop and say hello, bring your questions, bring your kids. Gardening is a good way to have fun and keep  family, friends, and neighbors together.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I hear the loons at the pond talking loonish which I clearly do not understand. Friday I saw a loon mom on Joe's Pond with a single chick swimming close to her. It felt good to see another successful hatch for such an interesting and very primitive bird. I love 'em!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as George Africa and also as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Trillium Highlights


Saturday, June 15, 2013
A beautiful morning, bright, clear and cold at 41.2°. It feels like September but I know  it's June. I just returned from a second walk with Karl the Wonder Dog and he made it clear that this was a morning to walk, not return to bed.  I'm in agreement with him but I have a lot of things that have to get going today. The last of the shade cloth, torn off the shade houses by the serious storm from two weeks ago tomorrow has to be installed and waiting later that 8 AM means the wind comes up and the job becomes more difficult. I have to get moving!

For some reason many people were interested in trilliums this spring. I am not sure why but maybe it's because I talk about them a lot, maybe because they are difficult to find on the retail market. The velvety burgundy red erectums are gone by now as are most all the white grandiflorums. The woods still have a few undulatums, the white with pinky red centers scattered about although most are gone too. Luteum, the yellow, not native to New England,  is just flowering in one of my old gardens at the house and looks great. Knowing that there are slightly more that 40 trilliums in the world, and knowing that they all come from North America makes me feel good that I have 4 varieties.


Trilliums are not difficult to raise from seed as  long as you have patience. Seed is dispersed in nature by ants so you have to watch seed pods careful because with trillium seed pods it's one of those "here today, gone tomorrow" things with the insects. Each seed has a sweet little coating that ants love to eat and in the process of taking back the "candy" to other ants, they carry the seed along. Seems like unnecessary work but ants are workers and in a million years have never caught on. In the process of overdoing things, they get tired and drop seeds along the way and that's where the dispersal thought comes in.


 
Keep an eye on trillium seed pods and when mid to late August appears, snap off a soft, almost squooshy pod and then push a finger into the ground a couple inches and put the whole pod in, breaking it apart in the process. Next comes the patience. Seeds take a couple years to germinate and you'll have a neat little clump of seeds that the following fall you can dig and line out. Then the real patience arrives as it will be 5 more years before flowering occurs. Now you know  why they are expensive if you do find a seed source!

Here's a picture of luteum, a nice yellow. A great reference book is Fred and Roberta Case's  Trilliums by Timber Press, 1997. Great info, plenty of pictures.




I hear looms calling at Peacham Pond. They could be suggesting I get to work. Probably not but I should get going. Have a nice day and stop at Vermont Flower Farm if you're out and about!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens (Like us!) and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Sunday, June 09, 2013

Turn On The Lights




Almost 7 AM, 53.1°, windless, quiet. The rain has stopped which is ever so nice after +15 days of rain....so much rain that I gave up dumping the rain gauge as my interest faded quickly after a few days. Rivers are high, roads missing in places, puddles in our lower garden more like a pond big enough to lure in Canada geese and an assortment of ducks. Not good!.

As I write,  a new fawn suckles on mom in the lower field, bumping her in excitement as it tries to get the milk to come quicker. The doe's tail swats flies and she chews on timothy and other grasses, acting proud to be a mom but at the same time looking from side to side with ears at attention to possible danger. This is a picture but Gail reminds me again to leave them alone.

The gardens do not look good because of the shear winds and rains which have rearranged them. Just the same, the daylilies of spring are turning on like little dots of light here and there that draw attention to gardens that in a few more weeks will slow traffic along the highway.  Daylilies that bloom first are the yellows and oranges that represent hybridizing from the original species by those two colors. Irish Eyes, Golden Chimes, First Show, Corky, Lemon lily, Lemon Lollypop and others welcome us to an assurance that the snows really are gone for now and summer is coming!

If you're out and about today, stop by for a visit. The hosta display garden is coming around after three trees did a number on a few plants  here and there. Actually it is exceptional this year after dodging repeated bullets of 25° nights, sleet and hail, and shear winds.which arrived from all directions.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I now hear the loons at Peacham discussing bird politics over fish breakfast. I need to get down there and count chicks, take some pictures.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa 
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm 
We're always here to help you grow your green thumb!