Showing posts with label Golden Scepter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golden Scepter. Show all posts

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Persistent Peonies


Sunday, June 29, 2008

A breezy morning here on the hill. It has rained on and off all night and this morning's 59 degrees is supposed to climb until the next front arrives with thunderstorms and bad times. The gardens look lush but the sales have been down due to weather and gas prices. Just the same we have met a lot of new customers and our loyal following continues to appear, carrying rain gear and umbrellas and wearing warm greetings and encouragement for a successful new nursery. We'll take all the good thoughts we can get!

The peonies have been great this year. Part of it is that I watered them well last August when they were setting buds for this year. That's a mid-August thing here and something I really recommend because the pay off is so great. Gail has been picking peonies to sell in bunches of 6 or 7 for $9.50 and they have been moving well. Some days there are some left and the last customer gets quite a deal but mostly it has been consistent sales with the preponderance made as people scoot home after work.


Our supply of potted peonies is now down to under a dozen and the selection is slim. Mrs Margaret Truman, a nice double pink prevails, but there are a couple Festiva Maxima and a couple Adolphe Rousseau. They have been potted since last year and well cared for so they are a buy at $25. Most are six or more stems so folks should be happy with what they receive.

As is typical in peony season, we receive many inquiries about why the foliage is nice but the flowers never bloom in home gardens. The answer is in the planting as these are a plant which must be planted shallow and not more than 2" deep. Over time the lawnmower or falling leaves sometimes packs around the stems and the flowers just don't develop. Bend down there and clean out around the stem and water well for this year and you'll be back on target for next year. Oh yes, ...sun. They need sun and that too will make a difference.

Well I have to get going here. I have a couple loads of Hosta 'June' to take down as that has been selling very well. Amber Tiara and Golden Scepter, small, luminescent springtime beauties are about gone so I have to do some repotting so they will be set in well in a week. I hear Gail clinking the coffee pot so that means the day is under way and we'll be back into the flower business by 9 AM on Route 2. If you have some time, please stop by.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I hear the ravens in the distant red pines as a lone hen turkey struts slowly through the lower daylily garden, looking for food in the fresh dugs holes left from our daylily relocation program.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm Our website, old but packed with good buys!
Vermont Gardens Our other site about our new nursery and other thoughts of gardening

Monday, June 09, 2008

Heat and Hostas


Monday, June 9, 2008

Almost 7:30 PM and still 80 degrees out. The girls on the evening news were commenting on this being the third day of high temps in Vermont but since today missed 90 degrees by one degree and since you need three days to make a heat wave, we have to settle for "damn hot" (92, 91, 89) instead of "heat wave". Winter is a long time for me, so "damn hot" or "heat wave" are just fine. Gail just fired up the grill and is making supper outside tonight even though I said I'd settle for a nice salad and an iced tea. Gail always tried to do a great job whether it's family, friends or customers. (Hope she can find a little leftover potato salad as it was special!)

After work today I painted the last of the trim boards for the new building at our nursery in anticipation that this will be the final week and we can really settle in. Kim and Lennie will be there tomorrow after their regular work day and if it's raining, the electric and insulation will be finished. If it's just hot, the last of the siding and the trim will go on. We're really pleased with how it looks and feel especially good when folks ask us who designed it. They don't seem to believe that the firm of Gail and George have been designing together for some time and work well together.

As I walked around waiting for the primer to dry, I noticed a pot of Golden Tiara hosta which was sporting. All plants do this but it's more noticeable with hostas because you're always looking at the leaves. Rearrangement of genetic material results in new plants which when separated from the mom need to be grown on for a while. If they are stable, you're in business with a new plant. In the case of Golden Tiara (leaves on left of above photo), the new, all yellow, very luminescent leaves have been registered as Golden Scepter. It looks like this later on.


If the sporting goes forward and a white outline develops around each Golden Scepter leaf edge, then you have another registration, Platinum Tiara. I sold three of those Sunday so I guess they continue to be popular even though they have been around for some time. Here's Platinum Tiara taken today in one of our gardens. Looks kind of neat with the Japanese Primroses and "less" neat with the wild impatiens.


I've got a ton of paperwork to get through tonight so writing will be short. If you get a chance, stop by our new place on Route 2 in Marshfield. Same name, same people, same plant varieties, new look, new ideas. If you cannot make it in person, relive what we grow and sell at our website.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where the ravens are speaking in nasty terms I cannot decipher and a male hummingbird just perched on a light blue bearded iris outside my office window. The day is coming to an end.

Gardening wishes;

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens