First Daylilies

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Just back from a morning walk with Karl the Wonder Dog. He was feeling poorly last night and this morning he was eating grass during our walk. If you have a dog you know what this means. He's seven years old and what he thinks he can eat and what he should eat are two different things. Kind of like older people.

It's a beautiful morning out there. 40 degrees and motionless. The small birds of the woods are in conversation. As much as I wish I knew these birds I have never had anyone around to teach me their names and calls. Warblers prevail here but they hide well. They must take music lessons from a very good voice instructor at an early age as their songs are so beautiful.

Gail made me laugh last night as she pulled a Vermonter trick and as soon as she got out of the car on return from the nursery she walked straight to the lawn mower, pulled the cord and mowed for a tank and a half. I guess she bored of waiting for me to catch up with the high grass. As I prepared dinner I could see her following the mower through hidden rows within our old flower gardens. It must be a genetic thing as her dad did the same thing at age 80 when Gail's mom instructed him to weed the flower garden and he knew the ground was too far away from his finger tips. Gail said later that she wanted an easy way to go look at the various lupines at the far end of a row.

Up top is a picture of the daylily known to many as 'lemon lily'. I took this picture last July 9th at the nursery with a bleeding heart in the background, still in bloom. Things are much different this year after one of the warmest Mays in history that arrived with snow and presented repetitive storms on Mothers Day weekend and the week before. Despite the snow the month still averaged quite warm. This year the bleeding hearts are about done and other daylilies such as Corky and Jersey Spider are already (oddly) budded out.

Lemon lilies typically are the first to bloom here in New England. They arrive on tall, thin scapes and bloom nocturnally causing fragrant notice to happy gardeners because they open with a light perfume that makes gardeners smile.

During this morning's walk I noticed three different trollius continue to bloom here although only Pritchard's Giant remains in bloom at the nursery. The difference between elevations of 1530 feet (here at house) and 780 feet (at nursery by river) must make the difference. The trollius are a nice companion to lemon lilies and the yellows that some gardeners report being bored of are actually complimentary.

As well as the lemon lilies, lupines and trollius, the gardens are beginning to brighten with Oriental poppies, perennial bachelors buttons, lots of peonies, Siberian iris in shades of blue, purple and yellow, and tall bearded iris in various colors. Some late blooming scilla bulbs continue to bloom on old flower bed borders and the entire area surrounding the house is perfumed with the fragrance of the lilac Miss Kim. I like this lilac a lot, Gail doesn't and neither of us have taken to pruning it back away from the walkway......perhaps a ruthless job for Alex but not until the shrub is past bloom time.

I have to get moving here as I need to get back to my job at the new hosta garden at the nursery. I toiled for 6 hours yesterday putting stay mat down for new garden paths. This is crushed granite and granite dust and even with the tractor it is very heavy. Gail has the Vermont Farm Bureau coming next week to do an article on Vermont Flower Farm and I want to have the old John Deere and plow moved down and on display as it's such a treat. Cannot make the move until I use the brush hog to trim the fields and woods roads here at the house. Boy it's going to be a busy day!

Out an about today? Stop by Vermont Flower Farm and see what's going on. I may not be there but Gail will be for sure.


Writing from the mountian above Peacham Pond where a boisterous loon just flew over the house heading for Osmore Pond. After 20 years I could be a flight director for this bird simply by the direction of their calls.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. Sign up....click "Like" Also on a personal page, George Africa, where every The Vermont Gardener blog appears as soon as it is written.
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Valued Colors Continue

Catherine Neal discussed below

Sunday, July 18, 2009

Already almost 5 AM here. I have been reading mail and looking out the windows since 4:30 when light started poking through the balsams. Karl the Wonder Dog has been sitting beside me at attention all the time and he senses something moving outside but neither of us can locate any real movement. I think the bears are passing through, looking for breakfast.

Just a quick continuation of yesterday's daylily pictures before I head for the nursery. Lynn from Lynn's Garden: Best In Bloom Today wrote yesterday after seeing my picture of Catherine Neal shown again just above. Lynn was questioning the lack of roundness to my example which admittedly isn't the greatest but it was one of the first on that plant to come out. Lynn included a picture of her Catherine Neal last Friday when she wrote Fertilizer Friday! Take a look for comparison. Lynn is a very good gardener and spends lots of time observing change so I value her question and pass it on.

Vermont is a long haul from New Jersey and this morning's 47 degrees is already down to 45 degrees as the sun comes up, dragging a very noticeable breeze with it. This has been the summer of no summer in Vermont and cool temperatures slow the bud size considerably. The coolness also prevents the flower from opening all the way and you find yourself questioning if the plant that's opening for the first time is really the one you bought last summer. Bela Lugosi is one we like a lot and pictures I took a week ago when it first started to open and those from two days ago are much different as the plant has slowly matured a little more and had the luxury of one day in the seventies. From what I have heard from other gardeners, parts of Maine, even on the coast where you'd think it might be a little warmer, are even worse off with bloom time than here.

There's nothing we can do about the weather but times like this prove the importance of getting daylilies planted right to begin with and sited where sun, however limited, is maximized for use when it does shine.

I've got to get going here as Karl needs a walk and I have to get to the nursery pronto. Breakfast will be lunch before I know it.

Try these on for size!

Tuscawilla Tigress. Our plants were split up three weeks ago so they are smaller than most we sell but we like this one nonetheless. Many folks in New England say they are tired with the oranges because the so called ditch lilies are everywhere. In contrast, I have been selling those oldies every day and have 20 Kwanso that have to get dug and potted today as people keep asking. Consider a garden of just oranges. You'll be surprised how many great ones there are. I place Leebea Orange Crush in that category and it is almost at peak bloom today. I hate to see it go as it has a special quality for bringing out adjacent colors.

Had to take this one, Silver Sprite, out of our offering as we sold more than we should have. The picture isn't that great but the color really is neat! More available next year or maybe this year if I keep forgetting to tell Austin to stop digging it.


Salieri has been with us a few years and this year the plants are monstrous and for some reason, people don't want them. Twice I have received repeat history lessons about the name "Salieri" and although I am aware of the background, I like to hear people tell their versions with authority. Salieri was a friend of Mozart and admired him greatly. Mozart's untimely death raised forensic questions of poisoning and there's a chance that the friend became a murderer. Records from the early 1800s are like records on early daylilies--some having missing pieces.

Ruffled Apricot is one I have grown to like. It's large, a real strong grower and it challenges you to combine it with other colors, other flowers for a stunning display. Sometimes the common plants deserve more commentary, more credit, than they traditionally receive. This is one of those.

Rudy Spider is no longer for sale this year. It's readily available at other places but we had to put the binders on our sales as we have to get our production up on this very popular daylily from Stamile. I noticed some rose chafers eating the flowers yesterday and that's the first time I have seen them here. This is the year of heavy rains and new bugs so nothing surprises me.


Gardeners always want reds and Rooten Tooten Red is not the dark red many are looking for but the center and the edge are admirable and it works well with some of the blue campanulas and delphiniums that are in bloom right now.

I have always liked Real Wind and these flowers are almost 8 inches across this year. The plants are robust and the flower works well with other pastels and accepts the accent from darker colors too.

Missouri Beauty blooms and blooms and that's what we like. It's clearly visible from the roadway here as the rows will be in peak bloom in about a week. The dark stamens are a nice contrast.


Our lemon lilies are about done--maybe one or two left blooming in the garden. This one was in a pot by the shed and is now in someones garden along with the bleeding heart in the background. The placement wasn't intentional but the gardener liked the look and bought a couple of each. That's good because lemon lilies are not quick to reproduce.


Lady Scarlet joins the available reds. It's been blooming for almost two weeks.


Joylene Nicole is a front of the border plant to me but you cannot beat the flower qualities. Sold a couple last night while we were closing up for the day.



That's it for this morning. The ravens are boisterous now and reminding me to get dressed and get out of here. Now 46 degrees and I am wimpy enough with the wind to think I'll change back to dungarees and worry about shorts when it (hopefully) heats up today.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where blue sky makes me smile!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener


Vermont Flower Farm A web site to visit before you come see us. We are at 2263 US Route 2, Marshfield, VT despite the fact that Google Maps still lists our old address too. If you know how I can get this corrected, let me know and I'll reward you with daylilies. I have been trying to get them to help since last November.