Wednesday, December 17, 2014

A Break From Logging

Wednesday December 17, 2014

32.4°  here on the mountain this morning. It's been raining since just after midnight.The trees that have been hanging on to life for a week are now beginning to succumb to the weight of the ice and snow and branches are snapping. When the big pines and maples lose a limb, it's with a snap as loud as a rifle shot from nowhere.


The feller buncher is quiet today as the roads have been too icy for the log trucks to make it here. Our piles of logs, each separated by size, wood species and intended mill lay covered in snow and needing to get on their way before we stack more. No sense in moving things twice.




There are a couple day's worth of logs in the woods that need to come out by grapple skidder to be processed but that will happen when the current piles are moved along.



I didn't go too far into the woods today as the walking is difficult with trees down everywhere. Most are just a nuisance like the small ones pictured below but they have to be moved to keep the whole processe moving smoothly. Today is very smooth as nothing is happening. Probably tomorrow if the ice doesn't get too thick this afternoon.



I have some clean up work to do outside, first hand shoveling and roof raking and then some work with the tractor. By then it will be 1 PM and with a little luck I can get to Plainfield and get some more diesel for the tractor. Whatever you do today, be safe as people are out and about shopping and sometimes shopping lists receive more attention than driving. Be safe!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the mourning doves are now chasing the blue jays off the platform feeders. Neat to  watch!

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

Very nice gift certificates available by calling Gail at 802-426-3505

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Snowy Crabapples


Thursday, December 11, 2014


Today is the third day of snow here in the east. It was not a surprise storm as it had been followed for well over a week with computer models sugaring off to pretty much what we received. Here on the mountain above Peacham Pond it was difficult to verify actual accumulations because the storm changed so much. Tuesday night at 7 PM the snowflakes were like half dollar coins and they fell so quickly they messed up the television reception. That night snow accumulated quickly and was at 6" around midnight but by 3 AM it was raining so hard that the snow started to compact.

Yesterday it was more of the same with a high around 33° and a mix of snow in the morning, then rain in the afternoon. I had an appointment in Montpelier at 3:30 and when I finished about 5 there were inches of water on the Barre Montpelier Road. Today snow fell lightly at the house as I finished shoveling the last of the roof. At times the rain came back and now as I write the temperature has fallen to 27.5°, the lowest since Monday.

22,000 customers are without power in Vermont right now. That's nothing like the problems in California. If the wind were to start up and simply reach 5 mph, the Vermont number could double in a few hours. The trees like the crab apple pictured above are covered with a snowy mix, frozen tightly to the branches. Even without the wind,  a step outside greets me with the sound of cracking branches and falling limbs. The white birches are a mess and will never recover from their new configurations where limbs touch the ground instead of reaching skyward.


The storm has brought many birds to the feeders. Doves (consistently numbering 22), white and also red breasted nuthatches, chickadees, hairy and downy woodpeckers, and redpolls in large numbers are here every day. What is strange is that the initial population of evening grosbeaks left after a couple weeks and the Bohemian waxwings which usually follow robins eating the crab apples--they never came at all this year. Irruptions are like that and I shouldn't come to expect them knowing that an irruption is just that--a temporary event related to local food supply. 

The large sugar maple that I dropped in a heap this fall had been visited regularly by all the woodpeckers. The flickers of course already headed for warmer climates but the pileated woodpeckers that loved the food source have moved over the hill to a standing sugar maple orchard and the other woodpeckers come mainly for suet but in lesser numbers now.

Yes, weather changes our lives as well as the behaviors of the animals from surrounding habitat. It will be colder in a few more days and I expect more birds will come to visit and probably stay for the winter. We'll see. Check your feeders and don't forget the Cornell Christmas Bird Count which is going on right now.

Writing from the mountain above Peachan Pond where the quiet, windless night is now at 26.7°

Best wishes!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
On Twitter as vtflower farm
On LinkedIn as George Africa
On Facebook as George Africa
On Facebook as a Like Page: Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
And always here to help you grow your green thumb!
Gift certificates available for all seasons! 802-426-3505

Tuesday, December 09, 2014


Tuesday, December 9, 2014


23.1° this morning, windless, quiet. 30 degrees warmer than yesterday at the same time. Big storm arriving by noon today and apparently sticking with us into tomorrow, maybe even Thursday.

If you enjoy reading this blog, especially during cold winter days, you might like to take a quick look at some pictures on Pinterest. Same board name as here--The Vermont Gardener. Send questions if you have any. Most plants I feature are available at the flower farm. Our business email has changed to:    vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I think I hear one of the log trucks coming down the hill. Our logging project continues in our quest for better forests and better wildlife habitat. Hope the truck makes it to the mill ahead of today's bad weather.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
Personal FB page George Africa with lots of pictures/comments
LinkedIn as George Africa

#vermont; #gardenchat; #agchat; #pinterest; #logging; #wildlife;

Sunday, November 30, 2014

The Garden Sleeps


Sunday, November 30, 2014

Too early to be awake yet but Karl the Wonder Dog heard something outside and he was possessed to identify the problem. Naturally when the event was over, he returned to slumber in front of the wood stove and I remain wide awake. That can happen with life in rural Vermont where I think most black bears have gone into hibernation this week. Whitetail deer come to the bird feeders many nights to clean up under them and sometimes actually stand on their hind feet and eat the cracked corn and sunflower seed from the platform feeders. 

Regardless of a solstice type confirmation, winter is here. It's 21.3° right now with a 5 mph wind. Yesterday was the lowest temperature of the season and it was 5.1°. We have a small weather change coming that is a bit behind schedule as we expected freezing rain by midnight but it hasn't warmed enough yet. Winds into the 25 mph range will be here by lunch time with temperatures rising to 35° to 40° and we aren't sure of the final outcome as weather forecasts keep changing. 

Our growing season has long been over and fall clean up is essentially finished. No....sort of finished. Of course there is plenty of work to do at the flower farm but not until we clean up all the messes here at the house that resulted from bringing various items back home. I always say it would be nice to have duplicates of everything we need at both places but that's not possible.

Wednesday's snow should be melted down by noon today and I plan to get down to the flower farm and cut some curly willow. I saw a couple really neat  holiday wreaths, one on Pinterest and one on Houzz. I belong to both of those social media sites because they give excellent ideas and good images makes replicating designs that much easier. At some point you might see some of my pictures as I use the same The Vermont Gardener name on my social media interchanges.

One thing I am especially happy with is how well Alex and I managed to get the daylily fields cleaned up this fall. Alex cut down all the old scapes and leaves and pulled as many weeds as he could. Then we rototilled between the rows and spread shredded leaves about 6" deep between them.We were fortunate to receive several truck loads of wood chips from a utility line clean up and we spread them on top of the leaves in some places and directly onto the newly tilled areas in other. Wood chips are not as good to use as they require longer to decompose and that process draws lots of nitrogen out of the soil. Just the same, after three years our clay soil is always better for it and to that end I don't mind adding some fertilizer to compensate for the loss. I have had a logging project going on at the house for a month now and since I have my own tractor and wood chipper, I'll chip lots of  limbs come spring and finalize what we started this fall.



As snows deepen, consider feeding the birds if you have never done this before. It's a great hobby and offers a different understanding of what birds winter in your area. Cornell University has a great website for birding and their 
All About Birds is a place to start.  The Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count starts in a couple weeks and that's another way to encourage yourself to get organized with reference books, websites and binoculars. Vermont winters can seem long at times but birds at the feeders or walks in the woods can shorten the time until spring. It also can teach you what birds eat and what flowers you might consider adding to your gardens next spring to become a more bird friendly gardener. Think about it!

Just heard some noise on the windows and notice the storm has started. The sound annoyed Karl again and he wants to go out so I have to get going. Have a nice Sunday. If you have any gardening questions, send us an email. Remember: We're always here to help you grow your green thumb!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the temperature has risen to 24.5° with the wind still at 5 mph. 

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
On Facebook as George Africa and also as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
On Pinterest as The Vermont Gardener board

#vermont; #gardenchat; #agchat; #birds; #birding; #ChristmasBirdCount; 

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Bear Visitors


Wednesday, November 5th, 2015

Almost 4 PM and the sun is fading fast. Although the temperature has been around 48° most of the day, the 4-6 mph wind has kept it feeling much colder. At about 7 this morning I was bundled up and out working at the flower farm trying to finish the fall clean up. It rained on and off a little --just enough each time to put on a rain coat, then take it off again. 

By late morning my coffee was gone and I needed a snack. When I returned to the flower farm, my eye caught a section of fence along Route 2. Something looked odd. As I approached I could see the reason was a bear had climbed up over a 4X4 post and in the process of going down the other side dragged some of the fence with it. 

I tracked the animal through half the daylily garden and came to the picture above. This is not a big bear--perhaps 3-4 years old-- but it would no doubt surprise some by it's size. The print is slightly bigger than my outstretched fingers which spread about 8 inches each way. 

Later in the day when I was rototilling the oppostie end of the 5 acre property I came upon a place close to the northeast corner, again by Route 2, where the bear walked back and forth trying to figure out how to get out of the fence and back across the road. He probably wanted more of friend Carol's bird seed. I rode the perimeter of the property in the golf cart a couple times and found another place where the bear walks in and out through a broken spot. I have no idea what he is finding to eat among the flowers.

Dealing with critters of the woods is something that comes with gardening. When moose go through the fence it makes a mess because they are so big. With deer it's easier to fix and with bear--well, they usually are more careful.

Hope you don't have too many critter problems where you live. There's little native food for the animals this fall and I expect the bears will be into hibernation earlier this year as a result. If you have any animal tales to share, I'm always interested.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Gail and Karl the Wonder Dog just returned from a late afternoon walk. Karl apparenlty senses a cold night as he immediately stretched out in front of the wood stove. Good dog!

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

Friday, October 17, 2014

Fall Chores


Friday, October 17, 2014

The gardens that have entertained us all summer are quickly drawing to a close. Here in Vermont there is perhaps another day left and then freezing temperatures and possible snow where we live will end all hints of color. Although this has been a great summer, it's time to clean things up. 

When you have gardened professionally all summer, you truly are getting tired come mid-October. But regardless of the size of your gardens, to clean them up now now pays dividends come spring. As soon as a couple hard killing frosts come, we try to get as much old foliage out of the garden as possible. We have been cutting off daylilies for a couple weeks now and pulling the old leaves and scapes away from the plants. This eliminates many of the places where insects hide and fungus holds over and matures for a spring/early summer invasion.



One perennial plant we leave alone until spring is hosta. Hosta can carry a virus and like all viruses there is much still to learn about this one. It is spread via the sap of the plant so anything which wounds the plants and can inadvertently transfer sap from one plant to the next in the process can cause trouble. Although the virus doesn't kill the plant it can spread through an entire hosta garden. Learn more about this virus at the Hosta Library. Come spring this year's vegetation is flatter than a pancake and new vegetation has yet to break ground and that's the correct time to safely clean up around the plants.



As you're cleaning things up, remember that it's not too late to plant fall bulbs for spring color. It doesn't take too long to add a few hundred daffodils, tulips, crocus, snowdrops which will add late April-early May color while you wait for your perennials to return. 

I have to get to this farm supply store this morning first thing but I should be back to the flower farm by early afternoon. Hope your fall gardening chores are going well and that you have enjoyed a great summer in your gardens! Vermont has offered a wonderful summer!! #gardenchat; #agchat; #vermont; #perennials;

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

Frosty Vermont


Friday, October 17th, 2014


Gardeners have been asking me when the gardening season comes to an end in Vermont. Mark from Florida said he has never been to Vermont and he wondered how his daylilies would fare if he lived here. Here is the over view I just provided. As mentioned, the geography of our little state provides lots of variation in weather and when the first frost comes in the fall and the weather finally warms in spring.

"Weather is Vermont varies a great deal over the 125 mile length of the state because of the geography. Where I garden, a typical spring finds 3-4 frosts (24-28 degrees) from late April until about the 28th of May although we have experienced a killing frost as late as the first week of June when daylilies and hostas were beginning to look nice. In fall we always have a killing frost the end of September and then warm weather returns until mid October. We are on course for that now and Sunday morning will provide snow in the upper elevations, frozen plants everywhere.

Killington, Vermont which is central and western Vermont was on the national news last night with our fall foliage featured. This was the best year in my lifetime. For guaranteed  color, always come the end of September --say 28th on through the first week of October. October always brings big rain storms inc. wind and beautiful foliage can be gone in hours."

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Sunday, September 07, 2014

Diggin' & Dividin'

 Sunday, September 7, 2014

Sitting in Wells, Maine this morning, watching people walk the beach with their dogs, coffee, kids, friends. Tide is heading back in. Tempertaure is 61° but the wind from the ocean makes it feel cooler. A nice day is headed our way.

I have been dividing daylilies for a week straight and just before I left I dug and divided some three year old clumps of Ruby Throat. Here are some pictures. Ruby Throat is one of the Griesbach-Klehm daylilies from the seventies that I absolutely adore. The registration info from the American Hemerocallis Society is worth a look-see.

Ruby Throat (Griesbach-Klehm, 1979)
height 21in (53cm), bloom 5in (12.5cm), season MLa, Dormant, Tetraploid,  Red self.


Sometimes plants are registered before their true size is known and I believe this is very true with Ruby Throat. In three years this daylily will reach three feet tall (registered at 21")  It is a heavy bloomer from mid season into fall as ours are just finishing up and this was an unusual year because plants broke dormancy in April and it never got cold enough again to slow them down. Last year as example, Ruby Throat was accompanied by Rooten Tooten Red and Prairie Wildfire as they bloomed towards the end of September.


This is a really nice red that warrants a place in your garden. I work hard to keep plenty ready for sale but they are popular enough that they seem to sell in multiples more often than not. Gardening magazines regularly promote planting flowers in threes now and I notice this is catching on. I also notice that when customers return the following year they share their satisfaction for how this option looks. Give Ruby Throat a try. Although we are only open by chance or appointment now through October 12th, we can set up a time to get you started with this fine daylily.

Now time for breakfast and my first beach walk. No Karl the Wonder Dog companion on this vacation but there are plenty of dogs that walk these beaches day and night. I have yet to spot the lady who walks her aging sheltie in a kid's baby stroller. 

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

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Peony Reminder


Saturday, August 30, 2014

Just a peony reminder for our gardening friends. Mid to late August is when peonies in New England set buds on their root stock for the following year. Often this is the dry part of the summer. If you want a lot of wonderful blooms next June-July, be sure to give your peonies plenty of water now. Not fertilizer, just plenty of water. It will make you smile next year! Big smiles!!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Saturday, August 09, 2014

Just Great Combinations!

 Saturday, August 9, 2014

Almost 5 AM here on the mountain. I have been out twice with Karl the Wonder Dog and he has settled back into a snoring routine on the floor next to me. The keyboard doesn't bother him but if I move so much as a toe he will be up and at attention. Nice dog!

At the flower farm, Gail and I plant things at different times and neither of us seems to be aware for the longest time. Four ladies arrived yesterday and seemed interested in the daylily Strawberry Candy but said we did not have one for sale. ???  They seemed a tad confused about what they were really looking for. Gail walked them down along the fence by the parking area where she had planted an interesting combination of daylilies I never even noticed before. Along the fence she had Red Volunteer and then in front of that had planted South Seas and then Strawberry Candy. They were surrounded by weeds but just the same looked stunning, each drawing companionship from the other two. The color contrast was excellent. 
 Gail walked down to the potted plants at the end of the large shade house where the daylily alphabet ends up, grabbed a couple pots of Strawberry Candy in bloom and brought them up. In the end the request moved to a single pot of South Seas instead of Strawberry Candy but I didn't care because I had finally noticed a great combination that I can recommend to others. 


Although the colors on my pictures seems a little off this morning, the concept is fine and the three daylilies actually are worth putting together. As each one matures, they bring special benefit to each other. The Red Volunteer is the tallest and grows thick and full with bloom,  South Seas, the best coral daylily out there,  has nicely branched scapes and spreads out its bloom in front of the reds, and Strawberry Candy, the shortest of the three, blooms on and on picking up hints of color from its companions and reminding how well it works with daylily friends. If you want three daylily additions to your garden or want an especially nice gift for a gardening friend, consider these. Sold without weeds.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where August mornings at 5:15 are a lot different than in May. Darkness holds on.

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

Friday, July 25, 2014

Front Page News: Gail at Vermont Flower Farm


Friday, July 25, 2014

Gail is on the front page of the Times Argus newspaper today. If you get a chance, pick up a copy or read online if you have a subscription. If all else fails and you're in the vicinity, stop by and see in person what a wonderful assortment of daylilies are in bloom right now. 

DAYLILY PESTS

 Friday, July 25, 2014

Daylilies are in full bloom at Vermont Flower Farm and visitors from all over North America are visiting our state. Many are taking a break from their travel as they stop to tour our gardens and ask questions. A frequent question is what is the name of the small insect that flies as gardeners approach flowers and what is the insect that carves trails and tracks in the petals, especially in the darker purples and reds of daylilies. The answer is the same--the very insidious Tarnished Plant Bug,  Lygus lineolaris.



Over the years reports of the Tarnished Plant Bug have increased annually and inspectors from the Department of Agriculture who visit each year as part of Vermont's relicensing format report the same findings. I have spoken with many vegetable growers and they have reported the same issues and control has become a difficult but imperative responsibility.


Yesterday I was out early in the fields with friend and helper Michelle who was helping with deadheading' She was waiting for it to dry up enough so she could get back to painting our house. Gail and I have a dislike for painting so we trade off work with Michelle at her house during the off season so the arrangement works well for us. As we deadheaded what amounted to 8-five gallon buckets of spent daylily blooms, many visitors stopped to chat. They all wanted to know our theory for this monumental, time consuming task. 

Deadheading daylilies makes them look cleaner and prevents some blooms from turning into seed pods which for us is a less positive way to use available plant nutrients. We would rather see the plants grow a better root system and grow larger and more fans for subsequent years than grow seed pods. We do not hybridize so this is a good reason to clean the plants up. But the real reason I think it's imperative to do this is because the Tarnished Plant Bug lays eggs inside the spent blooms which then drop to the ground and start another life cycle with the TPB. Stand in front of a daylily in your garden and you might be able to see the bugs come and go and you can confirm this for yourself.

The question then is how to get rid of these bugs. We have a couple products that work for us as we try to stay away from harsh chemicals but still minimize the damage and repeated cycles of more bugs. A Plainfield vegetable farmer recommended that we use pyrethrum based PyGanic, an OMRI listed product used by organic farmers. At $80 a quart it seems expensive but it does the trick and lasts quite a while. The recommended usage is two pints per acre mixed with 100 gallons of water. That may seem like a lot of spray but it's not just the buds that must be sprayed but the plant and other plants in the area. This is a great reminder to get rid of weeds--which for us has been a terrible challenge ever since the big floods a few years back. 

We have also been successful using horticultural oils early in the season. These are the same products that orchardists use early on to spray fruit trees. The oils suffocate the eggs/small insects and also work but you must keep up with the spraying in May to take care of those early infestations.

Hot, dry summers seem to encourage more and more cycles of this bug and having fields surrounded by other weedy fields encourages the problem. Think through these ideas and give your daylilies, especially the darker colored ones a good inspection and see what kind of a problem you might have. Sooner is better on a plan to get rid of this bug. 

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

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Everlasting Labels




Wednesday, June 11, 2014

 A beautiful day here on the mountain. Not a cloud in the sky, windless, 46°, birds singing at the house, loons talking at the pond. Just spoke with a friend in Barre, 20 miles away, and it's clouded over there. Last night as I watched the baseball game it was raining in Baltimore and Philly so I expected we might see some much needed rain today. Right now there's no indication here.

There's always talk about what garden labels to use. For years I used a large white plastic cardboard label in our display gardens but then people complained that the gardens looked like cemeteries. I switched to Paw Paw Everlasting Labels, pictured here for the display gardens but I still use the Parker Davis labels to mark all the rows in the growing fields. They make it easier for old eyes to see when I am on the hunt for a daylily to dig. I like this Paw Paw brand because they hold up in heavy snow and they don't corrode like some. I buy the rose markers because they are tall enough to put in front of tall hostas such as Abba Dabba Do or Empress Wu and still be able to see the name. Obviously with something like hostas you have to move the markers forward as the summer progresses and the hostas grow.



For labels I have always used Avery brand laser labels. I have never spent the money on the weatherproof labels as it's not necessary. As example of durability, I put labels into the hosta display garden when I began building it 7 years ago. Three years ago there was a tropical storm and the garden flooded under ten feet of water. Many of the labels--an plants-- were torn out of the ground. Last week a helper found a collection of labels that had floated until caught by a Nugget ninebark and then covered with gravel. They had been underground for over 3 years and all the labels were still in place and readable. The markers were a different story as rolling through the flood had twisted them out of use.

The labels are the peel off type so they are easy to make on the computer. Do not use an ink jet printer as the labels will run when it rains. Some say you just sandpaper the marker face to get them to stay put but that's not needed. Just don't buy the no-name cheap labels because laser or not, I hear they don't work. Avery works!



As a caution to my bad memory, I always "plant" a white plastic plant marker with the plant name written in No. 2 pencil with every plant. Since I do all the planting myself,  I always plant the marker positioned at about 3 o'clock so I know where to look if the other marker is moved. This has never failed me, not even one time when a  kid (g-r-r-r-r-) decided that collecting the tall markers was fun while her mother was walking the display. My only other problem was memory because after that flood, many hostas were torn up and floated away. Those that landed close by included over 35 "blues". Take it from me, blues are not the easiest to identify in that number.

Well, I have to get clicking here. Start the day opening up the business for Gail and then I heave to head for Montpelier for the dentist, then the credit union, the ag supply, and the plumbing supply. I'll be busy. Bet you will too. Come visit soon!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener 
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as my personal page, George Africa. Lots of pictures on each.
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Dividing Daylilies


Sunday, June 8, 2014

Up early this morning to get some paperwork out of the way and get to the flower farm to get set up for a busy day. Just spent two days getting the shade cloth on the three shade houses. This is a lot of up and down ladder work and is tiring to the hands because bungie cords are used to secure the cloth to the pipe frames. You have to hang onto the ladder and pipe frame, thread the cords through the cloth grommets and then wrap the cords to the pipe. Trouble is it's required every two feet (lots of ladder moving!) and in the end you have to secure the cloth against high winds with rope criss-crossed across the roofs. My friend Michelle helped get it done this year as Michael is a new college graduate and on to a new job, Steve is cutting and delivering firewood like crazy and Gail and Alex have never developed a fondness for anything above the first step of a ladder. 

I continue to dig and divide daylilies that did not get finshed last fall and I have 9 buckets of new daylilies lined up to plant today.  I dug this Citrina altissima a week and a half ago but wanted to mention that this is still a fine time to do the dividing. Although some people think it's too late, there is no bad time with a daylily although most prefer to see them bloom first or divide them early on before they produce buds. I like any of the Citrinas because of the high bud count, vigorous growth rate and nocturnal bloom, and lemon fragrance.

So get out the spade forks or shovels and dig out some clumps ( I dug Alna's Pride yesterday), stretch a little first and then use a sharpe knife or even a sheetrock knife to cut the pieces apart. Some daylilies will come apart with your hands but others need some extra help. If you can't seem to get it, stop by and we'll find something here to let you work on. 

Be well and have a fun Sunday. Lots going on at the flower farm so stop by if you are around.

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

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Handy Hand Truck

 Tuesday, May 20, 2014

For years now I have used a hand truck when deliveries arrive at the flower farm. Long ago I learned about mechanical advantage and I respected easier means of lifting and moving heavy objects. A truckload of a hundred 3.8 cubic foot bales of potting mix, for example, starts out nicely but by bale number 5 you wish you were in a different place.



Hand trucks are available at all the box stores and are available for about $40. I always spring for a new set of wheels right from the beginning because from experience I find that the inflatable type just don't hold up and I always find this out on the day a tire is pancake flat and I have lots to move. The new tires with a solid core will last longer than me and cost about $20 a piece extra. It's kind of a pain getting the cap nut off to replace them but it's worth it.


Some people add a piece of pressure treated plywood to the bottom to enlarge the lift shelf. I have never done that but I have seen it done. When I am using the truck for awkward items I use a couple bungie cords to secure whatever I am moving. 

This might seem like an odd gift to buy for a gardening friend but I guarantee it will be well appreciated. In the meantime, think of yourself and what you lift and carry in the course of a summertime of gardening. It's worth it! And it works with moving big clumps of daylilies too!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener