Quick Morning Walk

Monday, May 19, 2008

Karl and I took a quick morning walk and with one hand and a few expletives I took a few spring shots. Walking a dog in spring and taking a picture are not compatible and I know better than to try. Time is short and I keep trying to satisfy a number of responsibilities. Here are some picture thoughts to accompany your morning coffee. Check out Vermont Gardens
and you will see why I am busy.

Hellebores are a fascinating flower. They begin to bloom when cold April snows melt enough to get some sun to left-over foliage. They jump start our need to see color and always interest visitors.

Hellebores come in a variety of colors. As they begin to go to seed, all the petals, regardless of what color they start at, turn to green.

Wild leeks are prominent now. As you walk along many Vermont streams and rivers, the smell of onions will become prominent and you might not understand the source. The Winooski River was named after these onions, hence The Onion River.

There is a great variety of cherries and crabs on the market which add good height up to 12-15 feet and even are available as 6 foot dwarf specimens. This one is especially colorful with double flowers. It is susceptible to a virus my nursery friends have never figured out and I tolerate it's spring color but cannot recommend it to others.

Epimediums are a great flower which is just now receiving appropriate claim. I mention it often on my blogs. This nice ruby red with yellow center is rubrum although I notice I mislabeled the picture 'roseum' which is more lavender. Great clusters of flowers hang on a long time as long as moisture is sufficient.

Epimedium grandiflorum alba is an eye catcher. It is a favorite. Write me a good description of the flower. I have trouble saying spider-like as that's just not quite right.

The sun is rising quickly and the phone engineer just called. He's on route with my telephone cable so we can get phone and data service to our new nursery building. The conduit has been underground for weeks and the pull cord is in place and ready to bring in needed service. Guess I better get going. Hope your gardens are cleaned up and beginning to please you. We have a long way to go but a trip here to Peacham Pond Road is worth it just to see what we have and look at the hostas unfurl.

Good gardening wishes from one gardener to another!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
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