Stones and Superbums

August 7, 2008

It's a wet night here on the hill as it is everywhere in Vermont. The rains just keep coming and coming as more and more roads and fields and riverbanks get washed away. Tonight's local news was just a repeat of last night's and it represented the same scene around the state today as dump trucks of all colors carried thousands of tons of stone to repair missing roads. I do not know the total rainfall but was told we received 3.7" in the past two days in this area.

Gail continues to sell flowers at the nursery despite the rain. There is no doubt that we would be doing much better if we could give away some free sunshine with every new plant but apparently that's something we'll have to do next year. The forecast for the next several days is for more of the same.

Maintaining a happy face is difficult when every pair of boots I own is wet and muddy in and out. I returned from my regular job tonight in time for the news and then went down to view the Lilium superbums in the lower garden. Two years ago they were the harbinger of bad tidings when I returned from Portland, Oregon to find the lily leaf beetle for the first time. This year they look splendid with only minor holes here and there. The constant rain is shortening their opportunity to please me but their numbers are so great this year that I don't care. Single plants are obvious here and there, the work of chipmunks lacking good planting guides.

Lilium superbum are tall lilies after a few years and these were eight feet in places before they headed back to earth due to heavy rains and gravity. They are a wall of fire, a standout growing tall behind the granite standing stones I first "planted" in the summer of 2000.

Many folks enjoy Lilium canadense but frankly the superbums grow faster and easier and seem more catchy to me. Not everyone has a place to plant tall plants but as one who enjoys the extremes of garden architecture, plant them I must! Right now Karl the wonder dog is pleading to go chase a cat and I need a little walk myself.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where Gail just returned from a walk with a blossom from the double flowered daylily, flore-pleno, reminding me that I have promised two customers to bring some down to the nursery to sell.

Wet garden wishes,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens