Saturday, April 3, 2010
Another beautiful morning here on the mountain. 43 degrees and windless as the sun climbs above Peacham Pond. Karl the Wonder Dog and I just returned from our morning walk which was uneventful compared to yesterday's greeting by a young bull moose--a moose absent of a GPS for direction and running full tilt and perfectly lined up to run straight through the fence by the hosta garden. Karl's protective barking and my coarse expletives did the trick.
I'm heading back to the nursery in a few minutes. 70 degree weather is nice and I can get a lot more accomplished when I'm not freezing but fact is that snow could still return and the warmness I will enjoy again today could be gone by tomorrow as rain sets in again and perhaps even some snow above 1500 feet. Just the same, today will be great!Deliveries are arriving and this pile of Fafard brand No 52 mix is just one of the piles of material necessary to make a nursery work. This is the best mix I have ever found for planting hostas and daylilies. It is a coarse mix that provides excellent oxygen at root level and hostas really excel.
We have purchased three shade houses over the years including a 20 X 30, a 20 X 60 and a 30 X 60. We really need another 30 X 60--maybe next year. All were purchased from
Rimol Greenhouse Systems in Hooksett, NH. If you live in the east, I can recommend no other company. Here's what they look like before we install the shade cloth on top. That's a job I usually do myself in May with a couple ladders and a lot of "ups-and-downs".
The white cloth in the pictures is an insulating blanket we found several years ago. It is about 3/8"s inch thick and the spun fiber composition keeps the plants warm. It allows us to mass the potted plants together in the fall, cover with the fabric and then cover it all with a sheet of construction grade black plastic and tires to hold everything in place. Yes, it is a lot of work but there is no mortality save from a few mice/vole losses.
As I finish cleaning up around the building this morning it's back to the daylily fields. After three years, I still pick stones moved forward by the frost movement. Also have to take out weeds and get ready for spring tilling. Today I will move along slowly as I begin to exercise old muscles. Gardening is good!Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I heard my first of the season male partridge drumming this morning. I like the sound.
George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Check out Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens on Facebook
3 comments:
You certainly have a lot to do.
Spring is creeping its way towards us as well. The perils of living on a mountain by the ocean is that while the valley enjoyed temperatures in the mid-high 60s today, we had fog and wind off the water. So I declined to do much outside. Tomorrow is coming.
George ... often what we wish for comes back to haunt us! OK, slow down a bit spring and let us enjoy each 'wished for' moment, unlike the tech world, something we can't 'rewind'! Happy Easter, dear friend!
Post a Comment