Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Daylily friends began to visit today. They started arriving in our gardens last week and are in abundance now, encouraged to open in the +90 degree heat that has the inside of the house still 77 degrees with doors and windows shut all day. Vermont's summer is all too short and we should not complain.
Creepy Crawler(above) has a toothed edge which is interesting but Citrina always brings my attention with its clear, pale yellow and catching fragrance. It is well over three feet tall this year and will probably reach four before end of season.
Chicago Knockout as with most all the Chicago series is strong and welcome in the garden. Visitors don't always know the series but today as they saw Chicago Sunrise I made enough trips with the shovel back to the field to dig more. The field grown plants are large and much welcomed by gardeners and gift seekers but that two hundred foot walk from the end of the row back up the hill in humid weather is a bit much.
Beth Barth (below) is one of five Barth daylilies we have. Right now I can only remember Pemaquid Light and Alna's Pride but there are two more here. They are thick and strong and hold tight even in the high winds and hard rains of the past three days.
Beloved Country is popular and with reason. It's an older daylily by today's standards but we like it. I sold three today so it really is still in favor.
Barbara Mitchell, Anne Warner and Along the Way kept company with dozens of other daylilies in our gardens along the Winooski River. I walked around looking at them before I closed the place down for the night. It was a relaxing walk after a very hot day.
Michelle and Austin finished the last of the ditch for the electric line from our building to the river where the new shallow well pump will bring a 1" line of water to the crest of the hill. The closer they came to the building, the thicker and stickier the clay became. It's one of those "you have to see it" things as the clay sticks to you shoes and clothes and tools like nature's verison of Gorilla Glue. Tomorrow I'll put a wooden pallet down close to the river, tack on a sheet of plywood and then build an enclosure for the pump. When that's finished, I can call the electrician and get the final wiring done. What a relief that will be to have water without having to fill a tank with gas and wrestle the 20 feet of hose in and out of the river.If you are out and about, stop by the "new" Vermont Flower Farm. Daylily season is in full swing and Gail is planning some kind of event this weekend. Minor but eventful. I suspect she will be cooking her blueberry coffee cake for those who missed it last year.
Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where one very tired gardener wishes all his gardening friends good summer greetings. Stop by and share a story, tell a tale, describe a strange bug, show off a new plant. We'll be waiting!
George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens
