Evening Walk

Monday, August 11, 2008

I closed up shop this afternoon at 5 as it was feeling more and more like rain again. Gail and Alex had left some time earlier to go to Montpelier for the evening and I knew it would be me and Karl taking home the trash and getting things settled at the house for the night. Despite the weather which just will not turn good for more than a few hours, the nursery looks great and daylilies continue to bloom.

Each morning, Gail picks 30-40 blossoms and puts them on a table in small, water-filled jelly jars with the name, height and price. This serves as a nice display and makes it easier for folks to make a choice and send one of us to the garden to dig a nice clump. At close of business they still look too nice to dump but evening chores includes dumping the flowers and water and washing down the table for the next day. Clean and tidy sells in any business!

I got home and was just getting squared away and Liz came a knocking with a belated birthday present for Gail as well as a gift for taking care of their beagle while they were away for the weekend. Liz is a good neighbor, not because she brings gifts but because she cares about people and is always willing to help. She helps take care of Gail's mother and is always available to help. We talked for a few minutes and then she headed home to make supper and I headed out to the compost pile with Karl to dump a load of weeds and spent daylily heads. I picked Karl three handfuls of wild blueberries. This has become a ritual for him but it will soon end as the wild turkeys are eating the berries all day long and the crop is growing thin.

When we returned home, I grabbed the camera for a few quick shots while Karl waited in the truck, sitting straight and tall and acting like a guard dog instead of a house dog. The lilies have been quite nice this year even though some have become faded from the pollen running down the petals. A wasp was holding tight to a nice Orienpet lily as if to protect himself from the rain drops. The bee that checks all bees incoming to the nest at the end of the day will be missing one tonight.

I walked up along the path and was surprised how nice everything looked even though the gardens are unkept and full of weeds. Gail and I have been at the nursery every day since the snow began to melt so the gardens around our home have taken on a new appearance best viewed from a distance. As I walked along, I came upon a clump of 'Chicago Apache' daylilies which is about two weeks ahead of itself this year. I don't know if it has been the excess rain or lower or higher temperatures but bloom time is clearly different this year.

The Crocosmia 'Lucifer' are striking this year and are like a magnet to hummingbirds. 'South Seas', a favorite coral daylily, has passed on but 'So Lovely' has begun to bloom. It's tall and dusted and very nice. 'Lusty Leland', another red we sell a lot of, peers down from the back display area and the last few 'Missouri Beauty' keep it company. Along the edge, 'Grape Velvet', one of the finest purples out there, sports 8 blooms and dozens of buds while a row of 'Mini Pearl'

with shiny foliage seem to bloom forever. Two favorites, 'Wayside Green Lamp' and 'Witch Hazel' are in the garden with the tall 'Chicago Rosy', 'Alice in Wonderland', and 'Siloam Amazing Grace'. These all need to be moved to the nursery but it will be some time yet as Austin moved three truckloads last week that have to get planted first.

There's lots going on at Vermont Flower Farm. As depressing as the constant rain has been, people arrive each day and share stories and offer words of encouragement. Our friends have had the opportunity to drive down Route 2 and watch our progress and they know well how much work we have done to get to where we are. People tell us they come back because the quality of our product is exceptional, our knowledge of the plant world is special and we always demonstrate that we care about the person we're speaking with. Gail and I have always been that way....and always will.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where nightfall comes too early even if you're tired like me.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens