Garden Romance

Valentine's Day 2008

Today is a classic red day like the red Asiatic lilies pictured above. It's Valentines Day and a day to remember, not a day to forget. Here at Vermont Flower Farm things are in their usual upside down winter state. I just got home from work and Gail and Alex just returned from Burlington. We could have used one of those wizard's wands you see on television cartoon shows where a little flick here and there and things fall into place. We don't have one.

The groceries are in, Karl the wonder dog has been out, Alex already grabbed a snack and his new book and is squirreled away in his room reading and Gail is mixing up some sauce for the shrimp. I have the woodstove cleaned out and will get it going in a few more minutes. There are eleventy seven other things to do but I have to let readers know The Vermont Gardener has been busy...and it's Valentines Day!

The woods are pretty as the trees hold the latest snow and ice and glistened in today's sun. It's getting darker now but today's peace is very much unlike last year's 46 inches of snow in two days that closed down Vermont and drove florists looking for cliffs to jump off. This year has been different and travel today was much easier. Hopefully you visited your florist and helped make up for last year. If you live locally and know you messed up, stop by our friend, Jerome the Florist, North Main Street, Barre first thing tomorrow morning and he'll help you out. Guaranteed!

Many of the flowers that I really enjoy are not even available on Valentines Day. Fresh roses that are so very expensive often actually come from South America although there are a few American companies that produce fine product. Potted plants are popular with me. I like pink or white cyclamen, red azaleas, or tulips. Cut flowers are also nice and a spring type mix heavy on iris, tulips and daffodils makes me happy. Gail agrees.

One perennial that is a great cut flower is one which is enjoying dormancy right now. Dicentra. Bleeding Heart. Long about the first week of May here at Vermont Flower Farm they bust through the ground and then stop to catch their breath. They raise questions of "What's that?"among visitors who stop to see how we made it through the winter. Fortunately, they grow quickly and by the end of the month they are looking bright and sophisticated.



Later in the summer there are lilies that remind me of the cold days of February and the Valentines Day that passed. A couple Oriental lilies that bloom in late July/early August but could be Valentine flowers are named Kiss Proof and Hot Lips. I know these are good ice




breakers because I once gave a talk to a garden club where the average age of the 50 or so ladies and one church janitor was about 68. Even the janitor's yellow lab was white with age. When I got to Kiss Proof they giggled and when I got to Hot Lips the laughter even made me redden up. I could have made 51 sales that day if only I had thought about bringing some Hot Lips.

As for you this late on Valentines Day, just one kiss, just one "thank you for being you", just one handmade card or homemade poem might do the trick.


Happy Valentine's Day from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the salmon is about ready.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens A popular site to check when The Vermont Gardener forgets which
blog he is supposed to be writing

Late Spring Flowers

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Good morning from Vermont Flower Farm! Wet and foggy but the rain has subsided for a bit and we made it through last evening's storm without any damage. It's 52 degrees out right now and that's 30 degrees cooler than it was as the thunderstorm approached last night. Gail and Alex went to East Montpelier to meet a friend and then planned to go to Barre for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. She called about 6:30 in fear that we were also in the midst of a bad storm as the electricity was knocked out in Barre, and East Montpelier had the hardest rain and hail storm Gail had ever seen. Luckily for us the storm's fury went some place else and we got by with rain. Two years ago in late July we weren't as lucky and a hail storm shredded the hostas just when they were in their glory. We spent the rest of the summer explaining what had happened to about everyone who visited. Weather patterns are changing and beautiful gardens can be decimated in minutes.

This is a great time for a walk in the garden because so much color is springing forth. Karl the wonder dog and I have already been out and it seems like every wild animal decided they'd get a better breakfast today to compensate for lost time with last evening's wet meal. We did not see a bear but scared a moose, saw two deer and one jack rabbit so that's not bad for a half hour walk out back. Gail saw a bruiser bear last night coming home from Barre. It was crossing the road in the middle of Plainfield as if it owned the town. Just another reminder that bears are everywhere and with cubs they can be a problem. Use care!

Karl was dripping wet and his tail looked skinny after the walk. I grabbed a towel and when he got done shaking I tried to dry him a little more. I knew he'd probably go back to bed as he often does after a morning walk but if I'm not watching, he makes my bed, his bed and I didn't want a dirty, wet bed. Dog's are not always man's best friend. After the walk I go about gardening but Karl refuses to follow suit.

The bleeding hearts are in full bloom now, both the common type and the ever blooming types. This one by the fence is Dicentra spectabilis. It's easy to grow, can be divided in the spring and it makes a super cut flower which too few people use in arrangements. If you want to divide an older plant, do it in the spring. Do some bending-stretching exercises first because they have a tremendous root system. Have a sharp knife ready too.

I don't have a picture this morning of Dicentra formosa 'Luxuriant' but they are in full bloom here too. These bloom several times during the summer and at 12"-15" tall they make a great border plant and look well integrated with woodland plants on tree line perimeters. I have planted some inside the woodland but they really need more sun to do well. One 'alba' planted below the mailboxes on the steps leading to the lower hosta garden has grown so fast this season that I have pulled clumps of it away several times to maintain the visibility of the adjacent hostas. If you visit, you won't be able to avoid finding it.

If you visit us over the next couple days the flowers along your route will be obvious. It's not just the bleeding hearts that are in bloom but the trollius, lupines in the fields, perennial bachelor's buttons, various crab apples and of course the lilacs in all colors. I always equate the first bloom of the lilacs with the hatch of the tiger swallow tail butterflies. The butterflies are in abundance this week. If I was really an entomologist, I'd be happy today because Gail left the back door light on when she came home last night and we have a collection of bugs on the side of the house that's a collectors dream.


Time to get going as the first customers will be here before I know it. I want to pick a nice bouquet of bleeding heart, ferns and trollius for the table. A couple lilacs for fragrance and I'll have a nice start to a better day.

Be well and stop by if you have a minute. If that's not possible, try the 06 Virtual Tour at http:/vermontflowerfarm.com

From the mountain above Peacham Pond were loons have fish for breakfast and a group of naturalists and a trailer of kayaks just passed by. They will meet in half an hour but neither loons nor people know that.

Damp gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com