Bloom Continues

Friday, July 27, 2012

60.8° here on the mountain this morning. Windless and raining lightly. The honey bees are still in the hive, waiting for more heat and less rain so they can make their first flights of the day. The bees that over-nighted in the wild must be a little waterlogged by now as it rained most of yesterday and much of last night. I was a little waterlogged by the time I got home last night with an armload of wet clothes for the washer and three pairs of soaked shoes.

The daylily bloom is changing at the flower farm and if you are in the area, stop by and see some of the later bloomers. The very popular Alabama Jubilee pictured up top is about finished and is now replaced by the blooms of Fire King, just below here. Both command attention in the garden with heavy bloom counts on tall scapes. Yesterday I sold the last Rooten Tooten Red which is a strong red and inexpensive. We still have a few of the big $25 clumps left in the garden and also some Red Volunteer if you are interested in plants that look like they have been in your garden for 5 years or so. For other reds, Prairie Wildfire is in bloom now, Bama Bound continues as does Red Sentinel and a couple more. There were many requests for Mallard but I decided to hold on to what I have and propagate for another year. Mallard is a smaller, front-of-the-border red with lots of potential. I have not seen it around here a lot and maintain it with other "bird-named" daylilies.

Rose Katherine is growing well now although some of the plants are small. Mardi Gras Parade is similar and in bloom. Both of these are down to the left of the long shade house. MGP has a super bud count and looks fine along the border.

August Frost is in bloom now, earlier than usual and it accompanies Lime Frost which is finishing in the garden. These both have lot of blooms on strong scapes and catch attention from afar. Take a peek if you stop by.

El Desperado is just starting to bloom and this one always leaves me short because it sneaks out on carts, one and two at a time. I don't have the color quite right in this picture but you'll see why it is popular when you stop by.

I can hear Gail getting the change box counted out and that means I am supposed to be heading out the door for the flower farm. Karl the Wonder Dog is on the floor beside me snoring away and that seems like a good idea on such a wet day but my free time comes in January, not July. If you get a chance to stop by the flower farm, you'll see what has been keeping us busy. It's worth the time.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I can hear loon talk from the pond and the reservoir this morning. Maybe they are saying "George, get going!"

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
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Taxing Snowfalls

Friday, January 18, 2008

A snowy morning here on the mountain. The temperature has been a constant 26 since about 5:30 AM and the snow has fallen in and out of misty fine snow that almost looks like fog varying to thick, heavy flakes. At some point the storm is supposed to pass and by late afternoon the sun will appear. Then the temperatures will begin dropping until a projected minus 20 degrees come Sunday night. The birds are just appearing at the feeder. I thought their delay might be weather related until a sonic hawk shot past the window after a mourning dove. I'm glad I didn't witness the conclusion.

It's been quite a week here at the flowerless farm. Karl the wonder dog is usually a strong, Superman-like being with great auditory attention to man or beast of any number of legs or wings. Unfortunately, just like Superman's susceptibility to kryptonite, Karl the wonder dog can fall sick to the perils of inappropriate consumptory behavior. That translates to eating something he shouldn't have.

Karl, in his canine opinion, is "this" man's best friend. No matter how late I return home from work at night, he shoots like a gazelle running on ball bearings to the back door to greet me. Monday night's greeting was different. His ears and tail were drooping and his speed was reduced to an obviously painful "drag-the-body" movement. Gail said he was sick and she was concerned.

We had supper and kept an eye on Karl but he seemed to be heading to a land we didn't like to think about. His breathing varied and his nose was Sahara-like. By almost 9 Gail said enough is enough and she called our vet.

We've always treated our animals as ourselves and excepting the fact they aren't on our CIGNA health plan, they get the very best. Trouble was our super vet had been replaced for the evening by an associate on call and this meant we had to travel down past McIndoe Falls, Vermont, in a snow storm, some 38 miles south of here. We ended up at almost 10 PM at the Ryegate Small Animal Hospital where Jill had all the lights on and was ready for one sick dog.

The details since then are less important than the fact that Karl is slowly regaining some of his "wonderful" traits and probably in another week he will have remastered his unpopularity with me. Right now I continue to love him a lot and still feel very sorry for his courtship with death.

Having animals is a tremendous responsibility and we can't forget that. Kind of like making the decision to manage a business. Vermont Flower Farm is another of our pets and right now I am well into the annual IRS/tax shuffle. I promised to write something about taxes at our other site Vermont Gardens and I have to get on with that. In the meantime I want to continue with thoughts of daylilies.

Daylilies are flowers that do well in Vermont and they are low maintenance if planted correctly. They come in many colors and bloom time, so much so as to make gardeners smile. They also work so well in combination with other perennials and annuals that you can paint a garden picture with a shovel and a few bucks.

I have said before that Gail likes older daylilies but really she likes most any daylily excepting those with the fatter edges that some associate with the term "chicken fat". That's about as good a description as you can get but it needs a little work in today's marketing world.

The purple daylily pictured above is Grape Velvet. This is an example of what Gail likes: a good grower in a scape range of 26"-28" with a decent bud count and an ease of matching with other colors. Some would say "no great shakes" but the number of gardeners who want to buy one always keeps us thinking about production levels. It's very popular!

The golden daylily pictured next is Golden Whistle, It's a Gilbert Wild daylily from 1983. It blooms a well substanced, fragrant flower on a 34"-36" scape. I put it in the category of those 5"-6" diameter flowers that do well planted in a border distant from the house where you maintain an evening vantage point that needs some eye catchers.

Ethel Barfield Smith is described as "peach banded rose" which is fitting for this 30" tall flower that's been around for over 30 years. I picked it out of a gathering of potted daylilies at a northern Vermont nursery a couple years ago as a present for Gail. She really doesn't like it but I know that Winnie and Michelle who work with us have both commented positively on it. Maybe I'll fix Gail's goose and give each of them a piece of it this spring!

Way at the top where I started all this rambling is El Desperado, another great daylily. I like this one because the dark stamens stand out so well against the two tones. Some don't care for the dark mustard color but to me the purple-wine throat enhances this later blooming flower.

If you get a chance, take a look at the American Hemerocallis Society site. You'll find lots of resources and plenty of ideas to get you excited about trying this plant. Oh yes, and if you are traveling through Vermont along the Connecticut River and you need a great vet, give Jill a call at the Ryegate Small Animal Hospital, 54 Moore Lane, Ryegate, Vt 05042 802-633-3660. Our usual vet is Stan Pekala, Danville Animal Hospital, Danville, Vt 802-684-2284


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where large snowflakes add to the snow that blankets our dayilies, and spoiled blue jays share cracked corn and bird stories at breakfast.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm Our business site
Vermont Gardens Another blog