Primrose Majesty!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

3 mph wind on the mountain and 54°. A ten degree contrast to Burlington at 64° but with mutual promise for the seventies today. There's also chance for another t-storm to add excitement to my long list of chores. I'm excited that tonight I pick up my first-ever honey bees and commence what I hope will be a successful journey. Gail is less than optimistic about what she sees as my latest expense but there aren't a lot of things I fail at so we'll see. She is optimistic about my bulldozer purchase and I expect over time this endeavor will receive smiles too. This is a mutual project with friends Mike and Michelle who have helped get things ready. More on that tomorrow.

Last night Gail and "the girls", Tracey, Diana, and Elizabeth visited primrose heaven in East Montpelier, Vermont. I couldn't make it. Arlene Perkins and her husband live at the top of a mountain off Gould Hill Road and they grow a magnificent garden of primroses as well as many, many interesting perennials and also peonies. Gail and I went last year and I am still telling people about it. This is a picture up top of one of the gardens at the Perkins residence that is situated at the top of the Winooski River Valley above the North Branch Nature Center.

This is the kind of garden that you walk around and around, each time seeing things you missed before. You can't avoid questions and comments and many, many "I can't believe how beautiful this is" statements. It really is breathtaking.

Arlene is a hybridizer and a collector and I doubt you will find a garden or a host and hostess like you'll experience at the Perkins. If you aren't interested in primulas yet, you will be before you leave. This is "the" flower for May in Vermont because of abundant and diverse bloom just when you really need to a jump start to forget about winter and mud season.

The mixed varieties are like a painter's palette and they go on and on. Last year I walked the little paths 3-4-5 times, each time seeing things I missed before. The mixed flowers are treasures to find and from the unusual trilliums to the pink bloodroot to the miniature 1.5" primrose, you will be well entertained.

There is something about the beauty of these gardens that makes it difficult to leave. Kind of like going to a great party when you know it's time to leave but you're in such great company you cannot make yourself say goodbye. The primroses hold you tight and make you want to stay.
Their enthusiasm makes you want to start a collection of your own but you already know you can never create what you are standing in the middle of and enjoying!


Couple things to consider. Purchases and spring in Vermont. Arlene always has some primroses and other plants potted for sale. Like many collectors, sales help purchase new flowers and expand the collection you get to see in future years. The opportunities are not something you'll see at other nurseries in Vermont so don't miss the potted plants. Secondly, remember it's spring in Vermont and the insidious black flies sometimes prevail and at other times they overlook the invitation. Be prepared for them just in case. And if you get to meet Arlene, tell her George recommended her gardens. Like any visit to a private collection, call first and make an appointment. 802-223-6245. Show consideration for the gardens and the gardeners and you'll take away memories like I did!



Writing from "our" mountain above Peacham Pond where just now the sun is poking through the clouds. I have to get busy. Be well!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and on my personal page, George Africa
On twitter as vtflowerfarm
At Vermont Flower Farm we'll help you grow your green thumb!

Heat Wave

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Just in from an extended morning walk with Karl the Wonder Dog. He is not my favorite dog again this morning. It's not his fault. This is the third night in a row the local bears decided to visit the house and although there is not so much as a nibble left by we humans, there are just enough blackberries left to keep bringing them back. Karl runs bear control all night which means about the time both eyes are shut and I'm back into some sort of dreaminess, the howling, barking, running from window to window continues. Gotta love the great protector!

We went far out back on the woods road this morning seeking night time revenge and hoping to wake something up like we had been disrupted repeatedly. No luck at all--a few song birds singing and one distant hawk. As we got to the end of our property about a half mile from the house, there's quite a colony of wild roses. This time of year they are covered with orange-turning-red hips full of fattening seeds and vitamin C. It was obvious that the bears had made this one of their stops in recent days as the thorny bushes, over 6 feet in height, were heavily mauled and flattened and most all the hips were missing. The grass underneath the shrubs was well matted too. With a limited wild apple crop here this year, bears will be traveling wide for field corn, domestic apples, berries and any other scraps they can find.

I'm trying to get to the nursery soon as there is lots to do before it gets too hot to work much. This is the third day in the 90s so by weather standards this is an official heat wave. It feels to us as if this has been going on since last Friday. Gail and I just flipped through all the channels for the latest updates on the hurricane and I am also using a good tracker. I always park all my equipment on the highest point along the river which is convenient for me but not too smart if there's a chance of a major weather event. If you ever visit us, you'll understand the method to my madness.



Last week I wanted to mention peonies as the east was going through lots of heat. New Englanders love their peonies and they are a flower that was always found at every farm, planted around the house and also by the barn's milk house. Peonies are special to me and I have over 150 in my collection. Gail loves them too and sells a fair number potted for summer and fall sales. They are selling now and there are probably 18 left if you have any interest. No shipping on these as they are in two and three gallon pots. What I have neglected to remind folks is that it's very important to water peonies well in mid August as that is when they are setting buds on the rootstock for next June's flowers. Although we have some amount of rain inland from the coast coming by this weekend, recent dry weather suggests getting some water to your peonies now. No fertilizer, just lots of water. You'll notice a difference in next year's bloom.

I have to scoot. Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl just gave me a kiss as if suggesting a reciprocal thank you for his "hard work" last night. Yeh, right!


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Blue Colors, Bright Morning

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

A beautiful morning here on the mountain. 38.5 degrees so no frost last night despite the warning. A brownish red doe deer is walking through the lower garden as I write, one ear tipped to the side to try to ascertain where the keyboarding noise is coming from. I wonder where she left her new fawn? It's hidden away someplace and it will be a few weeks before she will bring it out to visit.

I haven't made it to the nursery yet to see how cold it got in the cold pocket on the north side but I suspect it is fine. Also haven't been out for a walk with Karl the Wonder Dog as he is making a slow recovery from his latest ailment and although a little perkier, he is yet to start bugging me for a walk.

This is the time of spring when colors begin to mix and change from day to day. The peonies are coming on but the lack of a bazillion buds like last year is reminder to my negligence last year when I failed to weed around them and fertilize. If you have peonies and want good bloom remember that the root should never be more than 1.5" below the surface and the plants should be kept free of weeds. They also need to be fertilized as they grow bigger and need good water in mid August when they set bud for the following year. Last summer I was working two jobs and rebuilding Gail's mother's house for sale and things like peonies never made the priority list.

Perennial bachelors buttons are out now and they are a nice blue color that works well with many other flowers. I don't really like this plant because towards the end of the first bloom they get scraggly and sometimes during wet spring seasons succumb to fungal problems. If you cut the entire plant back right after it blooms the first time it will regrow quickly and bloom some more. I like plants that show more independence--kind of like telling the kid that wants another pay raise that yes, the plant he just pulled up was another hosta....just as I had reminded yesterday and the day before.

I said earlier this week that I would pay tribute to the farmers and suppliers who contributed to Saturday night's localvore at the Marshfield Inn and Motel. Friends Tracey and Diana did a terrific job and local chef Tony Martinez brought it all to plate. They were bright stars that night just as the peonies of various shades of red stand strong among the blue bachelor buttons on this bright June morning. Enjoy today!


Localvore contributors included: crostini from Elmore Mtn Bakery, bacon and pork loin from the Cleary Family Farm in Plainfield, asparagus from Annie on Hollister Hill, eggs with beautiful dark yokes from Anna Marie Clark in Cabot, goat cheese from Vermont Butter and Cheese, crisp greens from Justin Kevnal, also from Hollister Hill, tofu and soy milk from Vermont Soy in Hardwick, cream from Butterworks Farm, mushrooms, ever so tasty, from Wild Side of Vermont/Wild Branch in Craftsbury, rhubarb from the front garden at Marshfield Inn, potatoes from Chappells in Williamstown, chives from Chef Tony's own garden, basil from Mimi Arnstein at Wellspring Farm, Marshfield, and early spring vegetables from Pete's Greens in Craftsbury.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the doe is gone but the ravens are fighting at the compost pile. How can you get excited about strawberry parings?

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm where Hosta 'June' is on sale for $12 a gallon pot
On Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens, and as just me, George Africa
Almost ready for morning Tweets on Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Find us, join us, come visit!

Peonies Are Coming!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

40 degrees here on the mountain and about as wet as you can get from yesterday's rain. The sun is already high above Peacham Pond and the third truck and fishing boat has passed the house just while I have been sitting here. A pileated woodpecker is on an old sugar maple over the bank and I just noticed that the bears finally came through and knocked over the empty bird feeders last night. How much bear does it take to bend a 90 degree angle in a 1.25" pipe?

Gail and I have been very busy at the nursery and writing has taken a back burner. Today the new wood chipper arrives for the tractor and a shipment of annuals from our good friends at Claussen's Florist and Greenhouses in Colchester. Gail used to work there and we both agree that a lot of people grow annuals but Claussen's is a company that really has it right!

We are trying to keep up with posts on Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. We want to be able to post pictures every day of what is available to see or buy. During yesterday's rain I worked on the inside of the office more trying to get the insulation done and get the computers set up. Time is short but we are getting there. Right now we have three varieties of columbine in bloom, a number of trollius, 5 varieties of oriental poppies which have set into the pots well, some good looking rhubarb plants for rhubarb crumble and strawberry rhubarb pie and hundreds of other things looking good for late spring gardens. Gail has 7 varieties of peonies for sale and the smouthii is just beginning to bloom here at the house.

Lots going on so if you are out and about, stop by and say hello. For those who cannot journey here, our website contains much of what we sell at the nursery. We ship on Monday-Tuesday Wednesday to be certain things arrive to you by the weekend at the latest. Our hosta offering is looking very, very good so if you have an interest but cannot find what you want on our site, email Gail at lilies@hughes.net and she'll let you know if we can help. Spring snows just a week and a half ago slowed things down but today appears to be a different day.

Best gardening wishes!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
On Facebook as George Africa and also Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens

Winter Peony Thoughts

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

11 AM on the mountain. The temperature has stopped falling and has grasped a hold on zero for an hour now. The wind is a different story as it stays around 8-9 mph with gusts that send the anemometer spinning at 17 mph. Although some sun peaks through clouds of blowing snow, this is not the day to wander far from the back door and attempts at driving just raise potential for being photographed upside down for the evening news.

This is quite a contrast to yesterday afternoon when I wandered out to snap a couple photos of Sunday night's wet snow, still glued to trees as if magnetized there despite the rising wind. It was a pleasant walk and as I made the turn into the lower field, I glanced towards the peony nursery, half drifted over, with one row of signs still visible. Everything about me was white but in my mind I could envision the peonies of June.

If you have run out of Christmas- present- reading, try the American Peony Society or just Google up peony images and see what you find. Articles and books about peonies often lead you to believe that peonies can only be planted in late August into fall but these are hearty plants that can endure unskilled planters and still survive. They may take a couple years to bloom the way you want but any season except the current one are fine for planting peonies. Use some care and be happy for many years to come.

At times, all gardeners must pretend. Pretend for a minute that you found these beauties in your garden and just picked a fragrant bouquet for the table.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where blue jays eat lunch sitting on the platform feeder, heading into the wind. As they jump to leave, wind pushes them backwards and sidewards and little out-of-control bundles of blue feathers use challenging acrobatics to right themselves and head for the forest.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Peony Time

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A wet night here on the mountain with rain pounding on the roof as it drops straight down from the sky. We have been surrounded by hail storms of late but have been spared here. I don't know what is befalling the nursery four miles away but I hope no more than heavy rain is dropping. Nursery sales have been off this season and we are relying on good daylily sales for our "stimulus".

I'm a tired gardener tonight but wanted to get some peony pictures out. These are great plants and a joy to grow. They are a lot of work for a short bloom period but the pictures alone are sufficient reward to keep me growing more and more. This past winter, after two consecutive winters of very deep snow, the Avery labels fell apart so my recall is the only above ground understanding of the names of each peony shown here. Below ground level and located at 3 o'clock as you face each plant, is a secure label with the correct name. Doesn't do any of us any good tonight but it will be helpful when I move these, late summer-early fall. Enjoy the pictures!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm A nice place to visit

Splitting Peonies

Friday, September 28, 2007

Almost 8 PM. I have been out twice with Karl the wonder dog listening to him snort at something I know I can't see and I don't think he can see at all. His breed has better ears than eyes and snorting is his way of getting what he thinks he sees to turn and look or not turn anymore. That's my take on his behavior but I've surely seen it a lot. Since Gail recently saw Mrs Bear and the cubs and neighbors have reported other bears, I'd rather Karl give a few snorts so I can catch on to danger before I have to react to it.

It's 55 degrees out right now and the ground is still soggy in places from last night's storm. We really needed the rain we received and a little more would not have hurt. More rain will be here any time now.

The ground was dry yesterday when I helped Gail dig a peony for an order. It could have been a Kansas or a Felix Crouse or a Mrs Margaret Truman or something we had in pots, but no, it had to be a Sara Bernhardt (registered in 1906), one of a couple dozen which have been growing in a close row since way before Alex was born 15 years ago this August.

Gail was convinced that this was exactly the peony flower her customer was looking for so who was I to interfere with such a deliberation. I watched Gail circle the plant with the shovel and although I knew she was cutting into some of the roots, I worried not, for age had given these plants some especially heavy roots. I grabbed my shovel and together but to no avail we tried to free the roots from the ground. "Tenacious" is a good word to describe how the roots held fast until I opted for my six foot pry bar and in minutes had the root mass turned on its side, like a predator overturns a desert turtle. I got the big yellow wheelbarrow, tipped it on its side and righted a beautiful peony root which must have weighed 60 pounds.

Gail usually uses a bread knife to cut perennials and divide other plants such as hostas and daylilies but no bread knife was up to this task. She hosed off the root system while I went to the shed and grabbed a tree pruning saw, the kind with the 32" blade. This one was fairly new and still had a sharp blade. In minutes I had the monster cut into three pieces, each a foot or more in breadth and sporting many root buds.

Peony roots are quite brittle and no amount of care will keep pieces from breaking off. In this case I cut off two nice sections, each with 8-12 buds. Half the mother system remained as one additional piece because I had truly run out of energy.

The customer will be very pleased with her purchases and although flowers will be limited or perhaps nonexistent next spring, the following year the bloom count will be spectacular and the plant will look as if it has been in the garden for a long time.

Planting peonies requires thinking about a good location because no one would want to go through this digging performance very often. By overdigging a hole and placing a well mixed selection of amendments, your peonies will last a long, long time. As years pass, the flower scapes and flowers will increase in number and your friends and neighbors will offer praise and "how did you do-its" at the same time. Most garden centers still have some peony roots for sale and many nurseries have some potted. Don't let the price scare you aware. They are worth every bit of the price tag. Don't believe it? Stop by 256 Peacham Pond Road and you can help dig a few. Reality will come quickly, I guarantee it!


With fall gardening wishes from the mountain above Peacham Pond where birds and beast curl close to cover as the rain drops heavy to the ground.

George Africa
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
http://vermontflowerfarm.com

Things To Remember To Do

Monday, September 24, 2007

The sun has long since retired for the night and the moon is starting the night shift, providing light for migrating geese and foraging deer. Early this morning a moose came to the garden perimeter and let out a bellow suggesting its displeasure with the so called "deer fence". A couple-three nights ago, Gail followed me home from the new property. The time it took for her to grab some milk at the general store spaced our vehicles out just enough that she had to stop to let three bears cross the road above the hosta shade house. A sow and two little cubs added to our list of fall visitors.

When the nights grow shorter like this, there is little time to get things cleaned up before fall winds turn to white showers. We are especially busy with the business move but things are going well. I watched two couples in a car from New York as they slowed to look at the current Vermont Flower Farm. As they passed by I could see the wonderment in their faces: "What is going on there anyway?" We have stacks upon stacks of plastic crates, many empty, some filled with daylily roots ready to be planted. If there is gardener-speak for "disheveled", that's kind of what it looks like around here now.

No matter where you are at with your gardens, if your peonies need to be divided, do it now. Here's a picture of a nice Topeka Garnet which needs to be divided but may not make it this year. It's a great color and one any gardener would enjoy.

I just heard an ad on the radio the other day to put Grub-Ex on your lawns so you don't have to deal with Japanese beetles next year. The last thing we need to do is put more chemicals into our aquifers. Try Milky Spore which is a bacteria on your lawns and gardens any time until the soil temperature heads below 55 degrees. It may take a tad longer to see the total results but you won't be contaminating your lawns and gardens for those who might use them in later years.

I've been more busy than I like to think about but have tried to write a bit at Vermont Gardens
If you have any fall gardening questions, do let me know. For those who I promised a copy of my great grandmothers German Apple Coffee Cake, hold tight and I'll get it out in a few days. There's no better time than now with fresh apples to try new apple recipes and remind yourself and your family what a great fruit apples really are.

In the meantime, I have to switch to e-mail mode and answer some private queries. If you have a question but don't feel right about posting back to one of the blogs, send it straight to me and I'll get you an answer. I'll even try to make them "right" answers.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where colored sugar maple leaves float gently to earth, piling one atop another to dry and crunch under foot until fall rains compact them the day before I receive the command to rake. Why does it happen like this?

Best gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
http://vermontflowerfarm.com

Next Year's Peonies

Thursday, July 19, 2007

9:15 PM and it has been a long day and a long time since I have appeared as The Vermont Gardener. In the past days I have met hundreds of new gardeners I never knew before and I have shared lots of information about growing hostas and peonies. As the faces of happy gardeners whiz through my mind, the rain is pounding off the standing seam metal roof like it has been since early July. It doesn't seem to stop.


I never did find my rain gauge this spring but I know it's in the cellar some place. It doesn't matter as the past three weeks have only offered a couple nice days and a lot of wet ones. Noah didn't need a rain gauge to be reminded to start hammering on the ark and I guess I don't need one either.


This weekend we kind of ended our Hosta Days but not because the hostas don't look great. The weather has been perfect for them all season and although the slugs and snails are out in force now, keeping good company with black weevils, the hostas look super and are growing as fast as the jewel weed. I expect that with the prediction of warmer weather by tomorrow afternoon and through the weekend, the hostas, super saturated with water, will be unable to maintain their vascular system and will droop and cry for a few days. This is not uncommon when there is lots of rain but the behavior causes a flurry of questions from concerned hosta growers.

If you have not visited our hosta gardens or traveled the walk through the +180 varieties we still have for sale, get in the car and head out this weekend. It's worth the trip. And by the way, if you have questions about growing great hostas, fire off a few questions. Often the answers you receive help others with the same question. Good gardeners are like barred owls--they are always listening!

The peonies have about faded into seed production and I have to get some kid busy pruning off the seed pods so the strength goes to the roots, not seeds. I do not aspire to be a great peony hybridizer like Alan Rogers or Don Hollingsworth although I have studied a bit of their work. Those very talented, dedicated folks can deal with creating new peonies for us.



We had a great year with the peonies and although people seem reluctant to part with the cost of a good potted root, some come back each year to add to their collection while some just come to see the bloom. Ours were exceptions and will only get better.


I always leave folks with a couple tidbits of info and I'll repeat myself here for newcomers to The Vermont Gardener. Peonies must be planted not more and 1.5 to 2 inches below the surface. Planting the roots deeper will bring on some good foliage but limited or no bloom. They are hungry plants so plant them well to begin with and feed them again in the spring. And finally, in mid-August in the years when New England is not involved internationally in The Great Monsoon Contest, water your peonies well. Peonies set buds on the rootstock for the following year at this time and water encourages good bud development. The way things have been going here in Marshfield, we'll likely have a bumper crop of scapes next year. Watch your weather, water in mid-August in New England, earlier in other peony areas, and you'll note the difference.


With this last picture of the night, Topeka Garnet, I'll say good evening to all. Despite the rain we have a beautiful weekend projected. Today started Daylily Days at the farm and with that comes more of Gail's baked treats, and an incredible display of hundreds of daylilies, potted or for sale from the gardens. The weather has been kind to the daylilies and the plants are robust and waiting for a new home.

If you do stop by, consider helping Gail with a raffle she is sponsoring to benefit a fall conference on transition for young adult Vermonters with autism. This is a topic that is dear to Gail and me
and your help would be most appreciated. The winner will be announced on Labor Day for a $100 gift certificate for shopping here at VFF. If you can't stop by but want to help, send in your name, phone number and $$ and Gail will take care of the rest. One in every 150 newborns is diagnosed on the autism spectrum so we all really need to get involved.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where hard rain pounds the roof and the critters outside hold up, patiently awaiting a chance for dinner.

Best gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

The Fan Gardener

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Almost 9 PM already. I just interrupted my computer time to run outside to the upper drive to move my truck down to our drive for the night. I have to be out of here by 5 tomorrow morning and since it may be raining, I want the shortest route from the house. The sky is black and there is thunder over towards Montpelier. The television has one of those "searching for satellite" messages so we know there's a big storm nearby.

During the past week the gardens have opened with color and one by one, customers and visitors have made their way to Vermont Flower Farm to see things they have never seen before. I could probably write a book about our meetings with fellow gardeners and if I did, Gail would be the center of all the conversations turned to stories.

Gail is one of those people who can't ever tell me if we have any money left in the checkbook but she can tell customers what they bought 4 years ago on a Wednesday and what color they need to complement a garden. I have never understood this skill but it comes in handy when folks stop by for advice on planning a wedding or a reunion and they want Gail to provide a weather prediction for a specific weekend. She's about on target all the time.

Gail also has a way to drag out information from people she has only met five minutes earlier. She doesn't need any of those interrogation skills you see on television crime shows as she has a natural way of making people feel immediately comfortable so they spill out things you can't even believe. She usually comes away with a complete family tree, doctors, medications, shoe size, college attendence, number of cows milked, horses boarded and what type chickens they keep. If the person is a bread baker she'll come away knowing the type of baking powder used and whether they use lard or some type of margarine, and if so, which brand. The list goes on. Yesterday was a perfect example.


A couple arrived from up St Johnsbury way. They were first time visitors. The lady looked around and the man, recently retired, struck up a conversation with the "interrogator". One thing led to another and in just minutes the man offered Gail a VCR and/or a record player, both fully functional and only being retired from his homestead because his kids convinced him DVD players worked better. Gail apparently gave some thought to the record player because she has a stack of Bob Dylan records in the cellar that people would cry for. There are also some great Wayland Jennings and Bonnie Raitt, similarly collecting dust.


Very much unlike Gail, she turned down the offers to which the man asked if she'd be interested in 3 perfectly good window fans. Now I don't know if it was the humidity of the day or Gail's marketing prowess but she accepted the fans gratis and the man and his wife drove away with some nice flowers. Within two hours, Gail had those three fans farmed out to people in need of cooler homes. Reminded me of the year she saw a kid without a good winter coat and she decided to start a clothes drive so kids would be warm. I knew it was working when one year a guy stopped me at the store and asked if Gail had any coats for his kids. That's Gail--a gardener with a diversity of people skills.


One flower Gail really enjoys is peonies. We have rows in the upper garden and maybe 135-50 in a lower garden nursery. I have them all labeled and they have been growing for three or more years now so they have reached good size. They started bloooming a couple-three weeks ago and are well budded now. The way the rain is now pounding on the roof, it's questionable how many will be flat on the ground when morning arrives. That would just translate to bouquets for sale. At any rate we have a small collection that's big enough to stop a peony novice or encourage a new gardener to get growing.


It's amazing to me to look at a row of peonies in bud and then work my way down to a single bud. These Felix Crouse look great in a row in bloom but look equally stunning in a large vase with some oversized hosta leaves for accent. To me there is something special about looking at a bud that's just "showing color" and then the next day finding a beautiful flower.

Peonies can be cut in the bud stage when they are just showing color and then wrapped in newspaper or a loose plastic bag and placed in the bottom of the fridge. They'll last there for about a month and then with a fresh cut and a vase full of water they'll open up to everyone's surprise. The only real problem with peonies is that everyone wants them year 'round and their season is limited. If you don't have any peonies yet, Gail has some nice pots for about $25. Some are in bud, some will bloom next year. Whether you buy one or not, we'll tell you some secrets to growing good peonies.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where loud thunder means the same as "goodnight folks".

With good gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com