9-11

2001 Memories

Just in from walking Karl the Wonder Dog. My first morning walk with him since returning with Gail and Alex from a vacation in Maine. Karl was pleased with the walk and the smells which result from falling temperatures and the critters of the fields and woods. As we walked, we could hear a local logger loading trucks that will head out shortly for mills in Maine. Vermont mills are limited now and I guess better prices come from hauling the logs out of state. We also heard the call of an owl. I do not know the call for sure as it was a single, quick whoo-o-o-o which might be the seldom used call of the barred owl.

911 is a memory that returns to me all the time. I know that not a week goes by but what I think about the events and everything that has transpired since. I left that day to go to Maine to buy some plants for the nursery. It probably seems odd to be buying plants at the end of a growing season but come Labor Day when things slow at the nursery, I find a need for a brief rest after working seven days a week since spring. It might seem more odd that on a day off I would be on the road before 4 AM but I had an appointment at 9:30 outside of Belfast and that's a haul from Vermont. I knew I had school buses to contend with and some unknown roads so that was my rationale for heading out so early.

My first visit was with a hosta grower who I had never met. He had a great reputation among my friends and I knew I would enjoy meeting him. As I arrived and shook his hand, there was something very strange about the welcome, something missing, almost as if it was not real. When I go on trips or vacations, I enjoy peace, and quiet is important to me so I avoid listening to the radio in the truck and avoid newspapers and any form of media. I had no idea what was happening in the world. The man introduced me to where things were located and he went back into the house as I meandered around, puzzled by his behavior, his cold salutation, his quick departure.

I got hung up looking at various gingers that I liked and spent some time with a variety of hepaticas and other wildflowers and then started picking hostas and other plants to purchase. The man's wife joined me in one of the shade houses and mentioned how terrible the events were. It was not until then that I understood what was happening. Their daughter worked at the Pentagon and there was no answer on her cell phone or work phone. The gravity of the situation had a different emotion to it and I shared my concern. My mind raced with thoughts of what happened and I felt a strange burden I could not explain. I continued on with my buying for another hour and by the time I had reached my limit, my host came back and explained the situation and said with obvious relief that he had just heard from his daughter and she was safe. I was greatly relieved too.

I headed cross country with a set of directions that was guaranteed to get me to my next destination on time. I was looking for a daylily grower in a tiny town away from the coast. By the time I arrived it was after three and I had kept an ear to the radio for a few hours. The grower's season was ending that day and his eagerness to close was even more intense due to a desire to get home to the latest news. I wished to spend more time but it was obvious that my purchases were less than important than the events of the world. I paid up, expressed thanks and hopes for safety, and I headed south to a hotel reservation.

That day was a long time ago but the memories have been repeated often and their intensity has grown. Yes, I am a gardener and I take great pride in what I do and the products that I sell. But I think often about our world and how it has changed since my earlier days. Much of what has transpired is confusing and although I continue to seek answers, I sometimes find a greater abundance of questions. Often I return to a quote attributed to Minnie Aumonier. "When the world wearies and ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden." Often we ask "why?" but there is no answer. The garden is a place to think and wait for answers.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the air is damp, the sky still lit with a slice of moon and a number of stars. The stars will extinguish soon but my thoughts of the past will continue.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And at the nursery where we always offer to help you grow your green thumb!

Hosta Planning

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

A beautiful day here on the mountain. Karl the Wonder Dog was out early for his first walk and he was obviously as perturbed as me by last night's coyote conference in the adjacent fields. Not too long after midnight the coyotes came into the back field and they circled the house many times before I finally got to sleep around 3. Our neighbors have two cats and this time of year people visit Peacham Pond and bring cats which sometimes run away. Coyotes love cats and small dogs and I don't mean in a friendship sort of way.

The sun is rising nicely and although we're only at 47° right now, I know it will be another beautiful day. Gail already headed for the flower farm to get things set up and I am not too far behind. Michael will appear around 9 and friend Michelle G is helping today with some of the weeding and planting. Gail has to leave a little early so she can get to Montpelier to view a daylily grower that has a number of fine plants for sale. I'll be picking up loose ends in between daytime hours.

The hosta pictured above is Sun and Substance. It used to be the biggest hosta out there and its sports such as Parhelion and Sum it Up and Sum of All were similarly large. A few years back Brian and Virginia Skaggs introduced Empress Wu named after the only female emperor in China. (Think I have that right) This one is a monster and really gets big!

Anyway my point of showing this picture is I had planted this hosta by the entrance at the flower farm hoping that over time it would mature and be a show stopper, encouraging sales of all hostas. Gail never told me she really didn't like it there and one day this spring as I arrived, I noticed a big hole and an absent hosta. It had already been nailed by heavy frost a couple times and didn't look that good but I knew it was well rooted and would come back at some point. It did! In a pot.

Gail had Michael dig it and pot it up and without many leaves it was easy to handle. Not too many weeks later with good feeding and lots of water, the hosta grew and then Gail had another issue. Who will move it out of the way for me? Sorry Charley, that baby is not moving this year. When it was in the pot it didn't occupy much room but as it exceed five feet in diameter, just getting close enough to the pot was a chore.

When planting hostas, try to give credit to the mature size of what you plant. I grant you that if you properly place hostas to begin with, your initial planting may look very strange with 2-3-4 foot spacing, sometimes more, between plants. If you don't plan, the hostas will look very crowded and will present a challenge over time as you need to tend to them and make other changes. During the initial years I suggest interplantings of annuals or the small, fast growing hostas that can easily be moved in a few years when the larger ones mature. Planning is worth the trouble and I really think if we could teach more about planning in America, all planning not just garden planning, things would work a tad better long term.

Here's a photo of part of our display garden to show some plants that are on their way to maturity. It's handy to be able to move around the plants and for me, be able to get to the flowers at hybridizing time. Hope the idea works for you too!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where cars and trucks are coming and going and the loons on the reservoir are calling. Mrs. Loon on the Marshfield Reservoir has two kids so if you are down that way in a canoe or kayak, give them some distance.


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
At VFF we are always happy to help you grow your green thumb!

Dialing in the Weather

Friday, April 22, 2011

A bright morning here on the mountain. 30° in the sun but 24.9° on the shady side of the house. A beautiful day is on the way so we have to work hard and quick as rain returns by late afternoon and continues all day tomorrow.The woodpeckers are the noisiest they have been so far and and as I walked Karl out the door I noticed fresh-from-last-night moose tracks exiting the woods and leading up the little valley to our neighbors. Deer and moose are very mobile now and they are visible as they search for fresh food.

Gail and I are heading to the nursery in an hour to begin preparing for planting. After two years of better understanding the weather at the nursery, Gail is exchanging the miniature and small hostas and the astilbes for places that better accommodate their sunshine needs. The shade cloth we cover the houses with is 80% which some question or criticize but as the warm, direct suns of July and August come straight down, it's important to have good cover. In their new locations the astilbes will receive a little more sun and the hostas a little less. They should all smile nicely.

The little sundial in the yard, pictured above, reflects the time of about 7 AM and the crystals of snow that fell last night. I guess it is a weather dial too. It does not tell how much work gardeners expend in the spring to get their gardens ready but it reminds Vermonters that spring takes a while to work its way through and then summer leaps forward, beautiful but too short. Get out and enjoy at least part of today.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where juncos are abundant under the unfilled bird feeders. Two doves search for the last pieces of cracked corn and a tom turkey calls loudly from the field asking his girlfriends to join him for breakfast.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Find us on Facebook at George Africa or at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Good gardeners always remember that we are here to help you GROW your GREEN THUMB!

Shivering: A Spring Cautionary

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Gray sky, sun peaking through two ominous clouds, winds at 7, bursting to 11 mph and back. It's spring! Yesterday's heavy rain raised streams and rivers and moved Lake Champlain to flood stage. Dirt roads like ours that last week held promise of drying out have returned to ruts and runoff. They remind me of my youth on Church Hill Road, Woodstock. Seemed to me that age six was too young to learn about building temporary corduroy roads to get the old Chevy home for the night. There was no choice and we all pitched in to find old tree limbs along the roadway to fill in ruts and get the car, equipped with tire chains and already well muddied, home again.

Spring looks different around New England today. In Burlington along Lake Champlain, the hellebores slow significant bloom and draw many "What is that?"s from still unfamiliar gardeners. Ours here on the mountain are still buried under a couple feet of snow and are weeks away from bloom. And it's this disparity of garden images that's important to remember as gardeners, with pent up energies, want to get busy in their gardens.

Like the hellebores in some gardens, hosta pips rise from still-cold soil and give encouragement of luxuriant growth soon to come. Garden lovers often get a little hasty in the spring and on that first warm day rake leaves and want to begin to fertilize. This is not good thinking as fertilizers spread before the last threat of frost has past encourage quick leaf growth of weak, thin, susceptible leaves that will get nailed day after day by subsequent frosts. Here on the mountain I make myself hold back on the leaf raking in the hosta gardens for this very reason. The tree leaves blanket the emerging growth and offer some protection until we get closer to the first week in June. Where you live it may well be a different world but to stave off disappointment here, we have to be patient. Give this reminder some thought and temper it with your knowledge of your last frost date.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the winds have blown every last seed off the platform bird feeder. The ground is covered with finches, some bullied back and forth by mourning doves scratching for millet seed. Karl the Wonder Dog is begging for a second opportunity to sniff spring.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
Find us on Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens or at George Africa
Writing on Twitter as vtflowerfarm
At VFF we'll help you GROW your GREEN THUMB!

Garden Development

Saturday, February 5, 2011

2° above zero here on the mountain this morning. We must have been tired last night as the wood stove was on its last spark this morning when I rose at 5 and fired it up again. It's a Hearthstone brand and I can't recommend it enough as it starts quickly which is nice when you're still half asleep,

Karl the Wonder Dog wasn't interested in much of a walk this morning and he's already back in bed. The crows were upset about something over in the red pines and are still talking loudly enough that I can hear them from inside the house. They should be here in about an hour for their morning review of new contributions to the compost pile.

I continue working on new additions to the hosta garden at the nursery. It is progressing nicely although people who visit us often seem to expect that I will work faster than I do. I have a couple orders in progress for more plants. Visitors interested in hostas and shade plants get out of the car, give a welcome and then head down to see what has changed. I wish it was closer to completion too but everything takes time.

I'm pleased with the trees and shrubs we have planted and only one maple worries me as to whether it will make it or not. I planted maples that can handle more water but the one in question had a poor root system and I should have returned it instead of planting it two years ago. The other trees are doing well.

I have always seen lindens planted along road ways and I have admired the nice leaves, good trunk and the annual growth. Since I was looking for more shade to replace the fading box elders, lindens seemed like a good choice. I obviously overlooked the part about them being a Japanese beetle magnet but like them just the same.

Last summer I added some dwarf yellow and also green nine barks and they are doing well. They offer a different height and width to contrast with the taller maples and mid range lindens. This spring I will add some ginkos and witch hazels so I have additional yellow leaves to work against the sinescing hostas come fall.

I ran short of the stay mat for the pathways--crushed granite that packs well and provides a smooth walk for older, shuffling feet. I have the hemlock timbers to make an 8 foot wide pathway down the mountain to the garden and those steps will be back filled with stay mat too so that part of the project will come together soon after spring planting.

Since we moved many, many mature hostas to this site, the plants are well set and should provide a good display this year. They still need to be relabeled and the entire area needs a coating of aged wood chips. Until the snow got deep two weeks ago I was stockpiling chips for that purpose. Lots of work to do but by mid July I hope that those making the walk will see a big difference from last year. It's nice to be able to see what a mature hosta looks like compared to a potted plant, a label and half a guess. Come visit!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a ball of red sun pushes through the tamaracks and pines and suggests morning is here.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Social Networking Works!©
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Fringed Bleeding Hearts

Saturday, January 8, 2011

18° on the mountain with a light wind but lacking the snowflakes that were predicted. That's fine with me. I just started checking inventories and plant orders for next spring and ended the exercise wondering if I had messed up on the Dicentra eximia, the woodland or fringed bleeding hearts that people have come to enjoy so much.

For years I thought the traditional bleeding hearts were the limit. Everyone talked about them and they prevailed at every farm lady's garden I ever visited. But then as I began to expand my tour of gardens and begin woodland and shade gardens, I learned of these fringed leaf perennials which grow so well here in Vermont. The strong point is probably the fact that they bloom throughout the summer and into fall and there is some color variation to choose from. I especially like the deep cut leaves and the blue-grey foliage color that reaches about 16" in height.

Some of our records are on the computer, some written on inventory sheets, some just a matter of memory, Gail's or mine....and sometimes we are memory-less. I fear that is the case with eximia.

Although many descriptions suggest avoiding wet planting areas and caution about allowing them to totally dry out, we have grown them in a garden alongside the road where bright sun shines and the soil dries quickly. Perhaps they do well there because all the plants are thick and water evaporates slowly. But sometimes the soil is baked hard from July heat and yet these flowers keep blooming.

If you have an out of the way place with some sun but not too much water, give them a try. They work well with about any shade plant and accent our hostas and astilbes well. If you haven't tried them before, let me know what you think.

As I think about the inventory, I think we have enough for this season but it will mean dividing some plants this spring. That will work!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's quiet and I can get some reading done.

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

Hostas Days Begins!

Friday June 11, 2010

6 AM and still clouded over, 51 degrees, 98% humidity, 29.70 on the barometer and windless. When I checked the rain gauge last night there was almost an inch of new water so that's almost 3" in 5 days. Today is supposed to be clear but another front is coming in and rain is expected again this weekend.

Rainy days often keep gardeners away from the nursery unless they are dedicated or bored. Last night 12 ladies from a Circle of Friends group that reaches from Burlington and Williston to Barre and Williamstown visited Vermont Flower Farm in Muck boots and crocs and carrying all color and size of umbrella. They came prepared and I think enjoyed what they saw despite the rain. I offered to show them our new hosta and shade garden which continues under construction for now its second year. In the top image the new garden is on the right just behind my tractor. The garden on the left is a new daylily garden where I have lined out quick sellers such as Red Ribbons, Tetrina's Daughter, Valley Monster, Orange Vols and Wayside King Royal. That garden is also planted with annuals such as giant cactus flowered zinnias and cosmos.

If you remember some previous posts about this new garden I started out with removing all the weeds and swamp grasses from an area of about 3000 square feet. The front of the area accepts water run off from the adjacent slope so I had to trench the runoff into a settling pool and accept the fact that an eighth of the new garden would have to be used for plants that can tolerate lots of moisture.

I had access to hundreds of burlap bags from a Vermont coffee company so I laid them down for further weed control as I planted. My plan was to cover the bags with maple leaves and wood chips as I planted so moisture would be retained and weed control would be easier. My most recent accomplishment has been covering the bags that form the paths.

Just down Route 2 a couple miles from the nursery is a quarry that crushes granite into stay mat. Stay mat is a common name for crushed rock material that includes an assortment of fines which help the entire mass pack down like concrete. The granite stay mat is less expensive than shale stay mat which I would have preferred but in my situation granite is a good start. It costs $13.65 a yard and is closer by so less transport cost for my limited budget. This stone material is very heavy and it's a job best left to a tractor whenever possible. It's the same material I have used in the parking lot and under all the plant display areas and inside the shade houses. It rakes over easily when fresh and begins to pack as rain falls or you resort to a hose.

Just below is a picture as I started to lay out one path. Big blocks of the same eye catching daylily variety form the garden's border on the left and three varieties of maples and a few lindens are joined by 6 katsuras, 6 yellow ninebarks and some small (very small!) yellow locusts. The natural backdrop to this garden is box elders, a tree belonging to the maple family and one I don't care for. Let's just say the area is in transition and the trees while change over time.

I have the main walkway artery designed to accommodate folks who use scooters or power chairs for travel. That's not possible yet as the work is in progress and the paths aren't packed yet but that is the plan. More slender paths allow those with easier access a chance for different views now but over time I will insure that access is equal for everyone. This is a challenge because the garden is more than a hundred yards from our main display area and down a fairly steep bank. As with everything I do there is a remedy in mind, slowed only by one man's energy, time and money.

Two years ago I explained the plan to a customer and she returned yesterday. Her first response was to the amount of work I had accomplished in such a short amount of time but there was an air of misconception in her reaction. She had purchased a number of hostas during her last visit and I gave my customary "here's how to get them growing as efficiently as possible" speech. When she looked at the new garden she was in awe over what she felt were one gallon pots of hosta like she bought growing to mature garden giants in one year. I corrected the observation and rehashed my method of using Epsom salt and fish emulsion with kelp to encourage my plants along. I added that some use lots of triple phosphate but I try to steer clear of that fertilizer because in my opinion it changes the leaf color.


There's a lot of work left with the paths but they should be settled within the week if the rain gives me a break and I don't run out of stay mat. I have that feeling of conflict going on where I'd really like to get the paths done but I'd also like to have so many customers show up that I'd be forced into customer service and grabbing money and loading cars. We'll see what happens.


Over the next couple years I think the garden will mature nicely and the view to and from the parking area will be sufficient to entice new arrivals to want to come see what's going on. if you like hostas and other shade plants, stop by for a visit. There's lots to see!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the sky is clearing already and there's promise of a nice Friday. Rain gear and umbrellas should be packed in the car if you're heading anywhere this weekend. We hope Vermont Flower Farm is on your list as Hosta Days begins today with some special prices! Have to get going to the nursery.......

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
Also on Facebook as George Africa--take a look!
Frequent tweets on Twitter as vtflowerfarm

A Hosta Garden Evolves

Thursday, February 25, 2010

A very weathery evening for me to be finishing up a series on planting a new hosta garden. Yesterday's +21" of wet snow gave us plenty of clean up work today. Gail and Alex worked much of the day while I was away and when I returned, I fired up the tractor and moved mountains of snow to more appropriate places. It was raining heavily when I came through Central Vermont but here on the mountain it was spitting snow even though the temperature was 36 degrees.

When I finally parked the tractor there were a couple places on the roof that needed final cleaning and as I leaned against the roof rake to take a break, I noticed that my neighbor's helper was just beginning to clean his roof and Michelle up the road had already done hers. Getting "feet" of snow off the roof when heavy rains are a possibility is something that has to happen, like it or not.

I expected storm activity again but right now a front is moving in and the wind gusts are powerful bursts of 13 to 19 mph and they continue to rise. We figure the electricity will go out before the night is over as the western slopes of our famous Green Mountains are expected to feel winds with gusts to 65 mph. We won't see those numbers but it will be gusty enough to take down trees that are dead or burdened by heavy snow loads. This isn't climate change, this is climate in Vermont.

The new hosta garden took longer than I thought to get to this point in its new history. Although there are somewhere around 150 varieties planted so far, I have divided up many clumps and split them up here and there. My plan is to have a nice looking garden in a couple years. In the interim I want be able to dig and sell larger hostas from the garden instead of relying on our potted selection. We have about 2500 potted in four and 6 quart pots but some of what I replanted are much bigger plants and they will do better in the ground.



If you look in the center of this picture (just above) you'll notice a row that is slightly wider compared to the widths the hostas are spaced at. This is intended to be the walkway. Sometime this late spring when the land dries a bit, I'll roll commercial road makers fabric down this path and then cover with some form of crushed gravel or slate. I want pathways that are easy to walk on but are also prominent enough to mentally hold visitors on the path. Each time I have gone to Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens I have wanted to yell at people who walk right into the middle of gardens to take pictures or read tags. I guess this "unpermissioned meandering" has to be expected if you offer a public garden but I don't care for it. When I was a child, the do's and don'ts of being polite and respectful of other peoples' property were lessons well taught but my practice and other folk's behaviors don't always match.

The raised walkway that was a road in bygone years will offer visitors a chance to look down on the gardens from perhaps 7-8 feet above them . In time as the hostas mature and crowd together, it should be an interesting sight and should afford unusual photographic opportunities. The colors, sizes and textures of the hosta leaves entice some to break out cameras and take pictures. I hope in time the native plants and the complimentary ones we plant will help to brand Vermont Flower Farm as a convenient place to stop and see some Vermont hardy shade plants.

I am not pleased that the predominant trees are boxelders (no space, friends) but they are native to the adjacent Winooski River stream banks and fields. They are actually members of the maple family but they lack the strength and desirability of our state tree, the sugar maple, and are much weaker than even the red maples. As such I have planted some lindens, three varieties of maple, some weeping larches and some blue cedars. I'll add more conifers this spring.


It's a hike up and down the hill from the parking lot and I expect this will deter some visitors from making the journey. Everyone with bottomless pockets advises me to buy refurbished golf carts or ATVs and offer rides to older folks. Actually younger visitors are more in need of a ride than most seniors. I'm getting to be an "older folk" and if I wanted to offer rides I'd have to be prepared to give up everything else I do. Maybe in years to come when I can't garden as much I'll want to ride and talk more but for right now, no carts. For me there is something special about being able to visit a garden and not be rushed. I hope visitors will agree with me and want to spend time.

Since I planted this garden to the point it is, I covered the entire property with recycled burlap bags. My plan is to cover the bags with shredded leaves and tree chip mulch to keep down weeds and conserve water. Over time as the hostas and other plants mature, the mulch will be less noticeable and hopefully the plants will begin to hide them. I have used burlap bags before and expect similar success.

When you visit Vermont Flower Farm, squeeze in some extra time to walk down the hill. If your visit is during a rainy day, week, month--we experienced all those last year--bring suitable footwear so you don't go sliding down the hill. This might be called a garden in motion as it is growing all the time. Come visit!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the snowy road has turned to muddy tracks, wind gusts continue and the temperature holds at 33.8 degrees.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://www.facebook.com/george.africa
Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens--new fan page on Facebook
http://www.twitter.com/vtflowerfarm

Another Hosta Garden

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Quiet and 17 degrees here on the mountain. A 3 mph wind blows and 95% humidity has frosted up the golden rods and raspberry bushes. Gray clouds are releasing snowflakes that are blowing horizontal to my office window at varying speeds as if someone is adjusting a rheostat. First the flakes are heavy and fast, then slow, then they reverse. Not much accumulation can be expected with this performance.

We are hosta growers at Vermont Flower Farm. As best we can recall, we bought some from
Leo Berbee, a wholesaler from Ohio by way of Europe, way back in the early 90's and there was no looking back from then on. We bought the common ones back then which Gail reminds me were probably Halcyon, Elegans, August Moon, Francee. Those are dependable hostas and they will stay with us forever. Fancy and expensive are hard to find with us even though we have hundreds of excellent hostas in our collection and retail offering now.

During 2008, our first year at the new nursery, I was possessed be have a place to remind people that the hosta garden at our house (see February 6, 10, 12 blogs) was not forgotten and would be duplicated as a viable display garden. I had a vision to begin a hosta walkway at the end of our shade houses at the top of the Winooski River. I figured it would meander down the valley and fill up between the box alders down below.

Austin dug up some mature specimens for me and we began the process of replanting twenty five hostas along the still unfinished deer fence. I was happy that I had someone to dig the holes as the clay soil at the top of our land is a potter's paradise. In a couple days we had everything shaped up and it actually looked nice for being so new.





I was pleased with this phase of the new garden but it was only a start. My real plan was for another 3000 square foot garden that visitors could see when they entered our business. I wasn't sure about the soil, the water retention or how long it would take to prepare for planting. All I had was a vision.

Click on this last picture and you'll get a sense of what I started with. Over the next couple days I'll show how this wasted weed bed is becoming a shade garden. It hasn't been easy and the next couple years will be a test, keeping it weed free and finishing the planting. Having a vision makes "another hosta garden" an easier pursuit. Keep following.


Writing on Sunday morning from the mountain above Peacham Pond where ice fishermen drill hundreds of holes in hopes of catching record brown trout but more often than not have to be satisfied with a meal of perch or smelt.

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

And now--drum roll please--on Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm & Gardens. Go find us!

Patience Prevails

Saturday, February 13, 2010

11 degrees here on the mountain with a very slight wind and a gray sky suggesting snow flakes within a couple hours. Not a lot of snow, not a Dallas, DC, Philadelphia snow, just a light, "welcome to the mountain" snow. This winter has been like that with almost nothing of merit since the holidays.

The kitchen is noisy this morning as Gail wants to get out the door and get to work. She is working with her friend, Jerome the Florist in Barre today. Jerome is a very good florist and Gail is a great designer. She worked for Jerome when we first moved here from Burlington but when Alex was born, her work went to creating Vermont Flower Farm and that creativity is now obvious in a fine business and a great son. The thing about designers is they cannot stop designing and Gail helps out every now and then to keep her hands in the trade. The week of Valentines Day is always busy and this year has proven to be especially so. Unlike 2007, we are not fighting three feet of snow and whiteouts so the much needed business should materialize. Gail has sharpened her knives and she's eager to return again today.

A few days back I started a piece here about building a hosta garden. I want to end today with some images of the hostas as they reached maturity. These aren't the greatest images but you should get an idea of what happens if patience prevails. Looking back on this garden I should have prepared the soil a lot better, trimmed back adjacent tree limbs a little better and I certainly should have added more space between each planting. Just the same the garden is a pleasure to walk through and it's a challenge for even experienced hosta gardeners to correctly identify all the varieties. The issue isn't that this is a nice little collection, it's that walking into the garden now is like going back for a high school reunion. There's a guarantee that your mind will offer a few embarrassing "I know that person"s but it's a race to the the correct name before the real embarrassment surfaces. You won't confuse a Blue Moon and a Blue Angel but City Lights, Daybreak and Richland Gold on a mid-spring morning might be more difficult.

Take a look below and maybe just maybe you'll be encouraged to start a shade garden of your own. We have enjoyed ours and know others have too. In a day or so I want to start this whole process over again and show you what we're doing at the nursery as we build another display garden. The progress won't bore you, the interest should challenge!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where two red voles work quickly under the platform feeder, unbothered by chickadees and three mourning doves. I don't like voles. They are plant eaters who forget that hibernation is pleasant.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Also on Facebook as George Africa and occasionally offering abbreviated comment on Twitter as vtflowerfarm. May give Google Buzz a buzz soon.

As Hostas Mature

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Quiet on the mountain this morning. Karl the Wonder Dog woke with a bark at 4:15 and by the time I gave up trying to figure out what animal was outside, he had gone back to sleep and I was wide awake. At least with Karl I don't have to answer the phone with one of those security guards from ADT calling to see if I'm ok. I don't think I could handle a "Hello, Mr. Africa. This is Joe from ADT calling. Is everything all right?" I respect what those companies do and know that in many parts of the country it's imperative to have a system but here in the sticks of Vermont I tell myself things are better.

It's quiet this morning. 12 degrees feels different even with 98% humidity but unlike many parts of the US this morning, there is no wind here. It's nice to see the sun coming up earlier and blue jays fighting over sunflower seed at 6 AM makes for happy sounds to my ears.

I started a little piece on building a hosta garden and I want to move towards the end with some pictures of what transpires in a few year's time. This project was here at our house and at its peak the garden was show quality and an absolute pleasure to be a part of.

Building any garden teaches new lessons and when I built this one, I learned how to use a 6 foot pry bar, give direction to a tractor operator before I owned a tractor myself, and create good soil conditions that would last for years. I learned the hard way how close not to plant hostas and also the thought required when mixing other perennial plants with the hostas I love so much. The picture up top shows the year after I had "planted" the standing stones and just before I began planting large numbers of epimedium, hostas and liliums inc. superbum, henryi and canadense around the stone bases.

Hosta gardens just don't look right when first planted unless you have the luxury of buying mature hostas or moving in some from other gardens. Last year at Vermont Flower Farm I started growing some hostas for area landscapers who want to pay for fully mature plants. The plants should be ready for initial sales next year and I know they will be popular in our "I'm impatient, can't wait" society. The first couple pictures shows how new plants look strange at first and then fill in and make you smile.

Most people do their hardscaping and tree planting early on but I am a backwards guy and am used to doing things several times over. As this garden progressed I never changed the placement of a hosta or other shade plant but I did add in more stones and some conifers. I especially like the weeping tamaracks because they are not expensive and they do lend a seasonal "gotcha" that grabs you in early summer. I like to see the weeping branches that sometimes meet the ground runners, and then see the contrast between yellow needles in fall and the nearby yellowing leaf color of a Robert Frost hosta. At times like that I break out the poetry books and enjoy the scenery.

You should probably click on these pictures to get a better view. The one just above shows some empty space that I planted with a dozen different small hostas with a couple low growing clematises in the background. The hostas looked great, the clematis colors super but the clematis grew quicker and too soon I was on a hunt for where I planted H. Whiskey Sour.

New gardens require vision and you must remember that your vision and your fellow gardeners vision may not be close. The picture just above features a basic hosta that I use a lot. It's H. Tall Boy, a 5-6-7 footer with your basic green leaves but with flower scapes that stand tall and serve as hummingbird and butterfly magnets. I care for them well to get the height I want but they spread horizontally too and soon adjacent hosta big boys such as Squash Casserole and Super Nova overlap.


I like plantings where there is an aerial opportunity for viewing. This is not often possible in home plantings but if you can do it, the display grows stronger and compliments flow like August rain drops. This view is from the walkway along Peacham Pond Road. Check out Building Stone Steps on our Vermont Flower Farm site and you'll get a perspective of where I'm standing for the picture taking.

Gail and I enjoy ferns and we refuse to relocate any natives we find in new planting areas. I suppose if Hay Scented Ferns started taking over the place we might take action but by and large we leave what we have and enjoy the Jurassic look when it finally arrives. Just once in a while I get scolded by a designer who tells me "her way is the only way" as I get the riot act on extirpating such garden ruffian's. Everyone has opinions and I have listened to a number of them in my life.

I could probably live by the hosta colors, heights and leaf variations all by themselves but other gardeners prefer dots of color for spice. This garden incorporates treasures here and there like pats of butter on a slice of fresh country bread. As I planted this garden, many of the hostas were planted too close together and beautiful accent plants that looked great in years 1-2-3 now need CPR to make it another year. Beautiful little dodecatheons, commonly named "shooting stars" don't shoot anymore when buried deeply under the fringe of Green Piecrust or the accent of City Lights or tall-scaped Regal Splendor. Maidenhair ferns, a coveted Vermont native, and 'Silver Falls', our favorite painted fern from Terra Nova Nurseries aren't done justice when encroaching leaves hide their enthusiasm.

Despite the changes, despite the weeds, this garden has been a joyful experiment in learning about hosta, working with stone and sharing experiences. I promise the garden will get some needed attention this summer and by next year should be ready again for scheduled tours. Be patient with me, and think about a visit in 2011.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where dishes rattle a call to breakfast for me as a woodpecker enjoys his feast of suet outside my window.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

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