Like Lupines?

Friday, June 10, 2011

A pleasant 67° here at 9 AM. A slight breeze is willowing the tree leaves and the air is thick with humidity from yesterday's rains. Here in Marshfield we were spared the 4-5 inches that fell across central and southern Vermont yesterday, downing power lines and flooding once again. It's warm enough now that you can almost see the grass growing.

This time of year lupines are blooming everywhere. They are evident in gardens but also in fields along the roadways where they self seed freely. At the nursery I refuse to grow them even though people ask for them as soon as they see them someplace else. I have always enjoyed seeing them myself but when they pass, the foliage looks ratty and aphids, specific to the lupines but aphids just the same, are prominent.

Aphids are vectors of other problems and I don't like the thought of encouraging insects that might spread other diseases around. As such I try to suggest to customers unfamiliar with a close up view of mature lupines what they might see. From the perspective of a garden, lupines are analogous to Oriental poppies which leave you with a big hole of brown when they finish blooming. Give both of these some thought in terms of where you plant them and what you expect from them. As with humans, if the expectation is clear, the product is not disappointing.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Dan and the road crew are dumping crushed stone and grading the road for the first time since February. They have been working long hours trying to clean up after the storms of the 26th of May that wiped out five counties in Vermont. Climate change anyone? Maybe, maybe not.


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 Vermont Flower Farm we'll help you GROW your GREEN THUMB!

First Daylilies

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Just back from a morning walk with Karl the Wonder Dog. He was feeling poorly last night and this morning he was eating grass during our walk. If you have a dog you know what this means. He's seven years old and what he thinks he can eat and what he should eat are two different things. Kind of like older people.

It's a beautiful morning out there. 40 degrees and motionless. The small birds of the woods are in conversation. As much as I wish I knew these birds I have never had anyone around to teach me their names and calls. Warblers prevail here but they hide well. They must take music lessons from a very good voice instructor at an early age as their songs are so beautiful.

Gail made me laugh last night as she pulled a Vermonter trick and as soon as she got out of the car on return from the nursery she walked straight to the lawn mower, pulled the cord and mowed for a tank and a half. I guess she bored of waiting for me to catch up with the high grass. As I prepared dinner I could see her following the mower through hidden rows within our old flower gardens. It must be a genetic thing as her dad did the same thing at age 80 when Gail's mom instructed him to weed the flower garden and he knew the ground was too far away from his finger tips. Gail said later that she wanted an easy way to go look at the various lupines at the far end of a row.

Up top is a picture of the daylily known to many as 'lemon lily'. I took this picture last July 9th at the nursery with a bleeding heart in the background, still in bloom. Things are much different this year after one of the warmest Mays in history that arrived with snow and presented repetitive storms on Mothers Day weekend and the week before. Despite the snow the month still averaged quite warm. This year the bleeding hearts are about done and other daylilies such as Corky and Jersey Spider are already (oddly) budded out.

Lemon lilies typically are the first to bloom here in New England. They arrive on tall, thin scapes and bloom nocturnally causing fragrant notice to happy gardeners because they open with a light perfume that makes gardeners smile.

During this morning's walk I noticed three different trollius continue to bloom here although only Pritchard's Giant remains in bloom at the nursery. The difference between elevations of 1530 feet (here at house) and 780 feet (at nursery by river) must make the difference. The trollius are a nice companion to lemon lilies and the yellows that some gardeners report being bored of are actually complimentary.

As well as the lemon lilies, lupines and trollius, the gardens are beginning to brighten with Oriental poppies, perennial bachelors buttons, lots of peonies, Siberian iris in shades of blue, purple and yellow, and tall bearded iris in various colors. Some late blooming scilla bulbs continue to bloom on old flower bed borders and the entire area surrounding the house is perfumed with the fragrance of the lilac Miss Kim. I like this lilac a lot, Gail doesn't and neither of us have taken to pruning it back away from the walkway......perhaps a ruthless job for Alex but not until the shrub is past bloom time.

I have to get moving here as I need to get back to my job at the new hosta garden at the nursery. I toiled for 6 hours yesterday putting stay mat down for new garden paths. This is crushed granite and granite dust and even with the tractor it is very heavy. Gail has the Vermont Farm Bureau coming next week to do an article on Vermont Flower Farm and I want to have the old John Deere and plow moved down and on display as it's such a treat. Cannot make the move until I use the brush hog to trim the fields and woods roads here at the house. Boy it's going to be a busy day!

Out an about today? Stop by Vermont Flower Farm and see what's going on. I may not be there but Gail will be for sure.


Writing from the mountian above Peacham Pond where a boisterous loon just flew over the house heading for Osmore Pond. After 20 years I could be a flight director for this bird simply by the direction of their calls.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. Sign up....click "Like" Also on a personal page, George Africa, where every The Vermont Gardener blog appears as soon as it is written.
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Vermont Lupines

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Quarter of five in the morning, 32 degrees, rain has stopped for a minute, fire in Hearthstone is blazing brightly again. This morning is nice. I am leaving in a few minutes for next-to-last day of work before retiring after +40 years. Can you see a smile on my face from where you sit? It's nice.

Lupines are a plant that many gardeners ask for each year, usually at the wrong time, as if they just don't know how easy they are to grow from seed and why you really should grow them from seed if possible. They are kind of like daffodils which will be popping up near house and barn foundations soon as their cheery faces bring on people wanting to buy bulbs. Again, the wrong time to be asking but another example of gardeners old and new just not being familiar with the plant.

Lupines are very well publicized now and states such as Maine really promote fields of lupines as much as they promote blueberry festivals. This marketing leaves out the part about where they come from or how easily they naturalize.

Lupines are like hollyhocks with long roots that don't like to be disturbed. As such I start a few each year in large peat pots and then I can plant them right into the ground without challenging the roots. I soak the large seeds for a day in a light mix of water and fertilizer and they germinate well and grow on quickly. If you want a field full of lupines in fairly short order you can direct seed them into the soil but it's best to spend a few minutes and dig out the grass etc in one-shovel size holes before planting.

To be honest I am not a great fan of lupines unless they are naturalized in big masses some distance from the house. That's because they are aphid magnets. Although aphids are generally specific to the plant they go after, they do travel from plant to plant and in that process they do what vectors do and spread disease if any exists. To me a lupine plant full of aphids is not the least bit attractive and it sure raises issue with ones ability to grow flowers.

If you like lupines, pick up a package of seed and get them started in mid April. They can go into the Vermont garden by the first of June, earlier if you live in warmer areas.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the barred owl reminds me it's time to get going. Enjoy today, rain or not!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm: A site to visit where virtual tours will give good ideas
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
On Twitter daily as vtflowerfarm

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