The Business of Flowers

Sunday, May 23, 2010

A beautiful morning here on the mountain. Gail took Karl the Wonder Dog for a walk an hour ago and they must be enjoying the morning as they aren't back yet. I have tons of things to do at the nursery before we open at 9 but first some pictures from yesterday.

Operating a nursery but really just operating any business has a number of responsibilities that the public never equate with the price of a product. Yesterday was "cover the shade houses day" which meant pulling out 3600 square feet of shade cloth and getting it up on top of our three shade houses, properly aligned and thoroughly secured. The weather man predicts 85-90 degrees over the next few days and that will fry many hostas if they are not protected. With 3000 pots ready to go to someone else's gardens, we don't want to risk anything. I had been putting off the project for as long as possible so warm sunny days could give the hostas and other perennials a boost after the snows of two weeks ago. Yesterday was the day as we couldn't wait any longer.

Gail T our worker bee and Steve appeared shortly after 7, Gail with a nice coffee cake still warm from her Peacham oven and Steve with great work skills and persistence to work through the job thoroughly. "My" Gail was the last to arrive with bags of food and the cash box, orders and paperwork enough to scare people away. Gail and I are not enamored with the word "multitasker" but if I had a picture of her arrival yesterday, the meaning of the word would have been quite clear.

Here are some pictures of the project.Potted lilacs and hydrangeas in front, shade house #3, a 30 X 60 foot house next, shade house #1 up top to left of our office and sales building.

Shade house #1, closest to parking area, looking out to Route 2.

Overweight me on the ladder on shade house #1.

Steve securing the bungee tie downs on shade house #1. House on hill at top is not ours. It''s located across Route 2 and belongs to the previous owner of our land. Gerry and Carol are great neighbors and the kind of folks that will help with anything. Gerry is also a "finder" with great skills so if you need anything you can't find, he's the man....when he's not hunting or fishing or working on his land.

End of the top covering job. Less than 4 hours total. Steve on ladder, Gail telling me how nice it looks as she snaps pictures.

So that's it folks. I'm out of here for another day at the nursery. Visitors will be arriving as soon as I open up the gates and there are a few things I have to do before it gets too late. Some more mowing to finish and the trees I planted in the lower shade garden need more water. Honey locusts and katsuras plus some lilacs. I lined out 85 daylilies yesterday afternoon and they need a drink too.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where tardy fishermen try to get their boats on Peacham Pond and loons cry out complaints of breakfast-seeking-interference at the boat access. Loons and fishermen compete.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm Where your web orders are most welcomed!!
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Spring Clean Up

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Another beautiful morning here on the mountain. 43 degrees and windless as the sun climbs above Peacham Pond. Karl the Wonder Dog and I just returned from our morning walk which was uneventful compared to yesterday's greeting by a young bull moose--a moose absent of a GPS for direction and running full tilt and perfectly lined up to run straight through the fence by the hosta garden. Karl's protective barking and my coarse expletives did the trick.

I'm heading back to the nursery in a few minutes. 70 degree weather is nice and I can get a lot more accomplished when I'm not freezing but fact is that snow could still return and the warmness I will enjoy again today could be gone by tomorrow as rain sets in again and perhaps even some snow above 1500 feet. Just the same, today will be great!

Deliveries are arriving and this pile of Fafard brand No 52 mix is just one of the piles of material necessary to make a nursery work. This is the best mix I have ever found for planting hostas and daylilies. It is a coarse mix that provides excellent oxygen at root level and hostas really excel.

We have purchased three shade houses over the years including a 20 X 30, a 20 X 60 and a 30 X 60. We really need another 30 X 60--maybe next year. All were purchased from
Rimol Greenhouse Systems in Hooksett, NH. If you live in the east, I can recommend no other company. Here's what they look like before we install the shade cloth on top. That's a job I usually do myself in May with a couple ladders and a lot of "ups-and-downs".



The white cloth in the pictures is an insulating blanket we found several years ago. It is about 3/8"s inch thick and the spun fiber composition keeps the plants warm. It allows us to mass the potted plants together in the fall, cover with the fabric and then cover it all with a sheet of construction grade black plastic and tires to hold everything in place. Yes, it is a lot of work but there is no mortality save from a few mice/vole losses.

As I finish cleaning up around the building this morning it's back to the daylily fields. After three years, I still pick stones moved forward by the frost movement. Also have to take out weeds and get ready for spring tilling. Today I will move along slowly as I begin to exercise old muscles. Gardening is good!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I heard my first of the season male partridge drumming this morning. I like the sound.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
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Fall Chores, Fall Thanks!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

34 degrees here on the mountain, overcast and a 3 mile an hour wind. Karl the Wonder Dog continues to snore so loudly I can hear him across the house. No early morning walk for that boy but there's a dampness to the air that isn't exactly enticing me too much either.

Lots going on here at the house and also at Vermont Flower Farm. It's fall and the chores are plentiful. Gardeners continue to stop and buy a little of this or that as Gail works along cleaning things up. Travelers sometimes honk as they go by, apparently acknowledging the sign I put by the road that says simply "Thanks for Another Great Season!"

Thank yous and congratulations have been arriving from garden bloggers and friends over an award The Vermont Gardener received from Blotanical.com We received the Best Vermont Blog award and we are surprised and pleased. Many thanks to everyone who stops by, comments and helps us along. If you are not familiar with Blotanical, give it a try as garden blogs from around the world narrow the distance between gardeners and make each of us better at what we do. The resource information and pictures are special and the bonds of friendship continue to grow stronger.

Actually the work getting ready for winter led to our surprise with the blog award because we have been so busy that we haven't spent much time writing. A week of rain was predicted so we rushed when the weather was good to get as much done as possible. Last Saturday the day started with white frost on the ground so I put on the longies and headed out to take the shade cloth off the three shade houses. Aging gardeners feel the cold. Three shade houses 20' X 60', 20' X 30', and 30' X 60' may not sound like a lot of work but the shade cloth is secured to the pipe frames every two feet by a bungie cord. Up the ladder, pop off three cords or whatever you can reach, down the ladder, move the ladder, up the ladder, etc is a lot of climbing. By 10 AM when the sun warmed things up to about 50 degrees, those comfortable longies needed at 6 AM became a burden.

Gail showed up with a morning snack and some fresh coffee and we sat for a few minutes rehashing the summer and enjoying each other's company without the urgency of getting organized for another day of customers. It was a pleasant feeling to see how much was missing, how much we sold, and how good the place looks. We have worked hard for two summers now and our hard work is beginning to pay off. Nice compliments go a long way to making long days feel better.

By the end of Saturday the cloth was all down, folded. labeled and stored in the shed. Gail and Alex spent the rest of the day trimming pots of daylilies and I continued to plant hostas in the new shade garden. It's been a great ending for a busy summer. Having fellow gardeners suggest that The Vermont Gardener is a fun gardening experience makes us happy. Many thanks to everyone, from the mountains of Vermont where fall color is majestic, fall travelers and visitors abound!


Writing quickly from the mountain above Peacham Pond as the new Hearthstone wood stove arrives in two hours and I still have some prep work to complete.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm