Thoughts of Spring

Monday, May 5, 2012

A surprise this morning after days of rain, wind and snow. The temperature was close to zero for some time and then as the sun rose and the winds came up, stopped, started again, stopped, the temps bounced up and down around zero degrees as last night's snow drifted powder-like from tree branches everywhere. March in Vermont is not like many other places in America and here it's still a long time before the weather warms and we see flowers. In contrast, the southern east coast is seeing apple and cherry blossoms and wildflowers, none of which are even thinking of breaking dormancy here.

Down around South Carolina and Georgia there are reports of trilliums coming into bloom. I love trilliums and always have. As a kid growing up in Woodstock the only one we regularly saw was Trillium erectum and it wasn't until many years later that I even knew that Stinking Benjamins had a real name. It was even later in life that one of Gail's friends told be she knew them as Nosebleeds. Regardless of the name, and there are many, many other common names, they are still a great wild flower.

Every August I pluck firm seed pods and crush them between my fingers and then with one finger, I make a hole and push the whole, broken pod full of seeds into the ground and cover. A couple years later the germination is obvious and four to six years after that there is the start of a nice colony complete with small flowers. The next picture shows some 3-4 year old seedlings I dug to line out and also pot up for future sales. You will notice a horizontal rhizome-like root at the bottom of each stem. As the plants mature past age 7-8 years, you can dig these in the spring and slice them in half to increase production. They root well and are quicker to produce nice flowers than by starting seed.

These pictures show the 3-4 year old seedlings, split out of a clump, in a clump and then leafing out in one of our gardens.









There are three native growing trilliums in Vermont although many of the 52 varieties found in North America will grow here. In New England there is a fourth native only found in Maine. In order below here are grandiflorum, erectum and undulatum. Each has it's own requirements but they will grow any place in New England. The yellow luteum at the start of this page is likewise a non native but it too will do well here.








So as winter snows turn to spring rains, give some thought to greater use of wild flowers in and around your property. Trilliums are fun to grow and still bring a lot of "What is that's?"


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the snow in the driveways tells me that I need to plow before Gail gets back home at 1. Use care on the roads and give thought to your gardens. Drop us a line with questions and we'll try to make your gardening in 2012 more successful. We are always glad to help you grow your green thumb!

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

May Day

Sunday May 1, 2011

Bright sunshine is everywhere and the crisp, wind-free morning made it difficult to get Karl the Wonder Dog to return to the house. I have a ton of things to do before our crew shows up at the nursery but the overwhelming cheerfulness of the morning makes me wish I could stay here on the mountain and enjoy the new sights and sounds of spring. All manner of birds are singing this morning with mourning doves adding their part and pileated woodpeckers drumming on sugar maples.

In just a couple days the spring flowers have really advanced. Daffodils are popping out, drumstick and common primroses are adding spots of color, and the hellebores, heads hanging, offer contrasting whites and purples. The Trillium grandiflorum I seeded in four summers ago are up 6 inches and looking good but the larger clumps have hardly started to break ground. The Trillium luteum that will offer yellow later on are up two inches and Trillium erectum, the odoriferous "stinking benjamins" are coming along nicely . Someplace here I planted some bloodroot but in contrast to along the Winooski River at our nursery where they are in bloom, I cannot even find them here.

Walk your gardens today and get a final look at your layout before the leaves really pop. Make mental notes of spaces that need attention with another plant or shrub and keep your friends in mind for a shovelful of extra plants that need to be divided. Your friends will smile like the spring flowers knowing your gift will add to next spring's beauty.

I have to get going here. We open the nursery next weekend for the season but if you're passing through today, stop and say hello. We're plating madly but we always have time to help you grow a greener thumb!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where loons are calling.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Helping you grow a greener thumb!
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Trillium On Mothers Day

Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mothers Day

A long but successful day at the nursery. The weather was cold and it rained off and on but a fairly steady flow of customers brought on plenty of conversation, some good laughs and some good sales. I was as pleased with the volume of visitors as I was with those who parted with some cash because it was so encouraging to see people find us and also comment on how much they liked the revised website.

I do wish I could get out and take some wildflower pictures. Time is short and when you miss a good display as I did with the bloodroot, it's gone until the following year. The trillium are looking great right now. The grandiflorum are so nice and fresh and they always bring on lots of comments.


Even the assasin bug enjoys them! People often want to purchase a pot or two but they aren't that keen on the price even if I tell them seven years from seed to flower is the norm. Die hards spring for the purchase and I know they'll do a good job of planting and will follow my directions for harvesting seed pods before insects do so as to encourage better production on into the future.


Trillium erectum are in good supply in our gardens as I have worked hard to propagate them too. I need to find someone with good experience with trillium as some of the hybrids are especially tall and strong and I'd like some feedback on these. Last year the deer ate all the seed pods the night before I intended to harvest them so my production cycle was interrupted.

Before I know it Memorial Day will be here and the very popular orchids will be blooming. In the meantime I'll keep plugging away at the nursery. Today it was phlox and tomorrow it will be astilbes. If you get a chance, stop by and say hello.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where supper is about ready and early sleep will be most welcomed.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Gardens
Vermont Flower Farm A website that shares the plants we grow with those who cannot make the trip. Take a look!

Thoughts of Wild Flowers

Friday March 9, 2007

A busy day here. While Gail was at the Vermont Flower Show, I labored away on a bathroom renovation. I'd rather be installing a new garden than a bathroom as I can get in less trouble moving rocks and soil than electrical wiring and pipes. We've been here 18 years and it's just one of those things that needs attention. Every year I try to update a few things in hopes they will last the next twenty years of my life or at least make it easier for whoever lives here.

Fred the plumber from Cabot was here to help this morning. We work well together and we got a lot done in about four hours. Tomorrow I'll strip out the rest of the sheetrock now that the room is bare and I'll go from there.

Monday Ed from Peacham will be here to replace a window and reframe a wall. Then new insulation and sheetrock follows. Ed's a very meticulous carpenter and the kind of guy I will wait years for because he is so good. The office I am sitting in is an example of the fine work he does.

When Gail returns home I'll be happy to hear about the show. It's tricky in Vermont trying to force flowers to get them ready for a show of this size. I heard from Dave in Stowe a few weeks back. He was forcing peonies. Now there's a tough job! Then there were the greenhouses at Claussens in Colchester where they were forcing hundreds of pots of bulbs. Trees were forced and wild flowers too to go along with the theme "A Walk on The Wild Side".

Even though there is 5 feet of show outside my window, I'm already thinking about spring and the beautiful wildflowers that we have in Vermont. The native hepaticas pictured above have become very popular now and many are hybridizing them for bigger, or smaller flowers, in pinks, blues, purples, stripes, and with and without variegation. These are one of Gail's favorites and they really are nice.

False Salomon Seal is an interesting plant with fist sized blooms in June which are like a million little firecrackers going off. They set seed and begin aging by the time July arrives and change colors on into fall when the berries change from silvery gold to red. This is a nice background plant, very hardy and easy to multiply.

Wild gingers are interesting and are usefull for their leaf foliage. Most people overlook their flowers which arrive early and sometimes are hidden by the fast unfurling leaves. See if you can find one in this picture. They work well when planted along with European Ginger, the domestic variety with the shiny green leaves. The sparkle versus the dull coating of the natives is an interesting match, especially noticed if planted in swaths.

Tiarellas are another nice plant which we know here as foamflowers. I like to ride the Lanesboro Road from the falls in Marshfield Village back around to the Owls Head turn in the spring. There are places along that route as you drive under maple canopies that are lined heavily with them.

I've written and included pictures of trilliums before on my Vermont Gardens site and I have to say they are a favorite. The picture at the start of this piece is Trillium erectum but the undulatum which bloom later and the showly white grandiflorum are plants to grow too. There's nothing like a garden walk where flowers like the ones I am mentioning burst with color and interrupt your journey with a short "look-see".

If you like flowers and especially if you like wildflowers, get to the flower show this weekend. I can't say if anyone forced any wild flowers for the show but Bill Cullina from the New England Wild Flower Society will be on hand for a great lecture. And if you want to know where to purchase some of these native beauties, that information will be available too.

Just thinking about what I missed today makes me wish Gail would hurry up and get home with the news. I asked her to buy me a couple bundles of pussy willows and I can't wait to see what colors she purchased.

Karl the wonder dog is whimpering. It's his signal that it's time for a walk. Guess I better get going.


From the moutain above Peacham Pond where the temperatures of the afternoon are cooling quickly. It's 16.2 right now but shouldn't get close to the -34 in Island Pond last night.

Be well!

George Africa

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