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

Afternoon Walk

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

It's been a long and tiring day today so being able to sit down for a couple minutes is a welcome opportunity. It was snowing on Camel's Hump when I headed up I-89 for Burlington at 10 this morning and here at 5 PM it's snowing outside. Not big flakes, not lots of flakes, just enough white stuff to chase away the warm thoughts of the two previous weeks of out of the ordinary 65-80 degree weather. Gail said that she and Diana got chilled outside after they unloaded a delivery truck so they came in by the wood stove and chatted and wrote plant labels for the balance of the afternoon. The wind is up now and I can understand why the warm stove and a cup of coffee needed no coaxing.

Between driving and sitting all day I needed a walk. Karl the wonder dog is sick again and he was not interested in the cold weather so I journeyed by myself down the road towards the pond. Spring is unfolding a little at a time and as you glance around you see signs of green and color here and there. It is relaxing after a day's work.

Trilliums have always been a favorite and the second to bloom here, the white Trillium grandiflorum, give great display as they rise close to granite stones and walls. They are preceded by the Trillium erectum, the Purple Trillium, Wake Robin, the Stinking Benjamins of my youth that kids made funny faces about. Trillium undulatum is the last of the three Vermont native trilliums, but they will be a while yet.

Cabs wrote the other day from Terra Nova Design and mentioned the New England Wild Flower Society and Nasami Farm Native Plant Nursery and Sanctuary. If you enjoy wild flowers such as trillium, this is the place to visit. Their site has a calendar so get yours out and compare some dates.

Trilliums are easy enough to grow as long as you have patience as it's not uncommon that they require 5 years before they flower. Once they start, they only grow bigger all the time. The age-to-maturity requirement keeps production low and the sell price high but if you are interested, stop by this fall and I'll have some ready. In the meantime, enjoy getting out for a walk.



From the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's cold and blustery right now.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm Place an order yet?

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