A Different Kind of Gardener

Friday, October 9, 2009

Forty degrees here this morning, still and quiet, The back door just closed as Gail took Karl the Wonder Dog for a morning walk. It's barely light enough to see but Gail has this fearlessness to the unknown that scares me at times but doesn't bother her. She has a way with animals and I guess if you have that talent, fear is erased. The bears that have been about for several weeks are onto a different food source I guess, as it's been bearless here for some time but they will return to surprise me.

All gardeners have different pursuits, some by interest, some without choice. Gail and I have an interest in autism because our son Alex is on the spectrum so we live it every day. Autism research is a moving target and every day new information comes forth. We read all we can and attend as many events as possible to learn what others have to say. Last night was such an evening.

Sterling College, located in Craftsbury Commons, Vermont, is a small college with an enrollment just over 100. But small often means talented and in Vermont it's ever so true that little schools, little organizations, small groups sharing single interests are very organized and very, very talented. Last night the school hosted Dr. Temple Grandin and if you know autism or you are interested in animal behavior or animal management, then you know this very interesting professional. As we ended the lecture, we were grateful to Sterling College for bringing her to speak.

Time is getting short here like the hours of daylight. Much to do before the snow starts to challenge my desire to work in the gardens. There's still work to do but Alex is feeling better and Gail is ready to pitch in. Saturday the sun is supposed to shine in the afternoon so I will have helpers by then. At noon our local volunteer fire department celebrates 100 years with a parade and other events. Locals support local events and we'll be there.

As I get the motor running here this morning, I want to suggest that if you do not have anemones in your garden, give them some fine consideration. They are a great fall perennial and when they get established you'll enjoy large masses of a very nice flower. They make a great cut for fall arrangements and keep the butterflies in the garden until hard frosts and seriously cold weather stops all flight. They are difficult for us to sell because people don't seem to know about them yet and since they don't bloom until after we close for the season, it's only by Internet sales that they move along. We love them!!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where more and more maples are naked but still surrounded by colorful ground floor blankets of reds, yellows, oranges, greens and browns.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm: One of Vermont's nicest little nurseries

That's another shot of Osmore Pond up top.

Heavy Rain, Beautiful Foliage Continues

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

47 degrees here on the mountain at almost 8 PM. My new toy, an inexpensive anemometer, is spinning at 3 mph with gusts to 5 mph as the front moves in. The rain continues on and off and the "on" part this afternoon disrupted my wood splitting. I coaxed Gail to ride with me for a few minutes while I took some quick pictures, knowing that more rain and wind would influence what is by far the best foliage color in recent years. My ulterior motive was I wanted help picking out some more flat and colorful leaves to add to a collection and a book going to my grandsons out Seattle way. Gail agreed with getting out but had a brief self-debate about taking Karl the Wonder Dog along..... until I let out an impatient "Let's go!" Karl stayed home to snooze on.

During the past few weeks I have probably told a hundred people about the back road to Osmore Pond in the Groton State Forest. The road is almost two miles from our house and the state park people always open it up the day after Labor Day. Since 1989 I have been telling people this as it means not having to pay to get in to see and paddle on a nice little pond. There's also some unusual feeling about a secretive entrance to something so beautiful as Osmore Pond....kind of like an explorer finding something new and exciting.

Gail and I arrived at the road and the gate was locked tight. I muttered some anti budget cut comments and we turned around and headed to New Discovery, the main entrance to Osmore. Karen, one of the rangers, was in the contact station and she explained that they closed the road due to the bad behavior of a few. Just the same the pond was accessible and entrance was free but access is through this entrance. Down the road through a nice maple forest we went.


Osmore Pond has a history I will study some day but I know there was a time when logging around it was an important thing. Several people have told me about two different sawmills on the pond but I have never received good accounts of where the milled lumber went from there.

Osmore has three primitive lean-tos for rent and one newer one on the side close to the parking lot. "Primitive" means you walk in or paddle across the pond. No shower and you share the outhouse with the porcupines. This pond always has had loons but today they were either underwater and out of sight or just not there. The pond is beautiful this time of year so I took a couple shots. Click to enlarge.

We turned around and headed for Owls Head. This is a great granite dome and on a clear day you can see for a hundred miles each way. In late August you might witness raptors moving along as you sit up top eating wild blueberries. In contrast, in late May around Memorial Day you will certainly find other raptors gliding around feeding in the company of slow flying-coasting turkey vultures.

Today the rain was coming down stronger as we made it to the Owls Head parking area. We walked over to the picnic area and I took pictures of Kettle Pond down below. I wish they'd get the work crew to clean out the brush so the view for aging picture takers like me was easier. Typically Camel's Hump is easy to see but from this grown over vantage point, it was missing today.
During the Civilian Conservation Corp days the workers build a set of steps to the top of the mountain. If you have visited here before you know that they are high steps but just the same a fifteen minute walk to the top is nothing in trade for such a beautiful panorama. We want to get back there this weekend as the park staff close Owls Head right after Columbus Day.

Kettle Pond (last 3 shots) is down Route 232 a little further than the Owls Head turn and it's en route to Route 302 that heads to Groton or Orange. There's a prominent parking lot and a portage that's longer than I like if you want to paddle. There is a private youth group area of multiple lean-tos for rent by families, groups like scouts, even an organization of knitters makes a go of it--all who can enjoy a beautiful pond and a rural setting for a few bucks.

We've come to learn this area as it's really part of the big backyard we share. My favorite time is around Memorial Day when wildflowers abound. Trillium and orchids are favorites for me but there are dozens of flowers and shrubs to enjoy. Any time I walk here, I recall ever flower I have found, every place I have taken pictures. Gardeners should think broadly about their gardens and their state as they visit natural areas preserved for our use. Before we decided to move our nursery, I was just starting to lay out some woodland gardens intended to link nature, cultivated wildflowers and domestic hybrids. Maybe sometime I'll get back to that project. For now I can look back at these pictures and be thankful it was such a colorful day. Come visit soon if you can!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the wind speed is up to a constant 7 mph and I can hear the trees rustling from my office.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Fall Colors Make Us Happy!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Just finishing up with the evening news. Gail is in from a walk in the dark with Karl the Wonder Dog and Alex has come out of hibernation for the first time since last Thursday. He has had a terrible virus and is just starting to move. The regional news mentioned 175 potential cases of flu at Dartmouth College, 60 miles from here. People at work are coming up missing, either sick themselves or staying home to take care of family. Hope all gardeners are keeping up with all the recommendations and staying as healthy as possible. "hands-off-the-face!" is one of the difficult suggestions for this gardener as I swat flies and wipe off errant pieces of dirt or jewel weed seeds that have catapulted into the air at the brush of a body.

Fall foliage takes center stage right now and it won't disappoint so far this year. I had to work in Burlington and Shelburne today and the foliage views from Interstate 89 from Bolton through Richmond are the best I have seen and I have driven that road since 1980. I was cameraless again today so the pictures I am sharing are more from around here taken Sunday. My son Adam in Seattle loves foliage time so I'll keep these going for a few more days.

Gail tells me that she got another daylily order emailed in today and she has the final one ready for tomorrow. Hostas and specialty plants have already been ordered so things are shaping up for next spring. We still have well over a hundred giant clumps to get moved next spring and included are the Olallie daylilies from several years ago. Gail and I checked them out tonight and some are still blooming, many with lots of buds left. Their colors are not as brilliant as many daylilies but the fact that they are blooming here on October 6th and after several killing frosts is worthy of note.

We're hoping for a half pleasant weekend as we have a few more daylilies to dig and divide and about 20 more hostas to get planted. Then I will start vacuuming the leaves with the shredder and getting them down to the nursery to stockpile for next spring. I recommend a shredder vac but personally cannot recommend the Sears model that I purchased several years back. It does an incredible job and has a powerful motor but it is so quick that on a typical fall day the bag is full after you push your way through a twenty foot strip of driveway or lawn. That means stopping the motor, taking off the bag, lifting it to wherever you want to dump it (in the back of the truck for me), reinstalling and restarting the project again. The engine always starts well but this is a laborious set of repetitive actions to get the leaves cleaned up. The next one I buy will consider this one's shortcomings and also be self propelled. I keep thinking of that $1200 expenditure for the big one you pull behind your tractor????? Better not tell Gail.

Lots of folks ask me about the leaf mulch during the spring and summer when they see me planting. My formula is always the same. If the leaves are wet from recent rains I don't worry but if they are dry, then I get out the hose and really water them down. I sprinkle on about 20 pounds of 5-10-5 or similar fertilizer per truckload of leaves. Then I water heavily and just wait for spring. Although the top of the pile will not degrade in one winter, the fertilizer and the water create a good environment to get the chopped up leaves working and the resulting mulch is black and crumbly. A better shredder than the Sears brand would make me happy but there is a certain joy in having nice piles of leaves to jump start new transplants. A self propelled model would be super!

Now for the pictures. The one up top is looking west from the top of the daylily beds near the hosta shade house. If you click and enlarge the photo you'll notice the various different trees. I'm going to use this picture sometime soon to write a piece about "What Makes A Forest?"

I photograph Marshfield Pond annually several times because I love the place so much. The cliffs in the background were the site of our state's peregrine falcon restocking program back in the late seventies. I have finally found the trail to get to the top and I want to climb it in the next couple weeks. I was recently informed that this pond is only 12 feet deep at the deepest place although it seems to me I have lost nice fish and line caught on the bottom suggesting more depth than that. The water is so black that there's no way of seeing the depth.


This next picture is a grouping of rock-cap ferns or Polypodium vulgare. A bazillion years back Gail's father probably stacked the smaller rocks on this large boulder as he cleared the pasture. The polypodium spores landed here and the rest is a nice picture. There's a nice sugar maple to the right edge of the boulder. It still has a limb dangling out of it from when a bear climbed it in haste years back. It almost matches a broken tree limb from a nearby yellow transparent apple--similarly approached by a black bear for a fall meal.

The Montpelier to Wells River Railroad used to pass here until being thrown up in the early 1950s. Readers might remember a picture of a moose I took at the end of this picture last fall. The fish and game guys have finally trapped out the beavers who were regularly damming the culvert on the right side of the road. Some of the road edges make for careful travel as the erosion from the beavers was not a positive engineering feat. To the left of the road from this perspective is Bailey Pond.
Many daylilies left to be cut down, some to be split, all must be done in the next eight days.


Bailey Pond is the first of three kettle ponds carved out by the glaciers years ago. Glacial erratics, the name for large boulders left erratically here and there, line the road and give kids climbing challenges while their parents get weak stomachs.

Yes, fall foliage season in Vermont is a time of bright color, apple cider, craft fairs, the last of the farmers markets, harvest dinners and a time to think more seriously about putting your gardens to bed. Still think I better get with it and dig, dry and store the potatoes.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's 46 degree out as we await yet another rain storm.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm: a website from which someone ordered three Brunnera'Mr. Morse' plants yesterday. They filled the gallon pots before Gail got them ready to be shipped.

Falling Rain, Fall Foliage

Saturday, October 3, 2009

47 degrees out, off-and-on heavy rain and a six mile an hour wind that comes in gusts along with the heavier rain. Been up most of the night with Alex and a cold virus he has. The virus is all over the northeast I hear. Illnesses are more difficult for kids on the autism spectrum because of numerous sensory issues they deal with regularly, even before they get sick. He seems a little better than last night and just went to sleep for the first time in more than a day.

Gail just left for the town community center. Our librarian of eight years is leaving. Unlike many, when she says she is leaving to spend more time with her family, she really is. She has been a great librarian, has grown the library by usership and physical size, and has coordinated so many terrific programs you couldn't possibly get bored in this little town of 1600 people. Gail did a very nice fall arrangement with echinaceas, anemones, asters, phlox, Canadian cherry branches, rudbeckias and various fillers. The townspeople will turn out in numbers as they always do to show their support for one another.

As the rain pours down, I've had to realign my work schedule today. My "to do" list cannot afford to lose too many days over the next couple weeks as on the 16th I'm having carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand (left was a success in January!) as well as a trigger finger repair on the same hand. One would think I enjoy dentists and doctors as I have been going in one direction or another for a couple months now. It's all coincidental but all the things I enjoy doing in life require two strong hands so there wasn't much of a decision here. If you live within 90 miles of here and have a similar need, I can recommend a super surgeon at Mary Hitchcock close to Hanover NH and Norwich and White River Jct, VT.

I am still transplanting hostas in the lower garden and was counting on today to get another 50 clumps transplanted. The temperature is ok for me but kneeling all day in the rain is not good. Tomorrow looks a little better so I'll get all the plants that need to move dug today, cleaned up, labeled and then layed out where they will be planted.

Don't know if I'll make it or not today but I'm in the mood for some wild mushrooms. The cooler temperatures and the rain have pushed tons of shaggy manes up along roads and in the pastures and on lawns. These are a choice mushroom that must be cooked soon after they are picked or they will turn inky black in a bucket or pan.

I have seen a quantity of oyster mushrooms on the sugar maples up on the hill and these are a joy to harvest as they are always in good quantity. I look over each one carefully as they often have a little black beetle hidden inside the gills. Once cleaned, I boil once quickly, pat dry, slice and fry in butter and fresh garlic. Plate those next to a fried or baked brook trout or a steak off the grill and accompany with a fresh garden salad and some fried Russian Banana potatoes and glory will prevail!

Boletus edulis, hiding under fir balsams, and Honey Mushrooms, Armillariella Mellea, are also on my "real good eating, easy to find" list. This time of year there are many tours available, some free, some for a few bucks, to walk with an experienced mushroom hunter and learn what is good. Some even go as far as to take the prizes home and clean and cook them. Do not pick mushrooms on your own until you know what you are doing. There are some varieties out there that will put you in a funeral home real fast.

Have to get some mail ready for Lois, our mail lady. Until I am back, here are some foliage pictures Gail took. Enjoy!

View from Route 2, Marshfield

Peacham Pond from boat access

Ricker's Pond from dam

Maple on our lawn at home.

Fall gardening wishes,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm: where fall mail orders are still shipping

Cameraless for Moose

Friday, October 2, 2009

Early morning here on the mountain. The quiet is nice but I have already been up too long. Alex has what we hope is only a cold virus but he has been up all night and we have been up too. The only all-night sleeper is Karl the Wonder Dog and he just snores on and on.

Fall is a beautiful time in Vermont and the foliage is especially beautiful now. The colors here were more vibrant a week ago before the heavy rains but you still cannot complain about the show. The apple crop is quite good in the orchards although I notice many of our wild trees have lots of apples that remained rather small due to the drought that arrived in early August.

I forgot to add a note last week for those interested in seeing moose in Vermont. This is the time they are on the move and the bulls, no matter what age, are scraping trees and getting excited about life. A couple weeks back I was chain sawing to open up a new road and clean out a bunch of dead wood. I typically saw for the time it takes to use a tank of gas and then clean up what I have cut. 35-45 minutes of sawing and no more means I'm not tired and less likely to get hurt. That's just how I always do it and it works. Anyway I cleaned things up at the work site and left for the day. When I returned, I noticed a 6" maple had a bunch of gouges. I stood there trying to figure out how I had messed up a perfectly good young tree for no reason and then I noticed the tracks. A fairly large moose had raked his antlers along the tree some 6 feet off the ground.

Thoughts of moose became reality Sunday morning as I headed out to get my paper. Just down the road a large moose crossed right in front of me and stopped on neighbor Bobbi's front lawn gazing at me and a passing car. In twenty years of life here, this was the second biggest I have seen. Moose are black although sometimes in the spring they look a little ratty as they shed for a new coat and at that time you might say they are brown. This guy was black and his antlers looked golden orange in contrast. He was so big that when he came out of the swamp and onto the pavement I could hear his feet hit from inside the truck.

My estimate was a six foot antler spread but the local boys corrected me on my exaggeration and yesterday friend Kenny set me straight. He lives down in Jerusalem, a local area about ten miles from here. Two years ago he and a friend shot a moose that measured 54". The record is 64 3/8" dating from 2002 so moose with racks approaching 72" are possible here. The Vermont Fish and Game records are good for some to look at but for others, just seeing a giant animal in the wild is enough fun. For gardeners, except for what their physical size does walking through your gardens, there's really nothing to worry about. I know my friend Eric would have liked to see this one as he hasn't seen one in a while. I was cameraless so I cannot show you either.

I have to get going here this morning as I am involved with my favorite sport at 8 AM--dental work. I do want to say thanks again to everyone who voted for The Vermont Gardener and helped it win Best Vermont Blog. Also want to remind Facebook users that I have started a page there that over time should link you with more garden resources. If you have a page and are interested in becoming a friend of this well established social network, take a look.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where I can hear some geese,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener


Picture at top is Marshfield Pond. After all these years, I have found the private trail to the top. In 1979, this was one of Vermont's early peregrine falcon restoration sites. The granite cliffs say it all!

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

Weeping Gardens

Sunday, September 27, 2009

A wet morning here on the mountain--wet enough that Karl the Wonder Dog made a brief journey outside and bolted for the house to shake wet fur dry and get back to bed. The morning is 45 degrees but it feels much colder than that with a 3-4 mph wind. I wouldn't know the mph thing but I just bought myself a little weather station with an anemometer and I hope before I die I can figure out how to program it.

I love technology but I am a slow learner. The clock is the sticking point as it is an atomic clock which needs to be set via satellite. The directions are so-o-o encouraging, ending with a little statement about don't put it by a Low-E window as it won't program through the glass.......so what have I spent big bucks upgrading to??? low-e windows. It also says to point the unit in the direction of Colorado, thereby assuming you're bright enough to know where Colorado is. I'll tackle it all later today when I am a bit more awake.

Today's rain is a bad reminder to this year's spring that lasted until the end of July and accumulated as 15 inches of rain that month alone. Last week we received 1.4" of rain in one night and that began to remedy the drought that hardened clay soil and made apples fall plunk-plunk-plunk from trees long before they should. I haven't checked the rain gauge today but the rain is supposed to continue all day and is really coming down right now.

When we visited Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens we walked down the Haney Hillside Garden to the ocean. Along the way we stopped at the first backpath and I was pleased to see how well the weeping trees and shrubs had grown since my last visit. I call the area the weeping garden because the hillside is well planted with conifers including many weepers. When we visited, the day was bright and warm, a contrast to today's cold reminder that fall is here and winter is around the corner.

Weeping larches are easy to grow and not very expensive. They are the one confier that annually change color and drop needles like deciduous trees. They are easy to prune and I enjoy the way the branches reach to the ground and grow along the top of the soil as if to reach out for companionship. We have some spruces that do the same and they are very hardy in zone 4a too. The Atlas Blue Cedar I bought this year may not make it but that is another example we saw in the Maine gardens. I'll pound in some rebar and clothe the cedar in burlap this winter and hope for the best. The seacoast climate is so much warmer that it's not a problem there.

Whether I'm weeping about the weeping gardens or the rain today, fact is I have to get going here, Sunday or not. I brought the tractor home yesterday for the winter and today is "bring in the wood day" where we bring next year's wood supply in from the woods to split and stack for next year and the year after. Staying a year or so ahead guarantees that if something unpredicted happens here on the mountain, the home will still be warm all winter. Thursday the new Hearthstone woodstove arrives...and that's another story.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where one lone blue jay is sitting on the platform feeder begging me to add some seed for his breakfast. Vociferous ravens are at the compost pile checking the menu there. Have to get going.......

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm A garden website with plants for sale, gift certificates for friends and gardening info for all!

Climate Change Day

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The predicted cold is here this morning. One morning star shines brightly in the sky as light pokes up from Peacham Pond. The thermometer reads 30.2 degrees and it will drop some more as the sun rises. It's still too dark to see the grass but I know in time the lower daylily nursery will appear, frosty white and cold. Climate change.

I have avoided discussions and opinions about climate change. Climate change to me is when I look at the wood pile and congratulate myself on this year's well seasoned wood supply, properly stacked and covered or in the cellar for easy access. Climate change is a reminder that next year's wood supply needs to be out of the woods and at least split for stacking. This year I can congratulate myself again. Climate change is when geese fly by, hummingbirds leave or reappear (September 4-5-6 and May 7-8-9) or woodcock appear in the road on a rainy spring night to eat a dinner or breakfast of worms. Climate change.

This summer has been a good example against global warming. The air conditioner, purchased expressly so two tired gardeners could get some sleep when outside temperatures exceed 80 degrees on back-to-back days, remains in the cellar collecting dust. 90 degree days were absent this year and 80 degree days were finger counters and few-to-none here on the mountain.

15 inches of rain in July continued a stretch that began when the last snows of winter were still on the ground. The lawns smelled of too much rain and certain crops either never germinated at all or succumbed to a variety of fungal problems. Right now the Lilium canadense seed pods are still green and unopened and I have time to find some and plant them along the water ways or back swamps. Climate change.

The platform bird feeder remains seed-free for fear of bears which are frequenting more than we like. The feeder is a challenge for me as I love to watch birds but putting out seed now is the wrong thing to do. I may break down before the bears head for slumber around Thanksgiving but it's all a question of temperature. The feeder needs to be washed first with bleach and water anyway. And where are the chickadees? Some say they are moving north to a colder climate but cold is what we have here this morning. Climate change.

We just returned from Maine and saw the best striped bass catches we've seen in 30 years. The ocean temperature is also the warmest it's been in over 100 years. That would be back before 1909. Climate change.

The picture up top is one I took at Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens. Locally they call it "Whale Rock" (see just below) . We love Maine just as we love Vermont--with or without climate change.


Time to head out for a walk with Karl the wonder dog. Karl's internal clock tells him when it's time to head out. As cooler weather approaches, it's more obvious how well he can predict what is going on outside. If we were walking at the botanical gardens, we might be traveling down a walk such as this one of cut granite. Here in Marshfield, we're heading out the woods road. Wish you could be walking with us.





From the mountain above Peacham Pond where the frost is thick on the grass. No more tomatoes, cukes, beans or squash this year. Better start digging the potatoes and see how well they did.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

A Sensory Garden In Maine

Thursday, September 17, 2009

A beautiful morning here on the mountain. We're back in Vermont where the morning temperature is just 40 degrees and the heavy dew is dripping from goldenrod that are already turning brown with age. Maine was beautiful and we are already sentimental for the sound of the ocean. The morning chatter of the ravens is a slim replacement but in fact, it's part of Vermont.

The newest garden at the Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens is the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses. I had been following the grand opening of this garden and wanted to attend the official opening in June when I blew the engine in my truck. Life has priorities and my visit had to be postponed. One of the staff at the reception center told me that the day of the celebration was a bit damp with four inches of rain and slim attendance. I wasn't the only one missing.

The sensory garden is a combination of sunken garden, pond, stream, walkways, trees, shrubs, plants, sculpture and a fountain that challenge all the senses. Looking down from above, the stone floor reminds me of the trilobite fossils that prevail in the rocks that line Lake Champlain here in Vermont.


Visitors stop and bare their feet to walk the paths and extend their use of "foot senses", long ago neglected. I watched one child close her eyes and follow the course with giggles and wide smiles.


I often marvel at seeing garden floors such as this one displayed in gardening magazines as if they appear out of no where in your garden. Just collecting stones, let along "planting" them, takes patience and mastery. Few folks even know how to mix cement anymore. The finished product, however, always brings compliments and "how'd you do it's?"


The plantings are special and I found myself spending more time with each planting than I probably had at other places at MCBG. It might have been the newness but I think it was simply that this is a really special place that affords opportunities for everyone, with or without missing senses or hampered accessibility. I really liked it!

Here are a few pictures. They won't replace a visit but they will make you want to go!

The pond and fountain area are visible from the natural bridge or anyplace on the surrounding walkways. Between the sound from the fountain or the streams, a tranquility prevails over the chatter of happy kids. The granite sculpture in the background affords a chance to "touch" the drilled carvings visually and by actual touch. As we design our own gardens, it's good to think about how we intend our visitors to master and absorb our key garden components.

I always enjoy water gardens and lilies draw my attention. Rural Maine has thousands of small ponds and lakes full of water lilies and I'm sure there are some businesses hidden away someplace where lilies are raised commercially. In this pond, I kept looking under the lilies to try to spot a fish but I think the pond is fishless although frogs like it here.

Some plants such as this cardamon are perfect for a sensory garden because they bring so many talents with them. I am not familiar with the plant or its herbal uses but I was struck by the seed heads which form their very own sculpture.


The designers did a super job with colors and textures and I cannot offer enough praise for the product. Gail and I have always been partial to heucheras and apparently we are not alone. Aside from the multitude of ways people pronounce "heuchera" (check out Heucheras & Heucherellas by Dan Heims & Grahame Ware, Timber Press), these examples of 'Caramel' were great as were the Heuchera 'Frosted Violet'.

This next silver sage named 'Hobbit's Foot' also caught our attention. I doubt it will grow well here in zone 4 but it is so appropriate in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses. I almost wanted to pat it but I held off, rubbing the head of a nearby rabbit sculpture instead. I shouldn't have but there was something beckoning about the smooth head of that stone bunny.

Trees and shrubs abound and this Tiger Eyes Staghorn Sumac is an eye catcher I had only seen on websites before. The color was appropriate for the season and the sumac worked so well with surrounding colors and textures. My mind momentarily went into rewind mode and I recalled the Glory maples in the front parking lot under planted with masses of Hemerocallis 'Patio Parade'--more examples of very good use of a color some folks say they are tiring of. There's no way I could be bored with the opportunity of Tiger Eyes.



There's plenty to experience at the sensory gardens. I'll get back to this soon but for now, it's time to get going on our own gardens. Time is short, the heavy frosts will be here soon, and there's lots of summer clean up to do. If you happen to drive by the nursery and the gate is open, stop by for a garden chat. There's always time to talk gardens, compare notes.


Writing again from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the loons still call as maple leaves turn yellow, orange and red.

Fall gardening wishes,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Still shipping very healthy plants until mid October from Vermont Flower Farm

Parks & People

Monday, September 14, 2009

Sitting by the hotel window looking east as the sunrise spreads bigger and bigger in front of me. High tide is working its way to shore and the mornings' beach walkers are moving closer and closer to the cement beach walls. Men in pick up trucks are parked at the overlook area drinking coffee and telling stories. It looks like another nice day.

When we left Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens the other day, I day plenty of thoughts and pictures to share but for right now I keep thinking of a stop we made in Georgetown, Maine at Reid State Park. This is a park that I took Gail to back in 1989 and we just never made it back again. She really enjoyed the place so I said we'd stop by again. Alex, now 17, was never there so he wondered what Gail was enamored with too.

We parked the car and unloaded our beach chairs, cooler and cameras and headed down the path to the north. There were only a couple cars in the lot but it was early enough in the day to explain that. As we crested the hill, the beach had a strange look to it as if a shipload of settlers landed and began building shelters for the night.





I was taken by the driftwood assemblies and wondered about their origin. I thought it would have been fun to watch whomever it was that appeared and began building them. There was a mystery here that challenged me.

Down the road a ways we had passed Woolrich, Maine, a town that I had misrepresented in my mind for years. When I was a kid growing up, I reached age ten which was the time I was allowed to go deer hunting by myself. That included visiting deer camps and seeing real hunters. Back then, hunters wore woolen clothes either made by Johnson Woolen Mills in Johnson, Vermont, or Woolrich woolen clothes from Woolrich, Maine...I thought. It was only during this trip to Maine that I found out that Woolrich, no less a maker of fine woolen garments, was actually from Pennsylvania although both Woolrich, Maine and Woolrich, Pennsylvania were no doubt named after the same town in England. Whether it be clothes by Johnson or Woolrich, my early deer hunting dreams sought out a .300 magnum rifle and green plaid woolen pants and coat--identities of "real" hunters.

The reason I mention Woolrich is that it's also home to The Shelter Institute, another place on my list of places to visit, things to do. The Shelter Institute offers courses in building small houses and learning post and beam construction. The thought of a course rings louder every year as I really want to build a camp down towards Peacham Pond and post and beam is the way I want to go. The Shelter Institute came to mind immediately as I looked at the Reid State Park beach and saw primitive structures reaching more than half a mile down the shore.The implication is mine alone and I don't want to misrepresent such as fine company with the suggestion that you learn house building by stacking driftwood, but factually, primitive shelters begin that way and these were examples to me.

We set up our chairs and began our relentless reading and relaxing--two pursuits that follow seven days a week in our gardens since Vermont's white stuff stopped falling. Every once in a while I'd look up at the structures and think about who built them....a pointless curiosity but a gnawing thought. As I glanced up from reading the latest copy of Northern Woodlands Magazine (subscribe folks!) I noticed a group of a dozen older looking folks at the top of the beach trail. One by one then slowly inched to the beach and it was clear they were a group of seniors out and about for the day. One man worked his way to the largest, closest structure, and then bent over, picked up a large piece of driftwood and leaned it up against the other wood. He had made his contribution to shelter building. He must have been heading towards 80 years old but the smile on his face showed an enthusiasm similar to his younger years. His companions cheered him for his accomplishment. Although I couldn't get the camera going fast enough to catch the "pick up the wood" part, here's part of the sequence.

By now good gardeners are probably wondering how come I am bunny hopping around with conversation devoid of gardening info. Rightful question but gardeners are people and I'll bet there was a time when this man was a passionate gardener. For this day, just like me, he was enjoying a piece of Maine and a bright sunny day.


Writing from a beach in Maine where the sun is up, the morning is warm, the seagulls are talking in terms I don't understand, and people are all saying the same thing..."Isn't this a wonderful day?"

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

FYI: If you ever head down the peninsula to Reid State Park, stop at Georgetown Pottery. It has some of the nicest Ikebana vases you'll find. One vase, one late blooming daylily scape, one piece of clematis or hops vine and you'll witness contemplative floristry at its finest! And yes, you can do it yourself!