Our Hosta Display Garden

Thursday, June 28, 2018

A shutterbug friend stopped by today and suggested I get into the hosta garden for some picture taking for those who may not have been able to see the garden yet. Cameras never have bothered me although I admit that my 70 years are showing more than before. Here are various pictures. The whole garden is not covered but you can get an idea what it currently looks like. If you are out and about  this holiday, stop by and say hello. Bring your water bottle as it sounds like it will be hot.

George Africa

Vermont Flower Farm

2263 US Route 2

Marshfield Vermont 05658

A Garden of Change

 Tuesday, June 12, 2018

A cold morning here at the flower farm. 39.1° right now but rising to +70° by noontime. Everything seems to be growing despite the lack of water. The weather folks said June would be cooler and it is but the lack of rain is very obvious. Rain is predicted for tomorrow and I do hope that materializes.

Everyone who likes hostas and their companions cannot make it to our place so I am posting more pictures. I'm really busy so do not have time to add comments to each but take a look and forward questions if you have any. We are giving tours every day because the hosta are all large enough by now that the name tags are hidden. The great thing about the garden is you can see the actual mature size and plan for your own gardens.

A great resource if you love hostas is the Hosta Library. http://hostalibrary.org. The thousands of different hostas which are pictured have an accompanying database which provides great information on the plant, sports, sizes, etc. Take a look.

Best gardening wishes from your friends at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens!

George Africa

2263 US Route 2

Marshfield Vermont 05658

802-426-3506

A Hosta Display Garden To Visit

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

It's a busy time at the flower farm. The weather has been up and down and today as example is a day to have a jacket and be prepared for showers. I want to point out  that our hosta display garden is in its prime right now and deserves a visit if you're in the area.

Over 500 hostas are displayed with a variety of accompanying shade related plants. Hostas from 2" tall to 7 feet tall are available in various stages of development. These pictures should give you an idea of why a visit will become something to remember. Come see us!

George Africa

Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens

Growing Great Hostas!

Friday, June 1, 2018

Announcement

This Saturday and Sunday, June 2 and 3d at 1 PM each day, Vermont Flower Farm, 2263 US Route 2, Marshfield, Vermont will offer a program on growing great hostas. The farm grows and sells over 500 different hostas and displays them in a special shade garden with companion plants. Owner and grower George Africa will discuss growing and dividing hostas, and garden design. The program will be held in the garden so wear appropriate footwear and consider insects and weather. If you have special accessibility needs, please advise in advance.

Questions? Call us at 802-426-3505

Rural or Urban Tree Loss

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

It's been a rainy day here in Marshfield today and as I write,  there's a rain delay in Boston on the Red Sox baseball game. A big storm is going through Massachusetts and once again we are experiencing storms like we have not seen before. Storms are relative to a heated atmosphere and as tree coverage declines, heat has a way of increasing.

In the past few years we have had to become more cautious in our daily review of weather reports. There have been many more serious wind storms and floods. The winds dry the fields and slow the growth of the flowers we raise. The water loss means we have to draw more water from the river to raise the same number of crops which require more labor to reach the same goal. In the process, our net revenues shiver, not from the cold but from our attempt to manage a profit.

Scientific American Magazine recently published an informative article on tree loss. The article mentions heat but also the human losses we don't often think about. It's worth  reading. Try to apply  what you read to your family and your community. There's a great deal to consider!

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-cities-lose-tree-cover-just-when-they-need-it-most

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

Marshfield, Vermont 05658

802-426-3505

vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com

Polymerous Daylilies

Monday, April 30, 2018

A very white morning here on the mountain above Peacham Pond. I am not surprised about it but that doesn't mean I like it. I have a ton of things to do at the flower farm and all of them require outside work which is difficult with 6" of heavy, wet snow on everything. By tomorrow it will be gone as rain is on the way by this afternoon.

I can tell when the weather is bad based on the email questions that I receive. I just received the third question this week about polymerous daylilies. I suspect gardeners are reviewing last year's garden photos and wondering in this case about daylily blooms with more than usual petal counts. 

Here's an explanation from the American Daylily Society. Read on!

https://www.daylilies.org/ahs_dictionary/polymerous.html

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens

Find us on Facebook as my personal page, George Africa, or the Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens page.

We're always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Epimediums

Epimediums

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Epimediums are becoming more and more popular each gardening season. We have been growing a few varieties for 10 years now and are just now receiving regular requests. Some things take a while to get established in Vermont!

Here's a very nice blog from Karen Chapman. You'll pick up some new thoughts and some picture ideas which will perhaps help you in your own gardens. Sign up for her blog.

https://lejardinetdesigns.com/2018/04/03/a-spring-perennial-you-need-epimedium

Best gardening wishes!

George Africa

Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens

2263 US Route 2

Marshfield Vermont 05658

Peonies

Bowl of Beauty

Thursday, April 12, 2018

A nice morning on the mountain above Peacham Pond. The sun is out now and the temperature has risen 5 degrees in an hour. Rain is predicted for later this afternoon but for right now, there is a suggestion to get outside and do some clean up work.

I want to post a copy of this recent newsletter from Garden Design Magazine about peonies. With two feet of snow still on the ground here around the house, it seems premature to talk about peonies but the fact is, they will be with us by late June and that's coming quickly.

Here's the article. Peonies are wonderful perennials, easy to grow and they are very nice cut flowers too. And no, they do not need ants to be nice flowers. Ants are on peonies at times because they use the waxy coating on the buds to build their colonies. Try some!  Peonies, not ants!

https://www.gardendesign.com/peony

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens

Marshfield, Vermont 05658

Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

802-426-3505

vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com

Tool Care

Monday, March 19, 2018

Early morning here on the mountain above Peacham Pond. Another cold night but warmer now at 4.6° than the below zero it was when I was heading to bed. Actually it's still below zero with the wind chill but that seems to be slowing down even though morning is approaching.

Even the best of gardeners stops  in the middle of a project and walks away leaving a favorite tool where he last used it. I'm no different. One time I looked around for my spade fork and found it laying on the ground after it had fallen over right next to where I had planted a perennial. Pot and fork were a reminder but I couldn't find the fork in the shed where it was supposed to be.

With deep snow here in Vermont and winter weather hanging on, it's a good time to clean up your hand tools for the coming spring. It doesn't require much to do a good job but it does take some time. Here is a link to one of the garden blogs I read regularly, Serenity in the Garden. The article is named Time to Renew Your Garden Tools and it offers simple, easy to follow advice on what to do and what not to do to get your tools ready for another season. I like it!

http://serenityinthegarden.blogspot.com/2018/03/time-to-renew-your-garden-tools.html


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's even too cold to think about starting seeds inside--but I do think about spring, warmer weather, daffodils!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Allium Leafminer

The Allium Leafminer

Here's a recent article about another insect gardeners should be on the lookout for. Although the allium leafminer has become a serious problem with edible alliums, I am seriously concerned about alliums which have become so popular in our flower gardens. Purple Sensation, Globemaster, the blue allium,  A.caeruleum, the yellow allium, A. moly, and A. cristophii are examples. 

If you see examples of this troublesome insect in your gardens, otify your Department of Agriculture.

https://entomologytoday.org/2018/03/08/invasive-fly-threatens-north-american-onions-leeks-and-related-crops

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

Marshfield, Vermont

An Extraordinary Daylily Site

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Daylilies are the second most popular flower in the world with hostas continuing to be number one in sales. Last I knew there were over 75,000 registered daylilies and as many as half a million in the trade. I once read that shades of red amount to somewhere around  80,000 of the total number. That's a lot of daylilies and a lot of color!

Daylily growers, hybridizers and commercial sellers are obvious throughout most of the United States and websites abound. One site I have always enjoyed is the creation of Charlotte Chamitoff who lives just over the Newport-Derby, Vermont border with Canada near internationally famous Lake Memphremagog. Charlotte does an outstanding job promoting daylilies on her website, Charlotte's Daylily Diary 2018. She offers readers a weekly piece named  International Garden of the Week in which she highlights a daylily garden. This week she covers the gardens of Don and Susan Church, in Blue Hill, Maine. Their business is aptly named Blue Hill Country Gardens where you can find cold hardy lilacs, dwarf conifers, heathers, magnolias, rhododendrons, azaleas,  interesting flowering trees....and....lots and lots of daylilies.

If you like daylilies and you're traveling the Maine coast, turn down Route 1 and stop and see Don and Susan. During my last visit I picked up a lilac, and two of Don's daylily registrations, Teaberry Tycoon and Dancing with Ellen. Don knows a great deal about bud count and Teaberry Tycoon sure does please in that respect. This past summer Dancing with Ellen exceeded three feet tall and made me smile! If you do stop, plan some time as there's plenty to see, the plantings are mature, and the design impeccable. Safe travel! 

Oh yes, and if you do head down that way and you enjoy hiking, try Harriman Point. It's part of the Maine Coastal Heritage Trust network of properties that allow public access to some absolutely pristine coast. Plan to go at low tide if you can and you'll see why I recommend that!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the sky is gray but the birds are happy about the warm weather.

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

On Facebook as George Africa and also as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens where lots of pictures and good stories abound.

On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

And always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Another Blog

Blogs

Friday, February 23, 2018. This morning started out looking like another fine day but now, three hours later, it has clouded up and a weather alert just came in for Vermont. Between 1 and 10 PM we are to expect mixed precipitation including freezing rain, ice and snow. Not good.

Days such as this one give me an opportunity to catch up on some writing. I haven't worked on the links page for this blog in over a year so today's the day. No matter how the weather turns out, there won't be any slip slidin for me.

Here's a blog by Bobbie Schwartz  https://clevelandlandscapegarden.com that I will add as I update a few things. Always some great information for gardeners no matter where you live. Thanks Bobbie, for your great writing!

George Afric

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

Weigela

Friday, February 23, 2018

When sunrise became obvious this morning, the sky was clear and it was nothing but good news for the day...if...you didn't read the weather report. Here it is at 8 AM and it's already clouding over with a forecast that says late morning snow showers followed by warming and mixed precipitation by 3 PM. It's been like this all winter.

A couple years ago I wanted to try weigela at the flower farm as I had tried a couple at the house and they did quite well. I picked a nice red flowered variety with deep red foliage. They sold but not that well and last summer friend Dan took home the last 4. 

This year Proven Winners, one of my suppliers, came out with Spilled Wine, another red that grows to 3 feet wide  and 2-3 feet tall. PW recommends you space them at 3-4 feet apart so they can grow into each other as they picture them in their promotional card above. I'm holding off on them for another year as I get the long strip along the Winooski River ready for more planting in between the lilacs and hydrangeas I have started there. In the meantime I am sure they are available in Vermont from other sources so if you have trouble finding Spilled Wine, let me know and I'll try to find them for you.

Gardening questions? Drop me a line at vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com and I'll try to help.

Writing from the cloudy moutai above Peacham Pond.

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

On Facebook with lots of pictures. Try my personal George Africa page or our Like page, Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens

On Twitter at vtflowerfarm

Regularly writing on various gardening related media.

Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Asian Longhorn Beetle

The Asian Longhorn Beetle

Friend Michael G. from Somersworth, NH asked if there were any reports yet of Asian Longhorn Beetles in Vermont. During the recent Vermont Farm Show I tried to get close enough to the US Forest Service booth to ask them the question. I didn't make it but I think as of right now, the answer is "no". I have seen one report from Massachusetts so regardless of the response, it's just a matter of time before we see them in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Here's a site from the University of Vermont to help with identification. It is confusing because of the number of beetles around. I remember seeing a display at the Montshire Museum in Norwich where they showed 143 longhorn beetles that live in this part of New England. I haven't been back to the Montshire in years so I don't know if the display is still there. The number is coming from memory but I think it is accurate. 

http://www.uvm.edu/albeetle/identification/index.html

https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2016/12/16/vermont-says-thank-you-massachusetts-fighting-invasive-beetle

https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/asianbeetles.html

Since I work outside much of the year, I am regularly "seeing" new beetles. I am amazed how many beetles are large enough to make you notice when they land on you. Many of these are longhorn beetles but so far not the Asian. 

Equally as confusing is when I am splitting sugar maple wood. I am forever finding larvae in the wood from various beetles but have not found what I believe is Asian Longhorn Beetle yet. The number of beetles in sugar maple trees is getting scary.

Here is a picture of the larvae that was posted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

If you see a beetle that you think is an Asian Longhorn Beetle, try to catch it and put it in a baggie or a jar for reference. Then call your local, state or university agriculture folks for identification confirmation. You may be surprised how the beetle feels like it's biting you when you try to pick it up. In the meantime, keep your eye out.

George Africa

The Vermont Gardener

Vermont Flower Farm

On Facebook as a personal gardening page--George Africa, and as a Like Page named Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens.

On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

The Spotted Lanternfly

Be aware!

On February 10th I read my first report on the spotted lanternfly, first identified in Pennsylvania and now in Virginia. Regardless of where you live, if you see this insect, call your Department of Agriculture immediately and if possible capture an insect for reference. Over time I have heard "It can't live here." but more often than not, that's not true. A couple years ago when Zika broke the news, many said the mosquito that carries the virus would not survive here. I wrote a piece contradicting this and immediately got a couple negative emails. When the Vermont Dept. of Health confirmed its presence four months later, I did not receive any replies. Nice!

Here is some more information. It's always a mystery how long it will take for an insect to migrate to our home state but commerce and people both travel more now than ever before. During our travels it's easy to have an insect hitchhike with us without even knowing it. As example, in 1945 the lily leaf beetle entered the United States through Montreal. In 1992,  it entered through Boston. Today it covers most all lilium growing states east of the Rockies. In 2006 I found it here in Vermont.
#spottedlanternfly; #vtflowerfarm;#lilyleafbeetle;

Read on! Be aware!

http://www.gardencentermag.com/article/usda-funding-fights-spotted-lanternfly/?isid=NDc3MjMwMw%3d%3d


http://www.nurserymag.com/article/spotted-lanternfly-lycorma-delicatula


https://youtu.be/f1GHhfY7a4k

The Emerald Ash Borer

Tracking the Emerald Ash Borer

As a farmer, any kind of farmer, your time outside puts you in a position to see and feel the changing climate and the influences those changes  have on the crops you manage. Part of the change comes about with the advent of insects which were absent from your geography prior to the weather changing. In 2002, the emerald ash borer arrived in the US and since then it has had a serious and negative impact on the forestry industry. Attempts to eliminate it have involved widespread and total removal of ash trees from city landscapes. Here are some recent presentations on a continuum of approaches. If you find this insect in your landscape, secure a sample and notify your forestry department or Department of Agriculture. Send us a note too as we follow this insidious insect. #emeraldashborer; #climatechange; #vtflowerfarm;

https://entomologytoday.org/2018/02/09/emerald-ash-borer-cities-towns-prepare-invasion





George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Writing on Facebook as George Africa and as a Like Page Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens
On Twitter and various other social media platforms that cover gardening.

Always here to help you grow your green thumb!