Welcome Feathered Friends

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

On its way to 5 PM here on the mountain. Although the sun is not as warm as it was a couple hours ago, the thermometer reads 53.6 and that's fine by me. Alex and I just returned from a walk with Karl the wonder dog and I have about 20 minutes to let fly with some thoughts before stuffing a roasting chicken and getting a few vegetables ready for tonight. Gail is away this afternoon and I promised to have dinner ready between 6:30 and 7. So far we're all on target. We have welcomed the warmth of spring and I am particularly pleased that the snow plow hasn't moved in a couple weeks. Last year this time we were deep in snow and we needed a boost. Now things are looking better.

Last week I saw a couple more turkey vultures. These are the highway vacuum cleaners, the road kill clean up crew that does an excellent job picking things up and apart. They are also one of Alex's favorite birds but don't ask why. Robins that were infrequent are everywhere and this morning I almost inherited a woodcock window decoration when I headed down the last hill towards Route 2. I like woodcock and think of them as little vertical take off planes. Just like mourning doves, they refuse to move until you are right upon them. Then this afternoon on the way up the hill from work, a male bluebird flew across the road and into a tree. That color blue is difficult to describe and matches my enjoyment of the less frequent Indigo Bunting.

Color is clearly an "eye of the beholder" thing. Gail and Alex are blessed with this talent for color which is good for me because I always have a resource to consult. Last summer I also noticed that Michelle, who helps us in the summer, has a similar eye as she arranged some excellent displays down front that sold flowers for us. It's one of those "you have it or you don't" things and I guess I didn't make the grade. I can pick good flowers and plants though and lilies have been on my mind lately because a number of people at work have asked for advice about buying and planting them. This is really just another chapter in that old book Can I Plant My Easter Lily? but I feel part of my obligation as a plantsman is to share knowledge with others. Here are some thoughts and some pictures.


Way up top is a grouping of Scheherazade, a super Orienpet which has a petal border when it first opens that is almost gold even though it's really green. It's an easy plant to grow but more complicated for some to pronounce and most to spell. I am forever leaving out a letter here or there.

Next is Sorbonne, a nice pink with a special fragrance. If you can get it in sync with some Pacific Giant Delphiniums you have a nice combination that will bring lots of fine comments.

Oriana is another Oriental hybrid with lots of talent. The slight shine to the petals contrasts with the heavy pollen and the upward facing flower is nice. The pure white Siberia, below, is smaller than the ever popular Casa Blanca but nonetheless it fills the need for a workable white Oriental lily with fine fragrance and petals with plenty of substance.


Finally there is Shiraz, a slightly muted pink which heavy pollen accentuating the pink petals which flow nicely in heavy clusters. No fragrance with this one but mixed with just one Oriental stem and the bouquet or the garden takes on new interest.

Lilies are great plants and the colors guarantee a nice display on the sideboard or in the dining room. Tonight I wish I had a nice bouquet for Gail but the best we have is the red azalea, left from Easter but blooming as strong as every. Now for the chicken and fixin's

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond were three mourning doves just became five at the feeder. The magic of nature!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Cimicifugas Became Acteas

Sunday, March 30, 2008

A quarter of the moon is high over the tamaracks already on it's way to Montpelier, Camel's Hump and New York before it retires from sight until tonight. Following behind is the sun which hopefully will warm a 6 degree night into a nice day without wind for a change. Yesterday I took Alex to one of his programs in Jericho and at the base of the mountains in Underhill, the day had the personality of early January instead of "almost April". Not too nice!

We've had a series of family situations here at Vermont Flower Farm which have kept me away from many responsibilities. Gail's mother, Miriam, two weeks shy of 91 years old, has been very sick and has required Gail to be with her almost constantly. That need kind of rearranges life for other family members. Karl, the wonder dog, has been back to the "not too healthy" routine for a couple days so we have worries with him too. Fortunately Gail, Alex and I have been quite good, but tired through this. At times like these, I remind folks that lives, just like gardens, need a good plan. When you pass 50 years old, it's a very good time to sit back for a minute and figure out who's on first base and what's the plan to make it home.

I'm a contingency person, in the garden and in life. Everyone is not. It really is a good idea to think through what you will do with your parents as they need care. It's equally as important to consider each other and what happens if one of you falls ill and cannot continue on with the original plan. Many people chose to live by themselves and that poses even a different layer of challenges. I find that having a plan makes it easier to deal with unannounced challenges because you have had the opportunity to run things through your mind.

Gardeners and their gardens age together. Each year, gardeners write to listservs and ask for advice. They have spent years creating and collecting beautiful gardens and suddenly find that they can no longer continue on. It can be something as simple as the trip back and forth to the ground to plant or tend or weed that is just too painful a journey. What happens to the beauty of people or gardens may not be the same.

There isn't any book of answers here, just like Gail cannot turn to page 26 of Dealing With Mom With Compassion, to find a recommendation on handling her mother. There is no book by that title but if there was, people would turn to it I'm sure. The decisions are difficult. Sadly, sometimes gardens fall into the same category as old folks and there is a limited interest in being involved with them. Here at Vermont Flower Farm we have contingencies and just want you to think about yours too. It's good advice.

As if there's always time to get everything done, Gail returned home last night at 9:30 and almost before she finished with a snack, asked me how many cimicifugas we have for sale. This is the sign of too dedicated a gardener. I was struggling away at the new website and I do mean struggling. I had just finished writing the description for Hesperus, a great daylily from 1940 and I found it difficult to mentally switch gears to cimicifugas. But I did. Cimicifugas are high on my list just like Hesperus because they lend a strength to the garden people always look for.


When the conversation finished, we agreed that we had around 100 atropurpurea. These are the cultivar that eventually reach +9 feet tall even though most garden labels say "3 feet" We have about 20 Brunette, about the same number of James Compton and we have half a dozen Hillside Black Beauty that I really don't want to part with. Someplace here we have 40-50 Pink Spike which is another favorite.


Cimicifugas were reclassified a few years back and are now known as Actea. This is the same family as baneberry which some of you like. I've mentioned this before but continue to have difficulty making the name transition. Regardless of the name, these are great plants. Although they have a fairly shallow root system (above photo) it's a giant mass that holds tight to the ground. They do well in wet areas but seem to prosper on garden perimeters where half shade, thick organic matter and consistent moisture prevail. If you have visited Vermont Flower Farm before, you've had the opportunity to ask "What is that thing?" as we have a giant A. atropurpurea planted in full sun right next to the umbrella table we use as a check out. It will certainly exceed 10 feet this year!

To give you an example how A. atropurpurea fits into the garden, here are two shots I took at Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine last summer. Look to the right of the pine tree in the first photo and you'll see the white, bottle brush like bloom scapes. In the next photo you'll actually be looking through the scapes back towards the reception center there. This perimeter placement is an excellent use for these plants. If you are big on garden architecture, include these in your resource list.




The sun is rising and Gail just headed out to her mother's for the day. Alex is sleeping and Karl is stretched out in the sun on the floor next to the window. Looks like I am on my own for a while. Hope you have a nice day. All gardeners that read this don't have to wait for 3 feet to snow to melt before they can get excited. We still do!



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where two red squirrels sit on the snow drift outside my window, front paws grasped together, waiting with great patience for me to get out there with more sunflower for the bird feeder. Praying squirrels??? Have to go........


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
who is still reworking the VFF website, juggling family matters and trying to write at
Vermont Gardens once in while too. Today is a good day to think about placing an order!

Spring has a Weak Spring

Saturday, March 22, 2008

A cold morning here on the mountain. 8 degrees and sunny. Karl the wonder dog decided it was too cold for him and he ran back to the house and dug his way under the bed quilt to go back to sleep. It has been quite a week here and the past three days have brought high winds and snow. Thursday there was wet snow and ice and I decided to plow when I returned home from work. An hour and a half later I felt like I had been riding in a tank. Yesterday morning I rose at 4:30 to plow again. The news said we received 6 inches of new snow but one couldn't tell because the wind made deep drifts everywhere that had any hollow to it. When I finished that work I couldn't get the plow off the truck and according to Alex "too many expletives" were obvious. I call it "self-talk". The slush from the night before had welded the plow to the frame and separating the two was not fun.

Today the temperature is supposed to rise into the thirties but that's still a far cry from real spring weather. If the earth has some internal spring mechanism, then it must have weakened a bit over the years because it's going to be a while before things warm up and the snow melts. Down the road less than a mile the road is reduced to one lane with large drifts so high across the field that even the grader had trouble winging back the snow. If my friend Eric from Massachusetts is reading, I guess I better share the disappointing fact with him and others that spring will not be coming to this part of Vermont all that soon. Eric has a camp at a great spot in Groton but right now I'll bet there is 7-8 feet of snow in front of the drive and another 4 feet through the sag and into the field.

Lots of folks are tending some assortment of seedlings planted sometime around the end of February, first of March. Town Meeting Day in Vermont, the first Tuesday in March, is the typical "plant the tomato seeds" date. Others plant eggplant, peppers and annual seeds. My friend Bob in Iowa plants hosta seeds before the year changes so that by now he is culling tens of thousands of tiny plants, as he looks for the hosta with the most promise. I always get as far as collecting the hosta seeds but that's about where it ends.

We tend to be magazine and book readers more than seed starters. Two magazines I enjoy are
People, Places and Plants and Vermont Magazine. PPP comes from Maine but it is a compilation of stories about gardens and nurseries in New England and upstate New York. Many people think New York is part of New England but that's just not true. VM is a magazine from down Middlebury way as I recall. Kate Carter does annual garden articles for them and she does a fine job. Kate has also written two books I use a lot, Wildflowers of Vermont and Shrubs and Vines of Vermont. These are little pocket sized volumes which make you want to insure you have them before you head out into the field.





In the current issues of each, PPP has some nice information about the hottest new annuals and shrubs and Vermont Magazine talks about shade plants and perennials and mentions our friends at Cross View Gardens in Morrisville, VT.

I belong to the Garden Writers Association and they just released a report finished this February on what people say they will grow this summer. You wouldn't have to be too together to figure that people would be thinking about planting vegetables, what with the economy and all. I was surprised how many people said they would work on their lawns and develop some more with perennials and shrubs. Obviously there have been a number of economic changes in the past month but despite the woes we face, people seem to find time to garden. I suspect that if there is less travel this year, people will have a chance to reflect upon their landscapes for a change and might well want to spend a couple bucks fixing up what they sped by in haste the past few years. With several acres of new nursery down the road 5 miles, Gail and I sure hope that's true.

Right now I have to get back to a report on autism I'm working on. I might finally get into the basement today to build a few birdhouses too. The house at the top (scroll up folks) was a gift about 6-7 years ago. The wood is splitting but nonetheless I saw a chickadee go in there yesterday. It has had multiple hatches since the first year it went up and all were chickadees. I want to concentrate on bluebird houses for the new property because of the surrounding fields. If all else fails we'll have tree swallows which are also good insect eaters. Time will tell.

Gotta' go. Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a small flock of geese just honked by. They're looking for open water but I think they should head back south for a bit.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
also writes at Vermont Gardens
and tries to sell flowers and lure customers to Vermont Flower Farm

Hot Peppers, Cold Night

Monday, March 10, 2008

5:45 PM and I haven't begun to adjust to daylight savings time yet. It's so nice to have sunlight, especially in late afternoon for trips down ice laden walks and down the road with Karl the wonder dog pulling after hyperactive red squirrels and slow-to-fly mourning doves confused by evening. I'm tired today from fighting off a virus and too many consecutive hours on the computer at work. I'd rather have physical tiredness from a garden hoe than eye strain and a mind that can't shift past first gear.

Since the snow did not leave this weekend despite inches of pounding rain, temperatures in the forties and strong winds, we are left with only a mental journey into spring. To me there's nothing like fresh garden vegetables and although it's a long time until garden produce will be ready from Vermont soil, we can dream.

As I was just looking for some zinnia pictures I had stored who knows where on distant external drive "k", I came upon some pictures I took years back of a pepper project Alex had going. I can't remember now what the exact story was but he had a few of this and a few of that and it was the summer of drought and high temps in August and the peppers did well. They did very well! We had bowls of peppers in the kitchen all winter and strings hanging here and there that lasted until one dropped to the floor and then Karl grabbed a mouthful of Thai hots and some other fairly mild pepper that still made him talk nasty dog talk for a while. In the interest of good dog health, the strings of pepper were relocated to Never Land and we made it to the next planting season.

Thoughts of vegetables made me think about community supported agriculture farms and how great they have been for many. We have one in each direction and although we don't belong to either, I can recommend both with the highest of recommendations. Just looking at their websites make me feel good and the social and educational relationships they cultivate are equally as rewarding as the baskets of fruit and vegetables you take home every week.

Down the road from here is Wellspring Farm CSA We have had the opportunity to watch this farm grow from the very first year when Mimi and Parker stopped by here to introduce themselves. They have done a great job marketing their CSA, and their website is fun to look at. At the end of each year they have a members party and they record the festivities on their site. This past year they added a video that's fun too. One thing I like is an agriculture poster they found somewhere which mentions homeland security. There is no doubt that locally produced food is our real security and there's nothing better. Neat thought and a good reminder to why CSAs are the way to go.

On the other side of us, as in beyond Peacham Pond two or three mountains and a couple valleys is Old Shaw Farm and their Down on the Farm website. I've been reading this one almost since it started and this CSA is growing just like the two kids. Peter and Maryellen chronicle the events in a very nice blog with good pictures of their kids and farm and some good sounding recipes.

Finally there is Walt Jeffries well known blog, Sugar Mountain Farm. I have been reading this since we began home schooling Alex. I was going to add the link here for a long time and just never got that far. Walt wrote the other day inquiring about agricultural greenhouse structures for raising animals and that encouraged me to get with the program. Since pigs have always been one of Alex's favorite animals, he enjoys the blog too. Today we learned how to estimate the weight of a grown pig. The instructions are easy to follow but I sure would like to be standing there with a video camera watching someone wrap a string or measuring tape around a sow's belly to get the girth measurement. Click on "estimate" and see what you think!

There's still a bunch of winter left but it's not too early to think about spring and insure that you have a good garden plan and either have your seeds lined up or a source for plants. I have one order left to place myself with Johnny's Selected Seeds, Albion and Winslow, Maine. This company has been around since 1973 and it's one of the best.

One last thing. If you find a good source for Russian Banana fingerling seed potatoes, drop me a line. This is a seriously delightful potato and I haven't planted any for a couple years. Try some and you'll know why I'm looking.

A second "last" thing:

"Don't waste time trying to teach a pig to sing. It wastes time and it annoys the pig."



From the mountain about Peacham Pond where Gail just left with a neighbor for a basketball game in Danville and I'm left with dinner duty and a sink full of dishes left from....where?

Good gardening thoughts.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
and don't forget Vermont Gardens
or Vermont Flower Farm

Windy At 1530 Feet

Sunday, March 9, 2008

A breezy morning here at Vermont Flowerless Farm. We're at 1530 feet elevation and the wind has had no problem blowing us silly for the past 24 hours. We have no idea how much rain we received but as we repeatedly tried to get to sleep last night, it continued to pound the roof and house. It was 14 degrees at 5:30 this morning, a drop of more than 30 degrees since yesterday afternoon. The large drops of snow in Ohio, Kentucky, and western New York never made it here but we did receive a couple inches of snow on top of glare ice at breakfast time which made walking Karl the wonder dog a difficult feat for his feet and mine!

Alex and I drove to Cabot today for some groceries and a paper. Route 215 across the Cabot flats was wind blown snow and visibility was tough in places. As we passed the three nursery businesses along that route I somehow was reminded of our first spring here in Marshfield. That

year Gail's father planted his peas, a very important ritual to him, on April 1 st. That was the first and only year the snow was gone and it was warm enough to plant since we moved here almost 20 years ago.

Today is a different story. I know that maple syrup producers join me in wishing the snow would drop quickly and they could prepare for the their involvement in one of Vermont's shortest but most important businesses. The snow is deep in the woods, even after yesterday's heavy rains, and pipelines are still buried in many places and hanging buckets in others will be a chore done on snowshoes, with heavy breathing and aches and pains.

Despite the snow, I can always remind myself of flowers that we have come to enjoy so much. Last night I was scanning pictures of gloriosa daisies and I came upon a few lily pictures that I liked. Lilies were one of the flowers that we started to grow and study when we operated Vermont Herb and Flower Farm in Shelburne, Vermont many, many years ago. Times have come and gone in terms of popularity and availability with this bulb crop but I'll always enjoy them, even if we do not grow them in vast numbers as in the past. This one just below here is Cannes, an Asiatic, followed by Acapulco, a great Oriental lily with large flowers and a nice fragrance.



Next are a nice 5 foot tall yellow lancifolium, a beautiful Orienpet (oriental-trumpet cross) named Smokey Mountain from The Lily Garden, and a longiflorum Asiatic cross named Golden Torch. These are all sleeping nicely under snow someplace but are lilies to consider this year if you enjoy bulbs. We are not going to grow lilies this year as we make the change to our new location, but the ones I mention are available on line. Previous writing I've done here on The Vermont Gardener and also on Vermont Gardens mentions some of the problems with the lily leaf beetle and fungus among lilies. Just the same, they sure are a nice complement to any garden!



So as daylight savings time has me operating at a different time, best wishes for what's left of the weekend. If you venture out, remember Karl and walk safely, not quickly, as there's lots of ice out there. And if all else fails, try a flower catalog, book or garden show this afternoon.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where two Green Mountain Power Company trucks were camped out for part of this morning, apparently waiting for yet another call to repair a line taken down by wind and tree limbs.......

Best Sunday wishes,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
also at Vermont Gardens
and selling plants on-line at Vermont Flower Farm

Watering Cans and Deep Snow

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Almost 6:30 here at Vermont Flowerless Farm. The sky is gray and light granular snow has been falling for several hours. It's 16 degrees and at least the high winds of last night until 1 this morning have stopped and the weather front that will deliver snow is right over us. Last night's weather forecast said a chance of five inches but it's difficult to tell. Alex and I leave in an hour for Jericho so I wanted to get up and see if plowing was necessary. I care less about our place on the weekend than Gail's mother's house. 91 year olds have an infinity for ambulances and fast driving cars with red flashing lights so I try to keep things opened up for that group of visitors. We are beginning to learn too many names so that's an indication of the need to keep the road open.

A couple days back I was in the cellar trying to sort out last fall's onslaught of gear which makes its way into the cellar each fall, care of a well intentioned gardener who dreams of well kept wooden handles and engines that run on the first pull. This year has been worse than many and the pile is still a pile. As I worked through widening the paths and getting things sorted, I glanced at some of the watering cans I have collected. They are not all garden watering cans but they are metal so they represent a time that has passed. Most except the very expensive English reproductions are made of plastic now and these older ones grasp the past that some younger gardeners do not even remember.

One metal can could be found at every garage in America as it was used to fill radiators in the "pre-antifreeze, use-water-in-summer" days. It has a long neck and a flange to set in the top of the radiator. Those cans required a person with bulging muscles and stamina to hold three gallons of water straight out in the air while the radiator filled to overflowing.

One watering can needed a little reconstruction with a ball peen hammer as it's history obviously had included a frozen period of disrespect. The others are just worn but they probably have good garden stories to tell if they could talk. I can remember my dad always used one to wash out the cavity of newly dressed farm animals and deer before bringing them inside to drip and be butchered.

There's no need for watering cans today as the gardens are covered with a good three feet of snow and in most places it has piled more than five feet deep. The New Holland 30 horse tractor that joined us last summer has a reach of 11.5 feet. The snow has presented challenges for the tractor and the operator as this year has presented more snow than any time we have been here in Marshfield.

If you are out an about between now and spring gardening time, drop in to a few antique malls or indoor flea markets and pick up an old watering can or two. They are not cheap and are not that prevalent. Placed anywhere in your garden, the watering cans will look like a gardener stopped to think as gardeners do. "Anyplace" with a watering can is never "out of place" in your garden.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl the wonder dog went in and out with the speed of the guy with the red shirt and the big "S" and I can hear ice fishermen on the pond drilling holes in three foot thick ice in their pursuit of record brown trout and bragging rights among their peers.

Good garden thoughts to all,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Gardens Another good blog
Vermont Flower Farm Our website, fully functional but under reconstruction

Kind Comments

Friday, February 15, 2008

I returned home to a quiet house this afternoon. Karl the wonder dog, was happy to see me and there was a sandwich in the fridge for a snack. The answering machine light was blinking but Karl wanted to go out and I had some packages to bring in. When I got back to the message it was unusual but welcomed. It was a message from a woman in Michigan who thought my Vermont Gardener blog on June 17 was very nice.

I couldn't even remember the events of June let alone something I had written then. I had to go back to find it. I had titled it "Two Friends". As soon as I started reading the first paragraph I remembered the day well.

Take a look: http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com/2007/06/two-friends.html



This is the start of President's Weekend and the news reports that the number one travel destination in the US is New York City followed by Las Vegas. Just so you understand my place in life, I will be traveling to Cabot, Vermont tomorrow to get some milk and eggs and to East Montpelier if the hardware store in Cabot doesn't have the 14 quart bucket I want. No NYC or Las Vegas for the Vermont Gardener! Until then......

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where limited stars light the sky as the temperature continues to fall. Below zero readings are predicted for daybreak but the woodstove will keep us warm.

Be well!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens

Garden Romance

Valentine's Day 2008

Today is a classic red day like the red Asiatic lilies pictured above. It's Valentines Day and a day to remember, not a day to forget. Here at Vermont Flower Farm things are in their usual upside down winter state. I just got home from work and Gail and Alex just returned from Burlington. We could have used one of those wizard's wands you see on television cartoon shows where a little flick here and there and things fall into place. We don't have one.

The groceries are in, Karl the wonder dog has been out, Alex already grabbed a snack and his new book and is squirreled away in his room reading and Gail is mixing up some sauce for the shrimp. I have the woodstove cleaned out and will get it going in a few more minutes. There are eleventy seven other things to do but I have to let readers know The Vermont Gardener has been busy...and it's Valentines Day!

The woods are pretty as the trees hold the latest snow and ice and glistened in today's sun. It's getting darker now but today's peace is very much unlike last year's 46 inches of snow in two days that closed down Vermont and drove florists looking for cliffs to jump off. This year has been different and travel today was much easier. Hopefully you visited your florist and helped make up for last year. If you live locally and know you messed up, stop by our friend, Jerome the Florist, North Main Street, Barre first thing tomorrow morning and he'll help you out. Guaranteed!

Many of the flowers that I really enjoy are not even available on Valentines Day. Fresh roses that are so very expensive often actually come from South America although there are a few American companies that produce fine product. Potted plants are popular with me. I like pink or white cyclamen, red azaleas, or tulips. Cut flowers are also nice and a spring type mix heavy on iris, tulips and daffodils makes me happy. Gail agrees.

One perennial that is a great cut flower is one which is enjoying dormancy right now. Dicentra. Bleeding Heart. Long about the first week of May here at Vermont Flower Farm they bust through the ground and then stop to catch their breath. They raise questions of "What's that?"among visitors who stop to see how we made it through the winter. Fortunately, they grow quickly and by the end of the month they are looking bright and sophisticated.



Later in the summer there are lilies that remind me of the cold days of February and the Valentines Day that passed. A couple Oriental lilies that bloom in late July/early August but could be Valentine flowers are named Kiss Proof and Hot Lips. I know these are good ice




breakers because I once gave a talk to a garden club where the average age of the 50 or so ladies and one church janitor was about 68. Even the janitor's yellow lab was white with age. When I got to Kiss Proof they giggled and when I got to Hot Lips the laughter even made me redden up. I could have made 51 sales that day if only I had thought about bringing some Hot Lips.

As for you this late on Valentines Day, just one kiss, just one "thank you for being you", just one handmade card or homemade poem might do the trick.


Happy Valentine's Day from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the salmon is about ready.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
Vermont Gardens A popular site to check when The Vermont Gardener forgets which
blog he is supposed to be writing

Peonies Have Personality

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Already almost 11:30 AM here on the hill but I'm knocking things off today's list one at a time and it looks like I'll be back to my favorite sport, income tax preparation, right after lunch. It's a quiet morning here with few ice fisherman heading for the pond and little traffic since the town plow took 2 inches of fluff off the road at about 5:30. Gail and Alex are geting ready to head for Burlington so Karl the wonder dog and I should have some "wonderful" silence in an hour or so.



With three feet of snow on the ground, more in the woods, freezing rain coming Tuesday and more snow from the west by Thursday night, it's probably difficult for some to think about peonies. I know I am not alone in thinking peony thoughts because another customer wrote yesterday asking if we had three more Top Brass to finish along his stone wall garden in Lyndonville.

We grow peonies and Gail and I continue to have two-person peony wars. I want to move all our peonies to our new site and she doesn't want to see a plant growing there that we don't have available for ready sale. Ever see Danny Divito's 1989 movie TheWar of the Roses with Kathleen Turner? I hope this peony thing does not get that far along!

Peonies have long been a favorite with me. I can't recall why. I remember them as a kid at the old Townsend Farm down the hill from where we lived in Woodstock. I also recall half a dozen varieties that customers gave to my father when he was a house painter. I know as a kid I also tried to figure out the absurd ant-peony relationship which continues today as an exercise in misinformation. Just the same I don't remember where exactly my love for these flowers began.


Spring in Vermont is a ways away but being able to see peonies push through the ground and jump skyward will be a welcome sight. These are Vermont hardy plants which need consideration when they are planted. I've written about them many times before and planting information is readily available on the web if you have forgotten my words. The American Peony Society just did their website over and it's a great place to start looking for information. The


site officers some international links and includes some members who operate retail and wholesale with many doing mail order too. Rick Rogers of Brothers Herbs and Peonies in Sherwood, Oregon has some special peonies for sale, with tree peonies being his favorite. With Alan Rogers (wrote Peonies, by Timber Press 1995, 1996, 1998) his father, you can understand where the genetics of understanding good peonies derived.

Don Hollingsworth grows more-than-great peonies! He has a website and a newsletter catalog with peonies you might not find easily. Reaths Nursery located in Vulcan, Michigan comes to mind too but there are others if you ask around. Here in Vermont we had the luxury of being able to visit one of the world's (that's right!) largest peony collections. Countryman Peonies located in Roxbury, Vermont just south of Northfield was the collection of Bill Countryman. He passed away three summers ago this coming peony season and his family continued the business as of last year. I didn't get a chance to visit so I can't say what the plans are for this summer. They do not have a website.

Over the years Gail buys 2-3-4 new varieties about every year. These are supposed to be a gift to me until she decides they are "hers" or perhaps they should be sold to someone she can't say "no" to. I wanted to move the entire collection to the new location so visitors could see what is out there. Our little peony nursery here at the house is down in the lower field and to get there you have to go through the hosta garden. When they are in bloom it's not the handiest place to get to so many visitors never get to see them. Anyway, The War of the Peonies continues but with peonies such as Peppermint or Crusader (pictured immediately below) you can see why I enjoy them. These flowers have great personality and despite 4 or 5 weeks of bloom, they almost bring tears when the final petals drop on the last one.





If you have a minute today, start with the American Peony Society site and go from there. Our Vermont Flower Farm site has a page about peonies too. With a little bit of reading and a few pictures, you might be hooked like me!



From the mountain above Peacham Pond where the trout must have stopped biting as the early morning fishermen are exiting.


Winter gardening wishes,

George Africa
The Peony Warrior


http://vermontflowerfarm.com

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My Friends, Hemerocallis

Saturday, January 19, 2008

A cold, clear morning here on the hill. It was one below when I got up at 5 and it's only moved up to three degrees above zero here at 7:30 AM. The sky above Peacham Pond is red suggesting the two fronts which are moving this way. Tonight is supposed to be 15-20 below zero. B-r-r-r-r!

Karl the wonder dog has already been out for a quick walk and now he is barking at a roving dog. He is very territorial and if he thinks he is being intruded upon, he lets the world know. It's nice to see that he is returning to his old self although I can't say I am enamored by early barking.

I want to finish up some thoughts on daylilies, one of our favorite flowers, by mentioning a few more and then talking about resources. As I have said, you don't have to spend a lot of money putting together a nice daylily garden. They work well with most perennials and don't require a lot of work. This one is Posh Design. It's not more than a couple feet tall but the 5 inch peach-rose blooms have lots of potential to combine in various settings.

Ruffled Valentine is now a thirty year old plant, first released by Gilbert Wild in 1977. The velvety red with a small yellow throat confirm many garden possibilities and it's inexpensive, multiplies well and just plain looks nice. Alex included this one in his collection many years ago and Gail and I can see why he chose it.

Up at the top of the page is Red Ribbons which was released in 1964. It's in the four foot tall range. The combination yellow-green throat on an 8"-9" flower makes it a stand out. Pricing has gone up instead of down over the years but this is a worthy addition to your garden. It's an evergreen type so late season frosts and early spring freeze-thaw cycles might make you wonder if you'll ever see it again but it actually does very well here.

Since there are thousands of daylilies, there are hundreds upon hundreds of growers and websites. We belong to three daylily listservs although many others exist. Basically there is only so much you can read and there's little sense belonging to a group if all you do is push "delete" all the time. Lately I have been doing a lot of deleting and less reading as it's income tax time and I have to get that responsibility out of the way.

There are two listservs from Yahoo Groups that I recommend. One is the daylily-spider list and the other is the daylily image list. If you sign up for a Yahoo account, you can go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/daylily-spider or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DL_Images and sign up.

There is a list on the ICORS listserv that is maintained for hemerocallis growers and members of the American Hemerocallis Society. Just go to the ICORS list and scroll down to Daylilies and enroll from there.

There are many websites available which recommend other daylily grower sites. My favorite is Charlotte's Daylily Diary 2008. Charlotte lives in Quebec but just over the Vermont border so I am partial to good neighbors to start with. Her site is a treasure, is regularly updated, and has a Garden of the Week section which is very good.

Not nearly enough folks want to take the step from being interested in a specific plant to actually joining the national or international society which studies and promotes it. I wish that was not true. We belong to a dozen societies and can't say enough about the benefits. The American Hemerocallis Society is about $20 a year and includes quarterly journals such as this one from 2004. This particular issue featured Ruby Spider and I was interested in learning more about a plant that gardeners want to buy faster than I have been growing it.


Time is flying this morning and Karl has reminded me it's time to go get the paper. Hope you'll give daylilies a thought and of course, take a look at our outdated, soon-to-be updated site Vermont Flower Farm and see what we grow.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where I just missed a great picture of a red squirrel and a hairy woodpecker on the feeder at the same time.

Saturday greetings,

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Taxing Snowfalls

Friday, January 18, 2008

A snowy morning here on the mountain. The temperature has been a constant 26 since about 5:30 AM and the snow has fallen in and out of misty fine snow that almost looks like fog varying to thick, heavy flakes. At some point the storm is supposed to pass and by late afternoon the sun will appear. Then the temperatures will begin dropping until a projected minus 20 degrees come Sunday night. The birds are just appearing at the feeder. I thought their delay might be weather related until a sonic hawk shot past the window after a mourning dove. I'm glad I didn't witness the conclusion.

It's been quite a week here at the flowerless farm. Karl the wonder dog is usually a strong, Superman-like being with great auditory attention to man or beast of any number of legs or wings. Unfortunately, just like Superman's susceptibility to kryptonite, Karl the wonder dog can fall sick to the perils of inappropriate consumptory behavior. That translates to eating something he shouldn't have.

Karl, in his canine opinion, is "this" man's best friend. No matter how late I return home from work at night, he shoots like a gazelle running on ball bearings to the back door to greet me. Monday night's greeting was different. His ears and tail were drooping and his speed was reduced to an obviously painful "drag-the-body" movement. Gail said he was sick and she was concerned.

We had supper and kept an eye on Karl but he seemed to be heading to a land we didn't like to think about. His breathing varied and his nose was Sahara-like. By almost 9 Gail said enough is enough and she called our vet.

We've always treated our animals as ourselves and excepting the fact they aren't on our CIGNA health plan, they get the very best. Trouble was our super vet had been replaced for the evening by an associate on call and this meant we had to travel down past McIndoe Falls, Vermont, in a snow storm, some 38 miles south of here. We ended up at almost 10 PM at the Ryegate Small Animal Hospital where Jill had all the lights on and was ready for one sick dog.

The details since then are less important than the fact that Karl is slowly regaining some of his "wonderful" traits and probably in another week he will have remastered his unpopularity with me. Right now I continue to love him a lot and still feel very sorry for his courtship with death.

Having animals is a tremendous responsibility and we can't forget that. Kind of like making the decision to manage a business. Vermont Flower Farm is another of our pets and right now I am well into the annual IRS/tax shuffle. I promised to write something about taxes at our other site Vermont Gardens and I have to get on with that. In the meantime I want to continue with thoughts of daylilies.

Daylilies are flowers that do well in Vermont and they are low maintenance if planted correctly. They come in many colors and bloom time, so much so as to make gardeners smile. They also work so well in combination with other perennials and annuals that you can paint a garden picture with a shovel and a few bucks.

I have said before that Gail likes older daylilies but really she likes most any daylily excepting those with the fatter edges that some associate with the term "chicken fat". That's about as good a description as you can get but it needs a little work in today's marketing world.

The purple daylily pictured above is Grape Velvet. This is an example of what Gail likes: a good grower in a scape range of 26"-28" with a decent bud count and an ease of matching with other colors. Some would say "no great shakes" but the number of gardeners who want to buy one always keeps us thinking about production levels. It's very popular!

The golden daylily pictured next is Golden Whistle, It's a Gilbert Wild daylily from 1983. It blooms a well substanced, fragrant flower on a 34"-36" scape. I put it in the category of those 5"-6" diameter flowers that do well planted in a border distant from the house where you maintain an evening vantage point that needs some eye catchers.

Ethel Barfield Smith is described as "peach banded rose" which is fitting for this 30" tall flower that's been around for over 30 years. I picked it out of a gathering of potted daylilies at a northern Vermont nursery a couple years ago as a present for Gail. She really doesn't like it but I know that Winnie and Michelle who work with us have both commented positively on it. Maybe I'll fix Gail's goose and give each of them a piece of it this spring!

Way at the top where I started all this rambling is El Desperado, another great daylily. I like this one because the dark stamens stand out so well against the two tones. Some don't care for the dark mustard color but to me the purple-wine throat enhances this later blooming flower.

If you get a chance, take a look at the American Hemerocallis Society site. You'll find lots of resources and plenty of ideas to get you excited about trying this plant. Oh yes, and if you are traveling through Vermont along the Connecticut River and you need a great vet, give Jill a call at the Ryegate Small Animal Hospital, 54 Moore Lane, Ryegate, Vt 05042 802-633-3660. Our usual vet is Stan Pekala, Danville Animal Hospital, Danville, Vt 802-684-2284


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where large snowflakes add to the snow that blankets our dayilies, and spoiled blue jays share cracked corn and bird stories at breakfast.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
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