Green Manures

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A windy day here on the mountain. The rain has finally stopped and I won't know the actual accumulation until I check the gauge at the nursery. Five gallon buckets I use to move around plants during transplanting time are filled with various amounts of water but it appears to have been quite a drop. The wind is blowing strong enough that the electric fence surrounding the bee hive is humming an odd tune I haven't heard before. Phoebes, small, brown, insect eating birds have been at the house all summer and right now they are cleaning up dead honey bees that other bees carried out of the hive since yesterday. Critter life will begin to pick up this morning now that the rain has stopped.

This time of year I clean up gardens and sometimes I make new gardens. If there is nothing to replant in an old garden, I try to use green manures to beef up the organic content of the soil. There are many green crops that gardeners use but I have always liked buckwheat over the various wheats and some of the more coarse grasses. Up top is a picture of one patch that is currently in bloom while the picture directly above here shows a seeding just 5 days out from planting.

Passersby often stop to ask about the timeline between preparing new soil and getting a new crop under way. They also ask about eliminating weeds over big areas to start vegetable gardens. This process takes time and the gardener must be vigilant to weed growth no matter what format is used.

Designating a new garden patch is the easy part but eliminating the weeds takes some work. One method is to cover the entire area with construction type poly plastic and wait for the sun and heat to kill the weeds. Clear plastic allows the sun to penetrate and burns the weeds quicker while black plastic holds the heat in more and has a better chance of killing weed seeds. Black plastic does not decompose as fast so it is a better investment if you need to reuse the plastic again.

An alternative is a spray-on herbicide that will kill all growing weeds in a couple-three weeks. One of these that works well is Green Match which is a 50% lemon grass product that is NOFA certified. It is non selective so what you spray is what will be missing in a few weeks. There is no residual impact and there are fewer application issues such as when using Round Up type chemical products which do the trick but carry widespread implications to the surroundings and possibly the applicator. There is plenty of info available on-line about safer sprays if you Google up "Green Match weed killer"

Applications of any product kill the growing weeds and do not do anything for the seeds so do not be disappointed if a really nice looking garden becomes a mass of weeds again in a couple years. Continuous weeding and cultivation is needed and you can have a quick problem again if you don't keep at the weeds. Last year's floods gave me big headaches because the gardens that I finally had under control were new homes to weeds I hadn't even seen before. Since some weed plants can produce a bazillion seeds in a year, it's important to be very observant and never let things get out of control. With larger gardens like our 5 acres where there are only two of us to maintain everything, weeds are a big issue.


As fall approaches, leaves are readily available. Avoid leaves such as oak, butternut or walnut which have high levels of tannic acid. To me, maple leaves are the best because they break down quickly and contain some important elements from deep in the soil.

Regardless of how you work the soil, think about what you add and what you subtract and do an occasional soil test to confirm how you are doing. State agriculture departments and extension services are always helpful and Master Gardeners can always help too.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a hen turkey is passing by right now with eight kids. They look a little soggy but they are enjoying a buffet of grass seeds in the field.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
At VFF we always help you grow your green thumb!

9-11

2001 Memories

Just in from walking Karl the Wonder Dog. My first morning walk with him since returning with Gail and Alex from a vacation in Maine. Karl was pleased with the walk and the smells which result from falling temperatures and the critters of the fields and woods. As we walked, we could hear a local logger loading trucks that will head out shortly for mills in Maine. Vermont mills are limited now and I guess better prices come from hauling the logs out of state. We also heard the call of an owl. I do not know the call for sure as it was a single, quick whoo-o-o-o which might be the seldom used call of the barred owl.

911 is a memory that returns to me all the time. I know that not a week goes by but what I think about the events and everything that has transpired since. I left that day to go to Maine to buy some plants for the nursery. It probably seems odd to be buying plants at the end of a growing season but come Labor Day when things slow at the nursery, I find a need for a brief rest after working seven days a week since spring. It might seem more odd that on a day off I would be on the road before 4 AM but I had an appointment at 9:30 outside of Belfast and that's a haul from Vermont. I knew I had school buses to contend with and some unknown roads so that was my rationale for heading out so early.

My first visit was with a hosta grower who I had never met. He had a great reputation among my friends and I knew I would enjoy meeting him. As I arrived and shook his hand, there was something very strange about the welcome, something missing, almost as if it was not real. When I go on trips or vacations, I enjoy peace, and quiet is important to me so I avoid listening to the radio in the truck and avoid newspapers and any form of media. I had no idea what was happening in the world. The man introduced me to where things were located and he went back into the house as I meandered around, puzzled by his behavior, his cold salutation, his quick departure.

I got hung up looking at various gingers that I liked and spent some time with a variety of hepaticas and other wildflowers and then started picking hostas and other plants to purchase. The man's wife joined me in one of the shade houses and mentioned how terrible the events were. It was not until then that I understood what was happening. Their daughter worked at the Pentagon and there was no answer on her cell phone or work phone. The gravity of the situation had a different emotion to it and I shared my concern. My mind raced with thoughts of what happened and I felt a strange burden I could not explain. I continued on with my buying for another hour and by the time I had reached my limit, my host came back and explained the situation and said with obvious relief that he had just heard from his daughter and she was safe. I was greatly relieved too.

I headed cross country with a set of directions that was guaranteed to get me to my next destination on time. I was looking for a daylily grower in a tiny town away from the coast. By the time I arrived it was after three and I had kept an ear to the radio for a few hours. The grower's season was ending that day and his eagerness to close was even more intense due to a desire to get home to the latest news. I wished to spend more time but it was obvious that my purchases were less than important than the events of the world. I paid up, expressed thanks and hopes for safety, and I headed south to a hotel reservation.

That day was a long time ago but the memories have been repeated often and their intensity has grown. Yes, I am a gardener and I take great pride in what I do and the products that I sell. But I think often about our world and how it has changed since my earlier days. Much of what has transpired is confusing and although I continue to seek answers, I sometimes find a greater abundance of questions. Often I return to a quote attributed to Minnie Aumonier. "When the world wearies and ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden." Often we ask "why?" but there is no answer. The garden is a place to think and wait for answers.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the air is damp, the sky still lit with a slice of moon and a number of stars. The stars will extinguish soon but my thoughts of the past will continue.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And at the nursery where we always offer to help you grow your green thumb!

Daylilies: Dividing and Lining Out

Sunday, August 26, 2012

A nice looking morning here on the mountain. Just in from a walk with Karl the Wonder Dog who exhibited extreme displeasure by the sound of coyotes along the treeline just out back. It was not one or two but a pack and some of the older ones have voices that make you ask how big they are. I really need to set up the game cameras and get some pictures to show folks what neighbors we have here. The State wildlife folks don't say much about the impact on our deer heard but if you take a closer look at what is going on, the absence of deer is more clear.

I have been busy digging and dividing daylilies every day. The lack of rain has made this a bigger chore than it usually is as our clay based soils are like concrete in places and I have to use all my weight on the shovel point to penetrate the ground and break clumps free. Here is a picture of a very nice purple daylily named Houdini. I dug out two rows of eight plants each.

Once I get the clumps out of the ground I begin cutting them up and pulling off all the spent leaves and scapes. I cut the clump in half with a cheap Wally World buck-a-piece knife and then continue to break up the pieces until I get down to planting size.


When I am finished I have pieces that will fit in a 6 quart plant pot and a bunch of odds and ends to line out in the garden for sales next summer. We like to have a big piece going into every pot so that at sale time there are 3-4-5 scapes on the plants. We always reserve one big plant to put in a 20 gallon pot to serve as display so customers can see what they will have in a three years time. When everything is plantd, in pots or in the ground, I spray with horticultural oil to suffocate any insect eggs or diseases that may be left. It only takes a minute and is very time and cost effective.

Daylilies can be divided at any time of year but this time works for us as sales begin to diminish and we have more uninterrupted time. Yesterday Alex and I went to Burlington until 3:30 and came back to quiet at the nursery. I told Gail to head home and said I'd take care of the planting but before I knew it I had 11 customers wanting daylilies, astilbes, cimicifugas and rudbeckias. I'm heading out in a few minutes to get back to what I was thinking I could do yesterday.

If you want to see how this is done and need your confidence built a bit, stop by and ask me to show you how. It's not difficult, doesn't hurt the plants at all and it makes for better plants on into the future.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where today marks my son Alex's 20th birthday. I am very proud of Alex and the way he and Gail and I have learned about autism over these past years. Twenty years ago autism was hardly mentioned and the incidence was one in 5000 births. Today the incidence differs by country but with boys in America we are at about one in 85 births. Something to think about as every family will someone be touched by this sometime soon.

Heh, I have to get going! Have a nice day and stop by if you're out and about.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens (Like) and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Fire King and Others

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Ever so busy this morning. A beautiful day here on the mountain with fog in the valleys but bright sun rising to the tune of loons calling at Peacham Pond and the Reservoir. The honey bees are noisy but not so happy as I just disrupted their morning thoughts by adding more frames to the the hive. They continue to make honey like I cannot believe and are finding a great supply of goldenrod and Joe Pye weed out and about.

At the flower farm the heat of the summer has made daylilies bloom at odd times. Just the same we have many still blooming and 6 is good shape. The Jury Is Out has just started as have Autumn Daffodil and Autumn Gold. Challenger, now at about 6 feet tall, is half through the bloom cycle and looks great. Fire King is half bloomed too and this is one to grab if you don't have it in your collection yet. I love it! Pictured up top. Butterscotch Harvest is still setting buds and is later.

I have to get going as worker bee Michelle arrives at 8 and she is unlike some workers as she is always ahead of time. Gotta scoot! Come visit.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Chicago Fire

Monday, August 13, 2012

Quiet, clear, 56°, with a heavy dew on everything. Almost 6 AM and Gail just took her turn taking Karl the Wonder Dog for a second walk while I check correspondence and plant orders. It looks like a nice day is shaping up and that's good as this is a busy time for me. As soon as the daylilies finish blooming, one by one I cut them to 4" above the ground, pull out all the dead stems, cut off the scapes as low as I can get them and remove any weeds that may have started. Dandelions within the plants is the biggest problem and it's easier to get them out now than to wait until next year.

Yesterday was a busy day with customers, not so much because of sales but becuse many of the daylilies that gardeners wanted were no longer available in pots and I had to dig them from the fields. It's not difficult work but it does take longer. This meant that I spent more time in the fields yesterday and I really noticed how strange the bloom has been this year. Late bloomers are done, earlier bloomers are starting over, and some didn't bloom well at all. The floods of last summer and almost 18 months in a row of above average temperatures have certainly impacted on the bloom. The roots are extra large and that's excellent but I am already kind of tired telling customers why the lates aren't late and why the bloom is getting sparse in the fields. Fortunately Gail buys some new late bloomers every year and these new additions continue on in pots so there's the appearance that we know what we are doing.

Friday I dug up a row of Chicago Fire and even though they were in bloom, I lined some back out after cleaning them up and cutting them back. Gail potted the rest. The Great Chicago Fire was October 10, 1871 and the daylily Chicago Fire was registered in 1973 by James Marsh. Over the years we have collected and sold many Marsh daylilies and have found them all to be excellent growers here in Vermont. If you haven't added this one to your collection, it's pictured up top.

People see us lining out daylilies we have just dug and divided and they often ask if it isn't too late to even plant now. We have a little speech that we rattle off that includes the fact that we plant well into fall until the soil temperature drops to about 50°. In previous years this has been around Columbus Day, October 12th, but with increasing temperatures, it is a little later now. Consider the date and spend a little time in your gardens replanning what needs to be moved and what plants you want to add. There's plenty of time to improve upon what you have and get ready for more special color next growing season. Need ideas? Stop by or email Gail and I'm sure she'll be a big help!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where loons are talking loon speak and Mrs Turkey and only two young kids are eating hay seeds in the lower field. It's a nice morning!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vvtflowerfarm
And always at the nursery where we are happy to help you grow your green thumb!

Nice Bloom Continues

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Dripping wet morning here on the mountain. I am late as usual trying to get out the door to the nursery. Today's excuse is that Karl the Wonder Dog wanted a third walk because the critters of the woods were late in getting out and about because of last night's heavy rains. Karl likes to confront other critters and seeing a deer, moose or bear means nothing to him. Coyotes are another story but this morning, despite his ungracious thank you, we saw nothing.

The daylilies continue to bloom and Gail's work on later blooming plants has been worth the effort. Just the same the repeated days of hot, hot weather have expedited bloom and many daylilies which normally bloom in September are going to be finished in another week.

Yesterday I was at the nursery by myself for the day as Gail was home helping neighbor Liz prepare tons of flowers for a wedding. Rain came and stopped, came and stopped and by 4 PM I was getting bored with drippy clothes and not much else I wanted to do inside the shed. I took a cardboard flat that we use to sell annuals in around springtime and I made a hole in the center big enough to accommodate a daylily flower. The idea worked and the backdrop gave a different emphasis on the flower. Here are a few pictures of daylilies we are selling this weekend. Some are in bloom, others about finished. The daylily up top is Witch Hazel, one of my favorites.

Princeton Silky is a +3 foot tall, strong scaped daylily with loads of blooms that go on and on. Give it some room in the garden as it is a good grower.

Primal Scream is another orange with beautiful petals and a flare that begs "How did you miss me before?" Give it some room too.


August Frost is a big flower, a good 6" across once established. Again it is added to the list of "I want white" which it is not but still it is a beauty on tall scapes. It goes on and on and works with any other perennials.


I cannot remember where I bought Susan Elizabeth many years ago but this one, now about finished, is available in large clumps for $25-$30 each. Did I say large? It has a nice reflection to the petals, much like Patio Parade, and it is a standout in the distance away from your home or garden walkways.


Again I want to thank my many, many blog readers, Facebook friends, and Twitter followers who have stopped by this summer. It is so nice to see faces, shake hands, get warm embraces and an occasional kiss. Mostly I enjoy hearing comments that writing about gardening is something some folks look forward to. Thanks!


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the clock says I am late again. Gail will be at a wedding and Steve and I will run the show today with one other worker bee if the morning clears and rains stay away. Drive out and visit us, the state forests, and Cabot Creamery and plan to pick some blueberries at Thistle Hill. At very least, give us a toot as you pass by.


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also at George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And remember, we're always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Bird Names

Friday, August 3, ,2012

August mornings are so very different than June mornings. The sun is not timely for me and the sky takes a while to give a clear sign of the type of day to expect. This morning it's an even 60° to start the day and I feel as if I am already late. The list of things to do is long as I am trying to work through a number of important tasks with worker bee Michael as the 7th is his last day. Then he will be heading back to college. He is a dorm counselor at Castleton and an annual orientation is required. He has been a great worker this summer and he will be missed.

Of all our daylilies, I have always enjoyed those from the 70's that were named after birds. Up top is Flycatcher, followed by Ruby Throat and then Mallard. Flycatcher has already gone by but Ruby Throat, like the little hummingbird it is named after, is growing strong with lots of flowers left. Mallard is a shorter flower and scape but a nice front-of-the border beauty.

Gardeners often like birds in their gardens, cater to them during the fall and winter seasons and learn about them year round. I am one of those gardeners. Within an hour I will be working in our gardens but right now I have to take Karl the Wonder Dog for a walk. I know I will hear birds of the morning singing to me. Bet you will too.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where it is "road-quiet" for a change, best wishes for a fun day.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Were always here to help you row your green thumb! Come visit!

What to Do With "Wet"

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Mackerel sky, 57°, slight wind as Gail and Karl the Wonder Dog head out the back door for a second walk of the morning and the weatherman on the TV says thunderstorms by mid afternoon. There is a heaviness in the air this morning that confirms that something is on its way. The barometer is at 29.47 but is falling and I know by 3 PM it will be wet outside. We need rain badly and anything will be welcome but when we hope for rain we know that storms this time of summer can also bring wind and lightning. We'll see.

I was working in the lower daylily garden late yesterday afternoon trying to clean up the rows of still blooming daylilies and I noticed a couple walk down the hill and right into the hosta display garden. They looked like they were on a mission and I was too as I wanted to finish the day with the field completely deadheaded. It's cooler in this bottom spot and daylilies including Prairie Wildfire, Yellow Monster, Ruby Spider, Ann Warner, Atlanta Debutante, Tetrinas Daughter, Ruby Throat, Red Volunteer and Rooten Tooten Red continue to bloom. Some have only days left, others about a week and a half but they need to be kept clean as spent blooms only encourages tarnished bugs. I dumped another bucket of blossoms in the truck and headed over to the couple to see if I could help.

The two neophyte gardeners live in Florida but have a New England summer home that they arrive at in June each year. They had a drainage ditch installed between their property and the neighbors and it includes a berm of sorts. They were thinking that hostas would be nice to plant along the berm to provide a variety of contrasting greens, whites and yellows, heights and leaf textures. They saw a number of hostas they really liked and they inquired how we do business.

Gail and I often plan gardens for people but we don't always send folks home with the plants they came to purchase. Our goal is plants that will survive under the conditions but that's the tricky part--asking people to describe the conditions they want to plant in. In this case, the ditch runs water and even during a year like this one, the bottom of the ditch, although sometimes offering the appearance of being dry, is actually very wet. Although hostas thrive when planted under gutterless eaves of a house, they will not live if planted in standing or running water. The couple had recently purchased a single daylily at another garden center and planted it on the berm. In two weeks time the water began to cause overall yellowing, a sign that things were not good and perhaps daylilies were not the way to go.

I worked up a plan of topping the berm with several varieties of ligularia and rodgersia that I thought would provide some contrasting leaves and colors in the 3-5 foot height range with a row of mixed astilbes in front of them and then a row of Siberian irises further down the berm. My goal was to pick plants that by themselves would block the adjacent property including a nearby storage shed and at the same time live happily in a poor setting. The scapes of the bigger plants up top of the berm would bring July-August color after the Siberian iris welcomed the couple back from Florida in June and the astilbes brightened July and early August.

I thought through the planting and then laid out a row of pots in the middle walkway of the long shadehouse so the couple could get the idea. Then I ran the plan by Gail and she concurred that under the conditions of wetness, this would do the trick. Gail jumped in the cart and went to dig the irises as I got the other plants picked and loaded. By 5:30 the car was heading home and we were too.

Understanding your soil and sunlight situation is very important. Sometimes we want plants to grow in an area because we can visualize how nice it will look when mature. In contrast, if conditions are either wrong or cannot be modified to be successful, there's no use starting something that will probably be disappointing. In the end I think this couple understood this and went away with something that will work for them. When the Ligularia przewalskii throw up 5 foot scapes of light yellow flowers to contrast with the Rodgersia Elegans creamy scapes and Othello's vibrant yellow-orange flowers, I think the berm, as wet as it is, will provide a solution of a problem. The plants will be a success and will give the couple a better idea of how much sunlight they actually have and how plants react to the damp-to-wet soil. By next year we'll have better information about the soil and will know what else we might be able to add for color.

As you plan new gardens for yourselves or friends, take a good look at sunlight and soil. Understanding what plants need and what you have or can modify go a long way to better plantings.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the honey bees are flying and the ravens are reviewing this morning's additions to the compost pile. ......and I have to get to work!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Bear Morning

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A noisy morning here on the mountain. Critters of the forest have been driving Karl the Wonder Dog crazy this morning and as a result, sleep that might have lasted a bit longer was cut short. Gail took dog walk duty just before 5. She said that Karl was walking with a mission until they reached the lower log road. He stopped quickly and turned and headed for home. Gail heard a bear in the nearby bushes. She didn't see it but when you live here you don't need a guide to be able to identify the critters by sight, sound and smell.

Daylily season continues despite hot weather and not enough rain at the right time. Nile Crane, Bama Bound, Omomuki, a caste of hundreds of daylilies have already gone by but there are perhaps a hundred left in bloom or still to come in the gardens and in pots. It clearly is less colorful in the fields than a week ago but waterless, windy, hot days do that to fields. The flower size is smaller as a result but there is beauty in this flower and there's always something available that you haven't seen or don't have yet.

Apricot Sparkles is just budding up. Like Elegant Explosion, it is a smaller, later blooming daylily that usually takes your gardens into fall with lots of buds. This year may be different as the 80 degree weather of late March took daylilies out of dormancy and they grew on from there instead of sleeping longer.

Along the Way is lighter than in this picture. It is usually a popular daylily as it has a high bud count and tall scapes. The plants are field dug and look good but it has not been that popular this year.


Catherine Neal pictured above here is actually much darker. It joins Sir Mordred and Ezekial and a couple other very dark daylilies in bloom now. Some are very dark purple while others are almost brown, some verging on black. The deep purples such as Wayside King Royale and Strutters Ball are about done and even Houdini, a giant purple with a yellow center is cashing it in for the season.

Jury's Out is blooming nicely, the tall species type named Challenger is at +5 feet tall and just started, Last Man Standing will be out in a bit and Christmas Ribbons, typically an earlier bloomer, has just begun. Citrina altissima is still blooming with smaller but fragrant yellow flowers on 5 foot scapes.

Daylilies must have built-in timers that tell them when to grow and bloom. Some of the timers need new batteries this year as bloom time is confused and so is this gardener about some of what has, is, or will be blooming between now and mid September. Yes, the weather does change things!

Gail just said lunch is made so I have to pack the truck, unload yesterday's spent flowers at the compost pile and then head for the flower farm. Maybe you can stop by today and say hello. I hope so.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where loons send coded messages and a feral cat taunts Karl by standing in front of the window he looks out each morning. Have a nice day!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Bloom Continues

Friday, July 27, 2012

60.8° here on the mountain this morning. Windless and raining lightly. The honey bees are still in the hive, waiting for more heat and less rain so they can make their first flights of the day. The bees that over-nighted in the wild must be a little waterlogged by now as it rained most of yesterday and much of last night. I was a little waterlogged by the time I got home last night with an armload of wet clothes for the washer and three pairs of soaked shoes.

The daylily bloom is changing at the flower farm and if you are in the area, stop by and see some of the later bloomers. The very popular Alabama Jubilee pictured up top is about finished and is now replaced by the blooms of Fire King, just below here. Both command attention in the garden with heavy bloom counts on tall scapes. Yesterday I sold the last Rooten Tooten Red which is a strong red and inexpensive. We still have a few of the big $25 clumps left in the garden and also some Red Volunteer if you are interested in plants that look like they have been in your garden for 5 years or so. For other reds, Prairie Wildfire is in bloom now, Bama Bound continues as does Red Sentinel and a couple more. There were many requests for Mallard but I decided to hold on to what I have and propagate for another year. Mallard is a smaller, front-of-the-border red with lots of potential. I have not seen it around here a lot and maintain it with other "bird-named" daylilies.

Rose Katherine is growing well now although some of the plants are small. Mardi Gras Parade is similar and in bloom. Both of these are down to the left of the long shade house. MGP has a super bud count and looks fine along the border.

August Frost is in bloom now, earlier than usual and it accompanies Lime Frost which is finishing in the garden. These both have lot of blooms on strong scapes and catch attention from afar. Take a peek if you stop by.

El Desperado is just starting to bloom and this one always leaves me short because it sneaks out on carts, one and two at a time. I don't have the color quite right in this picture but you'll see why it is popular when you stop by.

I can hear Gail getting the change box counted out and that means I am supposed to be heading out the door for the flower farm. Karl the Wonder Dog is on the floor beside me snoring away and that seems like a good idea on such a wet day but my free time comes in January, not July. If you get a chance to stop by the flower farm, you'll see what has been keeping us busy. It's worth the time.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I can hear loon talk from the pond and the reservoir this morning. Maybe they are saying "George, get going!"

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Let us help you grow your green thumb!

Morning Walk

Monday, July 23, 2012

Just returned from a morning walk with Karl the Wonder Dog. It's 59° and quiet, save for the warblers and vireos of the forest who sing kind pleasantries as others begin to awake. I hope sometime to find a skilled bird enthusiast who can share with me the identities of these elusive little birds. They are songiferous!

Karl does not see well and has always had a problem with one eye. This morning he caught a patch of black down the road almost 200 yards that I missed at first. He came to attention, tail raised, feet firmly planted. I held tight and made out a bear cub crossing the road. We waited and waited for the sow and perhaps a brother or sister cub but the one we spotted must have been the last to cross. Black berries and black caps are ripening now and perhaps they were heading for the edge of the road to find breakfast. I like cream on my berries but they use their tongues to curl them off the bushes.

The Queen Anne's Lace pictured above are noticeable everywhere now. I enjoy seeing them begin to unfurl. A month ago people began to comment on how many Queen Anne's Lace they were seeing along the roads but really they were seeing that insidious weed, wild chervil which is spreading all over the east just like filipendula and Joe Pye weed. The white flower of Queen Anne's Lace is not close to the chervil but people and kids don't seem to know that. Some have a very bad reaction, something similar to poison ivy, when they pick chervil thinking it is the Queen. I suspect that warmer climates and fewer killing temperatures during the winters have lead to these invasives growing everywhere. I don't like them but many are already beyond control. I always hoped some day to teach myself welding so I could pick up a type of sculpture I began back in university days. I always wanted to recreate a Queen Anne's Lace flower in steel before it unfurled but perhaps the dream will only continue. Right now they are nice to look at. A cousin of the carrot but not something to eat.

For now it's simply another cup of coffee as I grab the money box and head to the nursery. I'll check the level of the Winooski River first to insure that the foot valve for the pump is still adequately under water and then I will get the hoses ready for this morning's watering. It takes three hours to get the pots done. The daylilies are looking beautiful and the 400 we planted during the past month need a drink too.

If you get a chance today, stop and visit us and see the daylilies. They are in peak bloom and nice to see. The Northeast Kingdom has lots of activities in the summer and a trip north from here is worth it. Gail and I will be at the farm all day and would enjoy seeing you!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And always here to help you with design ideas and to help grow your green thumb!

Cobblestones

Friday, July 20, 2012

Darker than a pocket right now even though there are a few stars out. Karl the Wonder Dog does not please at 3:30 in the morning and he heard something that didn't make him or me happy. I fumbled around in the dark finding my shoes until I stubbed my toe and put on a light. That only raised a nasty comment from the darkness. There was something big outside but I couldn't see what it was. It sounded more like a bear than a coyote but in the darkness, who knows. Now I'm tired and grouchy but here's a little unrelated story anyway. Picture is up top.

Many towns and cities in Vermont have reached their limits on water and sewer systems. I always marvel at the story behind Rutland, Vermont where the chief engineer completed the city's projects and then went away to fight in the Civil War. That means very old systems exist and replacement is long overdue.

Nearby Barre, Vermont, a granite capital of the world, started a renewal project last year and it is supposed to be finished this fall. Replacing all the water and sewer lines is a big project and to date I haven't heard of any special "finds" such as have occurred in Burlington where north end digs have come up with cemeteries of War of 1812 vintage. If the diggers in Barre have found anything, they have been quiet.

What has been of interest to the project and to gardeners and landscapers is the old streets, buried under layers of asphalt. The original roads were first just packed dirt but in Barre they were later laid with granite cobblestones, a stone in abundance. Someone in Barre government noted the magnitude of the truckloads of cobblestones and they set up a dumping site off Falwell Street where locals could go and load up cobblestones for free. This was a gardeners dream--of sorts.

Access requires that you are a Barre resident and that you go to the engineering office in the basement of City Hall for an application. It's a one page, simple little form that says you can get up to 500 cobblestones for your personal use and that you are a resident of the city.

These cobblestones vary in size but probably average out to being 6"-7" wide and thick and 10"-12" long. They have a smooth side and a rough side and some have cement still stuck on in places. The more difficult part is that the stones are in a pile of dirt and you kind of have to work through the pile and pick out the unbroken ones. Every day or so the city runs a bucket loader down the pile and more stones are more easily accessed. I have been going regularly with friend Michelle as she will build a patio and perhaps a garden wall in the back of her new house. But the real deal here is that free is nice but heavy is what the project is really about. Granite averages more than 165 pounds per cubic foot and good granite is on the 195 pound side of the equation. That means that stones add up. We use my truck but even that has limits that are reached quickly. Those who come in little cars arrive with smiles and leave with their front tires just touching the ground. Not a good idea but these cobblestones are so nice that every gardener can imagine garden walkways and raised beds in keeping with the local architecture.

Michelle's plan was to get stones while they are free and get on with the building when other more important parts of her home rehab are completed. If you wanted similar stones like the ones sold at the big box stores for landscape projects, you'd be paying almost $4 a piece. That means that 500 stones is worth a bundle and that part of the numbers make the work seem like the bargain that it is. The pile continues to shrink and who knows how many stones were trucked away to a landfill instead of being offered up for the citizens. Recently I have heard that non residents have been granted permits too so as to get rid of the current pile. If you are in the area and interested, just check. Michelle needs a few more and the lugging part of the project should be over this weekend. I can't wait until she starts the real project as I know it will look really nice. Maybe you have a similar project that needs some cobblestones too.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's really quiet and I am thinking seriously about sneaking back into bed. Have a nice day and come visit us at Vermont Flower Farm where the daylilies are in peak bloom.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Helping Friends

 Thursday, July 19, 2012

A quiet morning here on the mountain. 47° now with sun pushing above the tamaracks and the fir balsams. The road crew is heading down the road again,  making a bigger mess of the road and making me wonder what school of destruction they went to. While supposedly cleaning the ditches for the first time in 22 years, they have created an 8 foot bank that has now prohibited my access to a piece of our land and I am furious over the way they just showed up and started without any notice. The town selectmen don't seem to care what the road boss does and they just keep giving him raises and bonuses. I don't get it.

Gardening continues at Vermont Flower Farm and yesterday's change in weather was a nice reprieve from the oppressing heat and humidity that Vermont has experienced. A man and his family and RV ran out of gas in front of the farm yesterday and I tried to help him with enough gas to get to Plainfield. He had left Bar Harbor, Maine and my favorite Cadillac Mountain yesterday morning and planned on being back in Virginia and sweltering heat by tonight. 7 mpg for the rig he was driving was difficult to figure I guess.

I am always helping friends and the included pictures are of a friend's motorcycle that has to be sold. Maybe one of you can help. This is a 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan, E-500 in mint condition. It only has 876.2 miles (no typo, real miles) and has always been covered and garaged. It's a cruising kind of bike, not one of those rice rocket things kids love but I know it won't run out of speed. It's going for $3300 but if you see this note and buy it, take it away for $3100 and ten daylilies of your choice on me. I'll even add a big  Wayside Greenlamp, pictured here too as a bonus plant.

The bike is on the lawn at the flower farm, 2263 US Route 2 in Marshfield.  It would look real nice in your garage. Stop by or call me at 802-426-3506 or nights at 802-426-3505.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl the Wonder Dog is scratching my foot and signaling a need for a second morning walk. It will be a short one as I have to check the need and get to the flower farm for an 8 AM visitor. Come visit too if you have time today.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always here to help you grow your green thumb!

Daylily Surprises

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Heading for 6:30 AM and the temperature is beginning to rise. 50° right now and rising to about 90° before the day is out. I have already penciled in Artesano's Ice Cream in my mind as a "must-do" evening trip down to Groton. Thoughts of a cool ride through the state forest and a nice ice cream cone will help get me through the day.

Daylilies are popping out at Vermont Flower Farm but the flowers are noticeably smaller due to lack of rain. Worker bee Michael continues to divide and plant daylilies for us and I continue to use the tractor to till over old gardens for new plantings. In some places the clay soil just turns to dust.

Red Volunteer, pictured up top, is not the three feet it often is because of water shortage. Just the same, it's putting out some blooms that make some gardeners grab a couple pots. In another year the root systems on this one will be very strong and the large flowers will signal attention from visitors. Chicago Star and Chicago Sunrise have that similar "wave the flag" trait too.

I like purples even though insects do too. Strutters Ball pictured here is a favorite but I have no problem with Wayside King Royale which I have planted in a 30 plant mass down by the hosta display garden. If you haven't seen the hosta garden yet, seeing Wayside King Royale is an excuse to make the walk down the hill. If the heat gets to you, holler up and I'll come get you in the golf cart.

Gail likes Amazon Parrot (below) which just came out. I better find out where she planted it as I know it was relocated a couple years ago. It's been six years since I first planted the field and the original alphabet has been superseded annually and now we are running on 6 alphabets and a bunch of other configurations of English ordering. I better make a map soon!



South Seas is the last picture for this morning. I call it coral colored but others have their own ideas. Let me know yours. This is a great daylily and in a few years when it really clumps up you'll be pleased by the the number of companion plants you can surround it with.

If you're out and about like Facebook friend Steve from down Cornwall/Middlebury way was yesterday, stop and say hello. It's always nice to meet new gardeners and find out how their gardens are doing.

Better pack up and get going here. Lots to do this morning as Michael went camping last night and is taking the day off. Just me and Gail and 90°. Come visit anyway!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
Always here to help you grow your green thumb! Open 9-5 every day.

Hosta Planning

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

A beautiful day here on the mountain. Karl the Wonder Dog was out early for his first walk and he was obviously as perturbed as me by last night's coyote conference in the adjacent fields. Not too long after midnight the coyotes came into the back field and they circled the house many times before I finally got to sleep around 3. Our neighbors have two cats and this time of year people visit Peacham Pond and bring cats which sometimes run away. Coyotes love cats and small dogs and I don't mean in a friendship sort of way.

The sun is rising nicely and although we're only at 47° right now, I know it will be another beautiful day. Gail already headed for the flower farm to get things set up and I am not too far behind. Michael will appear around 9 and friend Michelle G is helping today with some of the weeding and planting. Gail has to leave a little early so she can get to Montpelier to view a daylily grower that has a number of fine plants for sale. I'll be picking up loose ends in between daytime hours.

The hosta pictured above is Sun and Substance. It used to be the biggest hosta out there and its sports such as Parhelion and Sum it Up and Sum of All were similarly large. A few years back Brian and Virginia Skaggs introduced Empress Wu named after the only female emperor in China. (Think I have that right) This one is a monster and really gets big!

Anyway my point of showing this picture is I had planted this hosta by the entrance at the flower farm hoping that over time it would mature and be a show stopper, encouraging sales of all hostas. Gail never told me she really didn't like it there and one day this spring as I arrived, I noticed a big hole and an absent hosta. It had already been nailed by heavy frost a couple times and didn't look that good but I knew it was well rooted and would come back at some point. It did! In a pot.

Gail had Michael dig it and pot it up and without many leaves it was easy to handle. Not too many weeks later with good feeding and lots of water, the hosta grew and then Gail had another issue. Who will move it out of the way for me? Sorry Charley, that baby is not moving this year. When it was in the pot it didn't occupy much room but as it exceed five feet in diameter, just getting close enough to the pot was a chore.

When planting hostas, try to give credit to the mature size of what you plant. I grant you that if you properly place hostas to begin with, your initial planting may look very strange with 2-3-4 foot spacing, sometimes more, between plants. If you don't plan, the hostas will look very crowded and will present a challenge over time as you need to tend to them and make other changes. During the initial years I suggest interplantings of annuals or the small, fast growing hostas that can easily be moved in a few years when the larger ones mature. Planning is worth the trouble and I really think if we could teach more about planning in America, all planning not just garden planning, things would work a tad better long term.

Here's a photo of part of our display garden to show some plants that are on their way to maturity. It's handy to be able to move around the plants and for me, be able to get to the flowers at hybridizing time. Hope the idea works for you too!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where cars and trucks are coming and going and the loons on the reservoir are calling. Mrs. Loon on the Marshfield Reservoir has two kids so if you are down that way in a canoe or kayak, give them some distance.


George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
At VFF we are always happy to help you grow your green thumb!

Bloom Explosion

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Saturday morning already and the predicted rain has just begun. Karl the Wonder Dog just returned from his morning walk but right now he is hiding under my desk. We both heard a clap of thunder and Karl doesn't do well with the unexpected. I have been thinking of buying him a thunder jacket to try as they seem to get great reviews. Does anyone have comments on one for their dog?

The flower farm has shown a little more business this week but it's waiting for summer traffic which just has not started yet in Vermont. I have visited a couple larger garden centers and was one of the few visitors so I know it's not just Vermont Flower Farm that is waiting for customers. Vermont's economy is not what officials tell us it is.

Daylilies are beginning to bloom and they serve as a visitor magnet as many have not seen the available colors. The early blooming yellows and oranges have be joined by every color but blue and pots are getting loaded into cars at a rate that is making me a little happier.

Red Rum up top has taken a few years to get settled into our gardens and now it's producing well. It is not a bright red like some people like but the shade works well with many complimentary colors, especially the blues and pale yellows. The profusion of bloom makes folks smile too.

Stamile's older release of Omomuki is not just another yellow (just below here) It has great substance and it blooms on thick scapes over a long time. I love the edge and the fact that in heavy summer rains it holds tight and does not fade. It also does not brown up on the edges if it gets bruised by heavy rain like Imperial Lemon sometimes does.

People either love reds or they hate them and they are quite vocal about their persuasion. Red Volunteer is perfect for the "lovers". This is a taller daylily on thick scapes and it produces blooms for a long period. It is a vigorous grower and I have found myself doing exercises before dividing clumps after a few years growth. If you grow one, you'll know what I mean.

Wayside King Royale is a purple with yellow throat that is a "must have" as far as I am concerned. I planted 30 of them in a group down in front of the hosta display garden and when they bloom, the show from Route 2 and from our parking lot is noticeable for sure. The bloom period is long and you don't like to see it end. We have this daylily in pots and also dig from the gardens if you are interested.


If you're out and about today, stop and see the daylilies beginning to bloom. There are umbrellas available if it's raining but remember that we close everything down and retreat inside the office if there is thunder in the air. Respect yourself and don't ask if you can walk the fields in a thunderstorm. Some people ask and I make a very "just-ate-a lemon-face" when I have to say "No!!!!" Common sense is always available at Vermont Flower Farm and it comes for free....kinda like our sign, a crafted gift from friends Dianna and Tracey---"Free Weeds"

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where light rain continues as a little chipmunk drinks sugar water from the honey bees feeder and washes its feet together while looking straight at me.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm Open 9-5 every day until Labor Day
On Facebook at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also at George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And at the farm where we are always available to help you grow your green thumb!

Bitten By The Fence

Monday, July 2, 2012

Birds are already singing to me this morning through a fog that floats along the meadow border and cozy ups to the wood line. The view is less than clear through my tired eyes but there is something tranquilizing about the way the fog moves. It reminds me of the Maine coast, my favorite place other than Vermont.

I was away from the flower farm this weekend as I had committed to helping a friend paint her house in Barre. You have to understand that my dad was a great painter and wall paperer but when people asked if I would follow in his steps, I always looked the other way. I greatly dislike paint brushes but the weekend's excitement involved using an airless sprayer to apply paint to a hundred year old house with dry cedar shakes. I'll leave that story there and just say that my painting days are officially over but the house is painted and just needs a couple-three days to clean up the mess, over spray here and there, that kind of thing. It really does look good and neighbors have been very kind with compliments, horn toots and thumbs-up congratulations for trying to fix up this old house.

The flowers at the farm are coloring up nicely and the daylilies should be impressive from along Route 2 in another week or so. The bloom time for some seems very confused with some later bloomers already putting up loads of flower scapes. In contrast, some are behind but some are right on target. Beloved Country pictured above, is an example of a timely daylily at our place.

This morning I thought I would take a couple pictures of Beloved Country which grows in a row outside my office window. It was supposed to be transplanted to the flower farm but after a couple years now it appears to have been forgotten as it competes with high grass and a terrible weed named colts foot. I grabbed the Olympus and headed out, already late from spending too long on Karl's walk.

As I approached the row, I found a few blooms that looked like a picture but as I bent over for a close-up, my derriere came in contact with the electric fence which protects the honey bees from bears and other critters. Let's just say that expletives were plentiful. Reluctantly I returned at a different angle and snapped a couple more shots. Here's another one.

Beloved Country is right on target based on Gail's records. For the last two years it has opened on June 29th and it has not disappointed us. Bloom time doesn't matter to many but to those people thinking in terms of a special event, a birthday, or remembering the loss of a friend, the date is important. Weather changes over the past few years have made some flowers change their bloom time but Beloved Country has held firm. Keep it in mind if you need something that is 34" tall and has slender bloom scapes that wave in the breeze. We like it--bet you will too.

Gotta get moving here. I have committed to spending the day with Alex and we are going to begin in Hanover and West Lebanon, NH. Gail and worker bee Michael will be at the flower farm so if you're driving by, stop and say hello.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where honey bee flights have commenced in great magnitude and the now-absent fog has left a series of spider weds and cobwebs everywhere. Slender strings of web with drips of dew suggesting another hot day! Be well, be cool!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And remember: We always help you grow your green thumb!