Any Size, Anywhere Edible Gardening

Thursday, December 6, 2012

20.5° here on the mountain this morning. The wind is a constant 6 mph and my two morning walks with Karl the Wonder Dog were expectedly shorter this morning as he doesn’t care for fresh snow and cold winds. Karl seemed to spend too long by the platform bird feeder trying to figure out why it was surrounded by deer tracks and not birds, but as a dog, the absence of bird seed would not register with him anyway. I figure I should set up a game camera and catch an image of the deer which must stand on their hind feet to lick off all the seed.

As we returned to the house I put a couple more logs on the fire and settled down to finish a great new gardening book by William Moss. I like Moss a lot and I like anything Cool Spring Press releases too!  I only have “Best Management Practices” left to read and can say how much I have enjoyed the read. Any Size, Anywhere Edible Gardening offers solid information on how to garden successfully just about any place. It is a confidence builder for those who need help growing a green thumb. It offers a format for success and William’s “how-to” information is so clear it will leave a picture in your memory to make garden building easy.

There was a time when gardening was taken for granted as almost everyone had experience as a gardener and people could identify fruits and vegetables without having to think. Back then was not like today at the supermarket when the clerk puts a turnip on the scale and asks “Beet?” or a zucchini and asks “Cucumber?” Some of that innate knowledge and experience from the old days is absent and books like Edible Gardening are needed to help us make a comeback.

Owning a nursery gives me ample opportunity to see the need for good gardening information and the need to help would-be gardeners build their confidence to take the first step. The current price and quality of store bought fruits and vegetables are also encouraging us to rethink “growing our own”. Media releases about contaminated food tell us that our home grown food is not contaminated and that encourages us to try gardening.

Edible Garden represents itself as “The No Yard, No Time, No Problem Way To Grow Your Own Food.” and Moss is very successful in his presentation. Our latest sociological research reminds us how many people are returning to suburbia and we know that those moves mean that gardening must be adapted to the geography that smaller space provides. This book discusses containers, both purchased and homemade, and how to fill them with the best growing mix for the best results. It offers descriptions and pictures of food crops that will produce well in containers and discusses the part of gardening no one likes—dealing with undesirable insects and surprise plant diseases.

If you have never gardened before, or know someone who has not gardened but might like to, consider Edible Gardening as a holiday gift. Maybe consider putting a copy of the book in a suitable growing container with packages of seed (William recommends many) or even a bag of good potting mix. It’s the kind of holiday gift that you can continue to complement during subsequent holidays and you’re guaranteed to receive ongoing feedback on how the new hobby is progressing. I’ll bet you might even get a chance to sample the produce!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the thermometer refuses to budge and the sun is having trouble breaking through the clouds. Might be a good day to go online and look at seed companies and think through what you might like to try in containers. Most companies now identify seeds that will produce plants that will succeed in containers. You could also check out Cool Springs Press, a printer I like because it bills itself as Growing Successful Gardens  

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

First Real Snow, First Real Cold

Friday, November 30, 2012

A cold morning here on the mountain, 2°, windless, bright with a nice moon reflecting off last night's 5" of fresh snow. This is the first real snow of the season and the coldest night so far. Karl the Wonder Dog took an abbreviated walk this morning and gave me a strange look as we reentered the house. He doesn't like cold  and already I am less impressed too.

The snow started yesterday about 2:30  as I was in the woods trying to finish the brush chipping and get the chipper put away for the season. At times the snow blew at weird angles but it wasn't until after six o'clock that it really began to fall. The mountains are now covered and there's no doubt that the ski industry is already happier than last year when snow flakes were hard to find and the snowmobiling industry really never even started.

An eruption of evening grosbeaks finally appeared yesterday, over a month late from their typical appearances, The Dolgo crab apples that they usually eat are long since gone, as they were food for the robins while they made up their mind where to spend the winter. Robins used to leave by Thanksgiving but last year they were here most of the winter. All the bird visitors seem to be off schedule a little but I expect the snow and cold we feel today will bring them out for us to see.

I now have about 15 piles of wood chips throughout the back woods and along the woods roads and new trails I have been making. These will dehydrate a bit and be ready for spring when I'll use them to mulch the daylilies in the growing fields. At the same time, they will serve as hiding places for woods mice and the nasty voles that never hibernate and always seek out the roots of my favorite shrubs and perennials.

As winter becomes obvious at your house, consider feeding the birds if you have not given that hobby a try yet. We enjoy seeing different birds throughout the winter and don't think winter would be winter without keeping the bird feeders full and trying to capture pictures of birds we have not seen before. Bird food is expensive now with black oil sunflower going for $23 a 40 pound bag and still $19 when on sale. I always use cracked corn on platform feeders and on the ground for the ground feeding birds and I have old onion bags filled with suet for woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches. I never clean up the echinaceas in the fall as the small birds like goldfinches love their seeds. Black thistle seed is expensive now so echinacea is a good substitute.  If you need some help learning more about birds native to your local area, try the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology.

Karl is already asking to go out again and the fire needs another log. Have a great day, watch the slippery roads this morning, and take a good look at your gardens this morning. Another outdoor gardening season has come to an end.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the town snow truck has been by and two log trucks just headed down to pick up a load of saw logs.

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

Fall Hydrangeas

Thursday, November 8, 2012 

24.3° here on the mountain with a slight wind that whispers from 3 to 5 mph and back again. It's not as cold as the 15° we felt last night nor the 18° that was predicted for this morning but failed to occur. Karl the Wonder Dog and I hiked up to the old wolf tree this morning looking for wild critters but our time out was critterless. Just the same it was a nice walk and I spotted a maple that was lined with oyster mushrooms that I need to go back and pick soon.

I have been meaning to comment on hydrangeas in Vermont and similar zone 3 and 4 climates. This is a shrub that is growing in popularity and one which has been a good seller at the flower farm. It has also created somewhat of a hassle because many people see the pink and the blue hydrangeas advertised and that's what they are possessed to grow. Most folks don't care what the name of a plant is, they just see the color and visualize it growing in their gardens. Trouble with the pinks and blues in this climate, they are not dependable and I refuse to carry them.

We grow many of the paniculata types and I think Tardiva is actually my favorite because of the shrub and bloom shape. I especially favor one named 'White Moth'. Regardless of the variety, by this time of year the blooms are long past spent and have turned rusty brown and beg to be removed. That's where I need to insert a thought. Many hydrangeas bloom on new wood so cutting back hydrangeas this late in the season can have a negative impact on next summer's blooms. The problem is that cutting spent blooms in late fall leaves the stem cuts to feel the drying winds of late fall and early winter. That affords the potential that the bud material for next year will dehydrate. That translates to fewer blooms on a shrub that you are expecting to display a bounty of blooms from summer through fall. It's better to either wait until spring or do the trimming while it is still warm as soon as the flowers have faded and begun to rust. I had a lady tell me that she never trimmed anything and implied that I didn't know what I was talking about so make your own decision on pruning and my information. I always try to share experiences. What is your experience with your hydrangeas? If you comment, please include your zone.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where rifle deer season starts this Saturday and hunters have begun to scout the area. We have been wearing orange in the woods for a month now to insure that others see us. Not a bad idea!

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!

Back Again

Monday, October 22, 2012

Just after 6 AM. The wood stove is cracklin', the coffee tastes great and Karl the Wonder Dog and I have returned from our first morning walk. A three mph wind is trying to rustles leaves off the ground but the rains from two and three days back has packed them down and it will take another sunny day to get them flying again. That's good for me as I have to pick up a new spark plug for the leaf shredder/vac and change the oil before I get started with clean up here at the house. I'm hoping for about 10-12 truck loads of shredded leaves to incorporate in the new daylily garden at the flower farm. Maple leaves are just "the best" and I incorporate all I possibly can in every new garden. As much as I enjoy oaks, butternuts and walnuts, we don't have these trees on any of our property so we don't have to worry about their tannic acid impacting on plant growth.

It's been a busy fall at the flower farm and that's why I have been away from The Vermont Gardener. I continue to try to post to our two Facebook pages, Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also my personal, George Africa, page. I like FB because I can get some thoughts and pictures out quickly when I am busy and still not force people to think I have given up on writing and gardening.

I have reached the point in my life that I kind of do what I want to do when I want to do it. Sometimes that is true and sometimes it is off target a bit. When I retired in April 2010 I thought the luxury of free time would be ever so nice and gardening would reach the top of my "To Do" list. . Looking back on my work years (+40 years with Vermont state government) I cannot figure out how I ever squeezed in everything I did between home, the flower farm and work. So now I do things for myself, still squeezed into the flower farm and life at home. In September I returned to Maine for the third time this summer and spent time hiking and climbing in Acadia National Park. I just love that place! I spent time on the ocean and mapped out a couple more places to look for real estate. There is no place like Vermont but there is no ocean here and there's something about the ocean that I cannot avoid.

As traffic at the flower farm slowed at the end of August, I began getting back into the woods to work on next year's firewood and continue working on trails and roads in our +70 acres here at the house on Peacham Pond Road. Things were going quite well until I received a notice in the mail that I had to report for jury duty. Now there's something that can change a schedule! I reported for jury drawing and was actually picked for the three required juries. Today was supposed to be my first jury but last night when I called to confirm my appearance, the recorded notice said the case had been resolved and I did not have to report. Tomorrow I am supposed to start a two day trial and next week a one day trial. Nothing is set until the day before. I feel a responsibility to jury duty but it does interfere with personal freedom for a few days. Just the same, that's why I live in America and respect our freedoms so much.

The weather reports show that warm weather may well change to snow flakes before the end of the week so I will take advantage of today's warmer weather and plant 4 more crates of daylilies. Gail has some Red Rum daylilies to pot and I will dig, divide and line out another row of Sir Black Stem. This is an older daylily, popular with hybridizers and one of the more historic types that I like to work with. I have three more truck loads of well frosted annuals to pull and move to the compost pile and have a crate of mixed hostas to get into the display garden. There's no way I can get everything done today but a man needs a plan.

If you have time this week, get your lawns raked and get the good leaves into a compost situation, yours or another gardener's. I never like the thought of bagged leaves heading for a landfill. Many trees and shrubs benefit from fall pruning and it continues to be a great time to plant or move trees. I have 35 spireas at the house that really need to be pruned and that's just another addition to my list. I continue to look for a day stretcher!

Karl the Wonder Dog is sitting beside me talking in dog talk and asking for another walk. The stars have faded, and gray clouds pass by quickly. Guess I better get started on today!

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where pond residents head for work in cars that travel too fast and a blue jay sits outside my office window asking for cracked corn and other bird-type breakfast buffet items. Gotta scoot!

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 helping you grow your green thumb...every day of the year!

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!