Northern Vermont Hardy Plant Club

Just a reminder that one of Vermont's greatest collections of serious gardeners belong to this group. Gail and I joined the Northern Vermont Hardy Plant Club when we lived in Burlington and the group has grown in membership and talent each year since. Name the plant and you can find someone who knows something about it. It's fascinating to take the various garden tours offered each year, attend the programs and special events. If you are even thinking about  flower gardening, the $10 a year annual membership is more than a great investment. Just meeting so many special gardeners is something you'll never forget.  Read on here and then consider joing!   https://hardyplantclubvt.blogspot.com

Butternut Trees

 BUTTERNUTS

I remember so well arriving in Vermont as a five-year-old and finding a world that was exciting, challenging, and dramatically different than Rye and Port Chester NY where various members of my family resided. We moved next door to a century-old dairy farm and the three farm ladies who lived there were forever introducing my sister and me to all sorts of new and unusual experiences. 

During our first full fall in Vermont, we learned about butternuts, and we filled bushel baskets full of the nuts from those trees....and in that process got our hands all browned up and sticky from the husks. The ladies lugged the heavy baskets upstairs into the back attic of the farmhouse where the nuts were spread out to dry. They showed us how to crack the previous years' nuts which had cured. It was several years later before we could successfully crack nuts and not fingers but we learned early on how delicious the nut meats were and how Vermonters loved them with their maple candies.

Since those days in the 50s, butternuts have declined in Vermont to the point that you hardly see any trees let alone a good supply of nuts. In 2006, when we bought that land that today is Vermont Flower Farm, we had 9 butternut trees growing along the Winooski River. This summer the last of those died.

Here's an article that was written by Chittenden County Vermont's Forester, Ethan Tapper. It does a good job explaining butternuts. I keep hoping someone will hybridize a stronger butternut so we don't lose this wonderful tree (beautiful wood) and its nuts.

https://mcusercontent.com/58398f7a782118e355bf99377/files/37c05cc5-a341-5180-e1ed-03f033634d53/Butternut_March_2022.01.pdf

NEW WEBSITE

OUR NEW WEBSITE HAS ARRIVED! 

We are pleased to announce that our Vermont Flower Farm website has been revised and is now available to you in an easy-to-use WordPress format. We have updated most all our plants and have changed pricing based upon Covid-related increases as well as incoming shipping cost increases. The past two years have been the best we have ever had at VFF but the price increases due to Covid have continued upward, now relative to the war in Ukraine. Anything manufactured using petroleum products such as greenhouse covers, field fabrics, plant labels, potted trays and plant pots have risen and continue to rise. Many fertilizers have production components that originate in Russia and as such those prices have risen sharply and are expected to continue to rise.  

We feel that we have made manageable, appropriate adjustments that will keep Vermont Flower Farm on firm footing to continue as one of Vermont's finest specialty nurseries. We look forward to seeing you and your gardening friends this summer and fall. We continue to be open 9 to 5, seven days per week Mother's Day through mid-October. If you have gardening questions or want to check on the availability of those favorite plants, email us at vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com or call us at 802-426-3505. After April 12th the telephone will be active at the farm so call there with questions 802-426-3506. Come visit and we will show you what's new!