Bloomerang Lilacs

 Lilacs

A Sunday afternoon but without any sun. Snow squalls and 27.5°instead. I just finished with the new web page for the lilacs we sell at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. There are 15 varieties available and if you enjoy lilacs in your gardens, my guess is you will enjoy every one of these.

Today I'd like to point out a reblooming lilac that we have had great success with named Bloomerang. The first year that we bought some to plant ourselves I had my doubts but I didn't know that it took the first year to get well established. We buy these in as small cuttings in 4" pots from a grower in Indiana and by August they are 18"-22" tall and beginning to bloom. The end of the following year they will reach 30" more, maybe taller depending on the summer and how you planted and cared for them.

My friend Mike Marshall at Perennial Plant Place, in Gorham, NH has three beauties well established and growing in his display gardens. They convinced me to keep buying them so everyone can see their eventual size and the way the entire shrub colors up again and again at bloom and rebloom time. Here are the three varieties we are selling for 2022. Beauties!

Top to bottom: Bloomerang, Bloomerang Double Blue Scentara, and Bloomerang

Dwarf Pink.

 

BUMBLEBEES IN VERMONT

The Vermont Center for Ecostudioes just released this guide to bumblebees which some of you might be interested in. Bumblebees comprise 40% of Vermont's pollinators which is why I am always trying to identify the varieties that appear at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. Years ago, when we had the largest number of varieties, I planted Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' and quickly it became apparent that it serves as a magnet for all bumblebees. We most always have some for sale and usually have a large patch growing in the field as a good and easy place for observation. Come visit. #bumblebees; #flowerfarmer; #localflowers; #flowerphotos; #vermontgardens;

Bumble Bees of New England

 

BUMBLEBEES

It's always difficult for me to comprehend that 40% of all the pollinators in Vermont are bumblebees. Just the same, that's why I plant ten varieties of sunflowers every spring. They are a magnet for my pollinator friends! Try some!!

SUMACS

There are good and bad benefits to living by a river. Waterways are a magnet for all sorts of birds which is great......but.....they distribute all sorts of seeds too. Honeysuckle and sumacs are two that are a real nuisance. The sumac seeds are small enough that the wind distributes them too so in a couple years you have them everywhere. I had Steve cut these down this past fall and we'll pull out the roots this spring. Some of you might have been lured into planting the Tiger Eye Staghorn Sumac because of its yellow color and different architecture but get it out now while you can. It quickly spreads underground and makes a big mess. I watched the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden plant some one year and within a couple years they pulled it all out. I am certain someone asked "Why did we plant them?"

 Keep Your Tools Clean

Jan Johnsen has been writing a popular gardening blog, Serenity In The Garden, for years. This time of winter when the snow gets deep and the wind blows hard, she repeats this piece on cleaning up your gardening tools. It's worth a quick read. Good tools are expensive now so more than ever it's important to keep them clean and make them last--not just the metal parts but the handles too if they are wooden. 

         

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