Lilies, Oh My Lilies!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

A great morning here at Vermont Flower Farm and a good day to get out and visit nurseries in your area. Flowers are popping right and left and even though we have had some strong winds and hard rains of late, things look great. Today's weather is much improved over yesterday. I spent ten hours on the tractor on our new property on Route 2 and I'll be heading back there in a few minutes. Yesterday was one of those "coat on, coat off" days. The 42 degrees at 5 AM took a long time to get to 60 and every time the cloud cover moved in, we were back to wind and low fifties.

Karl the wonder dog and I made our 5 AM walk this morning and were bothered that a young deer, only one, decided to visit the lower hosta garden for a late night/early morning snack. Two hostas I really like were on the menu: Rascal and Alex Summers. A few others such as Inniswood and Revolution lost a leaf or two.

I tracked the deer through the peony garden and into the back field. It spent some time finding a piece of fence that looked like it had a big enough space to scoot under. As soon as the fawns are able to run with their moms, the deer head to our hosta heaven and try to find leaves that I haven't sprayed with TreeGuard. It's a great product but not worth much when it's still in the jug. I have been too busy to spray but that has to happen by nightfall. Hostas turn into "deer lettuce" this time of year and you have to keep the deer from thinking it's the best eating crop available.

Before I head out of here I want to ask that you go out today and check all your lilium. If you know Gail and me, you know that we have grown tens of thousands of lilium over the years. We have dozens of customers who have better collections than we ever had because they purchased and cared for new bulbs from Vermont Flower Farm. The current problem is a big one so please listen and look well.

As our climate changes, our lands our invaded by more and more insect life from afar. In 1992, a very destructive, small red beetle, the lily leaf beetle, Lilioceris lilii, entered the east coast at Boston. This picture from the University of Rhode Island isn't the greatest but try http://bugguide.net for some other pictures.

Our insect communication was not all that good because the beetle actually entered Montreal in the mid forties, fifty years before we might have shared that information. It immediately began its migration south and east. The various lily listservs I subscribe to have now documented the bug in all parts of the US east of the Rockies and now through Nova Scotia.

The reason I am mentioning this beetle today is that the beetles were visible three weeks ago and by now, the first set of eggs have no doubt hatched and the larvae should be obvious if you haven't taken any counter measures. Here's a larvae picture I took last year.


If you do not eliminate the beetles and the larvae by either hand picking or some chemical or organic means, this is what your stem of lilies looks like in short order.


So the question is "Control". The research funded by the North American Lily Society resulted in a recommendation of a parasitic wasp. That's fine but it's questionable if the wasp will live in Vermont and similar climates and production never even started. The second recommendation was Neem oil spray. This works well, is very expensive and has to be reapplied several times. A friend of ours in Burlington has been using dormant oil spray for years and even though he lives in a well established pocket of lily beetles, he has never had a problem.

I followed friend David's suggestion and went one step further and bought a light weight dormant oil with a built in fungicide and miticide. Remember, this stuff is made for fruit trees and people in the industry only know it as being used for that. I sprayed early after seeing a few beetles which I presumed probably had already layed some eggs. To date there has not been any hatch and if there was, the oil prevented the eggs from developing. Is this accurate? I think so, but we have lots of gardens and I only sprayed the lilies I saw on the first passing. To continue with the study, I have sprayed gardens of two friends. One is a half mile from here and one is 3.5 miles from here. One had noticed beetles, one had not. Neither has larvae yet. I also gave some oil to a friend in Morrisville and it appears to be working there too.

Please do some careful inspection today and if you find beetles, please let me know. Sevin has been recommended but that is a spray which kills the good bugs and beetles too and I am a butterfly man so I'm reluctant to get carried away with that stuff. A friend in White River said the price just went up as the announcement of the beetles ran in the local paper. Similar stories abound. A month ago, another friend asked the Dept of Ag to comment and they kind of did a "what beetle?" response. That would not be the case today. So-o-o-o if you want some good looking lilies like this Uchida (below) do a through inspection and formulate a control plan today.

And since this picture just came through from http://bugguide.net print it off and put it on the fridge. With luck, it will be the only one you'll see. Unfortunately, I fear for the worse as I think this beetle is here to stay.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where a trailer of canoes and kayaks just went by--probably heading out on the water to check on the loon population. As for me, I heading into the garden and then out onto the tractor. Enjoy your gardens, stop by for a visit! Ask us a garden question!

George Africa

http://vermontflowerfarm.com

Have you checked http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
lately????

The Fan Gardener

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Almost 9 PM already. I just interrupted my computer time to run outside to the upper drive to move my truck down to our drive for the night. I have to be out of here by 5 tomorrow morning and since it may be raining, I want the shortest route from the house. The sky is black and there is thunder over towards Montpelier. The television has one of those "searching for satellite" messages so we know there's a big storm nearby.

During the past week the gardens have opened with color and one by one, customers and visitors have made their way to Vermont Flower Farm to see things they have never seen before. I could probably write a book about our meetings with fellow gardeners and if I did, Gail would be the center of all the conversations turned to stories.

Gail is one of those people who can't ever tell me if we have any money left in the checkbook but she can tell customers what they bought 4 years ago on a Wednesday and what color they need to complement a garden. I have never understood this skill but it comes in handy when folks stop by for advice on planning a wedding or a reunion and they want Gail to provide a weather prediction for a specific weekend. She's about on target all the time.

Gail also has a way to drag out information from people she has only met five minutes earlier. She doesn't need any of those interrogation skills you see on television crime shows as she has a natural way of making people feel immediately comfortable so they spill out things you can't even believe. She usually comes away with a complete family tree, doctors, medications, shoe size, college attendence, number of cows milked, horses boarded and what type chickens they keep. If the person is a bread baker she'll come away knowing the type of baking powder used and whether they use lard or some type of margarine, and if so, which brand. The list goes on. Yesterday was a perfect example.


A couple arrived from up St Johnsbury way. They were first time visitors. The lady looked around and the man, recently retired, struck up a conversation with the "interrogator". One thing led to another and in just minutes the man offered Gail a VCR and/or a record player, both fully functional and only being retired from his homestead because his kids convinced him DVD players worked better. Gail apparently gave some thought to the record player because she has a stack of Bob Dylan records in the cellar that people would cry for. There are also some great Wayland Jennings and Bonnie Raitt, similarly collecting dust.


Very much unlike Gail, she turned down the offers to which the man asked if she'd be interested in 3 perfectly good window fans. Now I don't know if it was the humidity of the day or Gail's marketing prowess but she accepted the fans gratis and the man and his wife drove away with some nice flowers. Within two hours, Gail had those three fans farmed out to people in need of cooler homes. Reminded me of the year she saw a kid without a good winter coat and she decided to start a clothes drive so kids would be warm. I knew it was working when one year a guy stopped me at the store and asked if Gail had any coats for his kids. That's Gail--a gardener with a diversity of people skills.


One flower Gail really enjoys is peonies. We have rows in the upper garden and maybe 135-50 in a lower garden nursery. I have them all labeled and they have been growing for three or more years now so they have reached good size. They started bloooming a couple-three weeks ago and are well budded now. The way the rain is now pounding on the roof, it's questionable how many will be flat on the ground when morning arrives. That would just translate to bouquets for sale. At any rate we have a small collection that's big enough to stop a peony novice or encourage a new gardener to get growing.


It's amazing to me to look at a row of peonies in bud and then work my way down to a single bud. These Felix Crouse look great in a row in bloom but look equally stunning in a large vase with some oversized hosta leaves for accent. To me there is something special about looking at a bud that's just "showing color" and then the next day finding a beautiful flower.

Peonies can be cut in the bud stage when they are just showing color and then wrapped in newspaper or a loose plastic bag and placed in the bottom of the fridge. They'll last there for about a month and then with a fresh cut and a vase full of water they'll open up to everyone's surprise. The only real problem with peonies is that everyone wants them year 'round and their season is limited. If you don't have any peonies yet, Gail has some nice pots for about $25. Some are in bud, some will bloom next year. Whether you buy one or not, we'll tell you some secrets to growing good peonies.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where loud thunder means the same as "goodnight folks".

With good gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Two Friends

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Yesterday was a busy day at Vermont Flower Farm. Gail was here by herself as it was my turn to take Alex to an appointment which would take up more than half the day. Things are busy out and about anyway with high school graduations and parties and weddings and reunions. Everyone is busy and it's best to be cautious wherever you travel as many folks have just too much on their minds.

Gail and I juggle many things this time of year as well as the gardens. I work full time away from here, often in a different part of Vermont every day. That part is fun but traveling different distances makes for an uneven schedule and some days tend to be long ones. Yesterday was fun because I was with Alex, getting through an appointment and then doing something that was special to him. He has a lot of challenges and when we are together I try to devote my attention to everything that he wants to accomplish.

As we returned home there were customers in the gardens, cars parked here and there and Gail was not immediately visible. When I approached the back steps with an armload of groceries, I could see her in the kitchen in front of a tall pile of dishes, plunger in hand working on a clogged sink drain. It didn't look like it had been going that well so I encouraged her to head out to the customers as I unloaded the truck and tried to solve the great plugged drain mystery.

Gail and I are two friends, good friends, friends of over twenty five years. We are married, are parents, share a house, raise a son, run a nursery and care for a 90 year old mother in law up the road. We are good friends, gardening friends, working friends. We share all the good and all the bad as good friends should.

In fairly short order the truck was unloaded, Alex was settled back into his "at home" routine, the drain was unplugged, the customers were smiling and I had a chance to pour a couple iced teas and go out side and get Gail to sit and rest for a minute. It had been a long day but we are good friends and we know these days will come and come again.

The iced tea was refreshing and just not moving for a minute calmed our thoughts. The gardens look great because two gardening friends work hard at making them that way. They aren't meticulously clean and weed-free but they are well built and nicely stocked with fairly common plants of interest to all.

As the glasses of tea emptied, I suggested we walk down to the peony nursery and see what has started to bloom.Walking the gardens is always nicer with a gardening friend as each of us notices and shares other things. Good gardening friends do that.

The peony nursery looks great thanks to Michelle's strong effort the other day. It's easier to walk the rows now and count the buds and see the flowers. P. 'Henry Bockstoce' has just started. It's a deep red that I love to look at. P. 'Dad' is opening in time for Father's Day. We don't have any left to sell and that's a problem but it's a nice peony and it's nice to know it is timed so perfectly. P. 'Crusader' is well flowered and easy to spot. It already has missing stems which have made their way into vases here in the house. The fernleaf P. smouthii is down to two buds but this week's heat slowed them and I doubt they will open this year. It is our first peony to bloom and it was glorious two weeks ago. P. 'Festiva Maxima' is bursting open everywhere with big blooms. P 'Paula Fay' just opened and is a great peony, but don't expect nice fragrance from it. There are thousands of buds on the other peonies and if we receive a little rain in the next couple days, they will be even more glorious.

When we finished with the peonies we walked up through the field. The daylily nursery is overgrown with dandelions and an assortment of other weeds but that will get tackled this week. Gail noticed a bright orangy-yellow daylily, quite prominent even mixed in with the weeds. It was a gift three years ago from our friends Harold and Leila. It didn't come with a name, it just came as an extra early daylily with a pleasing color and a catchy fragrance. I split up the clump and now there are perhaps 15 good plants. I'll have to take some pictures and then consult my A.B. Stout book and figure out the name. Everything has a name or two. Gail and I are "good friends".


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the hummingbirds make great employees, up early and working industriously while others just think about rising. If you are out and about today and not busy with a big event, stop by Vermont Flower Farm and say hello. Your gardening friends will be here to meet you!

With good garden wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Japanese Primroses Abound

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Almost 7 AM here on the mountain. 60 degrees but the morning has that stillness and heavy air that makes it feel like rain is on the way. The sun has only shown itself briefly and the clouds are thick. I've been up and outside since 4:30 and it hasn't changed too much since then.

Got going early because I wanted to bring the tractor home from the new property. Lacking a trailer yet, I drove down early yesterday morning before 5 AM so the traffic was down to fisherman. Today I reversed the route and drove home. It's all uphill so the trip was another 15 minutes longer in mid-range. I saw the same two doe deer as yesterday, four turkeys crossing in front of me and one still very sleepy eyed jogger with a dog that limped. Interesting morning.

The gardens are really popping with color just a couple weeks before the official start of summer. The Siberian iris are starting, lemon lilies as species daylilies and in various hybrid variations, poppies, tall beared iris and primroses are really beautiful now.

Several years ago a lady gardener stopped and wanted to know if I wanted to trade some Oriental lilies for some Japanese primroses. I agreed and a few days later she showed with a small box of primroses and a desire for more lilies in trade than even a generous gardener would agree to. Nonetheless the trade was agreed upon. I planted the small plants in what I thought was a good location within the lower foundation garden. As time progressed I cut out a couple more small trees and limbed another and the primroses received slightly more sunlight and looked better and better.

These are a beautiful spring plant which naturalize very well. They enjoy a soil which holds some moisture and a location which has about three hours of good sunlight each day. This spring I have noticed plants as far as 80 feet from the original grouping. They have seeded well and made an impressive mass. I dug out about 20 on the perimeter for Gail to sell and last night she was down to three so I guess their popularity extends beyond my interest.



If you get a chance to stop by Vermont Flower Farm in the enxt few days, walk down the walkway by the mailboxes and take a right. The primroses are in the back corner of the hosta garden. You can't miss them.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where Gail is mumbling to herself as she picks up a trash bag of household trash--again. Last night she left a bag by the back door and this morning it was down towards the mailboxes. A local bear is less than neighborly and as bears do well, (s)he carried the bag a distance before tearing it open to look for a snack. This spring I found one of last year's suet sacks about 400 yards into the woods and up the hill towards the road. Bears are everywhere and they take advantage of people's forgetfulness.

Rain or shine, try to get into the garden today. You'll feel happy that you did!

Gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Spring Rains, Lush Ferns

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Almost 9 PM. Gail and I just came in from walking Karl the wonder dog, down to the peony nursery to see what is budding up. The P. smouthii has already bloomed out three flowers and Gail missed every one. There are a couple left to come and perhaps half a dozen that appear to have been bothered by the temperature changes and the dampness. I pointed out the very tall, well buddded 'Top Brass' which should be exceptional this year. We have about 150 different peonies but some are scattered here and there and for some reason they all don't seem to get on our list.

When we move to our new location I want to bring along all the peonies and plant them around the perimeter. Peonies are great plants which are receiving plenty of publicity in garden and wedding magazines. This means that Vermont Flower Farm receives many calls this time of year from ladies planning wedding flowers. We don't sell flowers in quantity and only have a few peonies potted for sale but people find us on the Internet and give us a try.

The frequent rains have enhanced this year's crop of ferns. When I built the lower hosta garden I left all the native plants in place including the ferns. I don't know their names but they grow tall and lush and really accent the hostas and other shade plants. The Christmas and Ostrich ferns are looking very good too.


We have grown ferns from plugs before and I wouldn't do it again without a greenhouse. The little ferns can't be over watered or they'll die and the larger ferns can't dry out or they'll pass on. The in between plants look beautiful and everyone wants them. We just sold the last of our Maindenhair ferns which I think we started about three years ago. It was a losing proposition but the folks that bought them for $10 a piece got a bargain, especially at the end. I've never seen anyone who wasn't positive about those ferns.


Gardeners haven't all had an opportunity to see the latest of the painted ferns which have been released by Terra Nova and other nurseries. They are just spectacular and deserve more attention. My favorite has been Silver Falls named after the great waterfall in Oregon. I tried to get to the falls last summer when I visited out there but time was short. I have to remember the image of the special plant I have as one enters the lower hosta garden. If you visit and we aren't around to point it out, it's on the left when you turn the first corner.

A. 'Silver Falls' is a great fern which doesn't show it's real beauty until the beginning of July. It is about three weeks later than native ferns breaking ground and then it is pale green for several weeks before the bronze and red begin to develop. This picture shows that early stage and is a long way from the colors that will make you want to buy more than one. I really don't like to point out favorites and then tell people to keep looking because we don't have any to sell. Popularity keeps numbers low and keeps us sold out.

Give some ferns a try this year. Try to learn to identify some of those which are native to your area and then consider some of those I have mentioned. You'll not be disappointed.


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where Karl is snoring and the cool temperatures of the evening have quelled the accoustical performance I have grown accustomed to. As frogs sleep, I think I will too.


Gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Evening greetings from Vermont Flower Farm. 59 degrees with the temperature dropping and thunder in the distance getting louder. I'll be signing off as quickly as I just signed on. To keep this brief and safe, I just want to mention that the spring rains and good temperatures have brought along the hostas in all their glory. I worked on the gardens all weekend and although they are not finished, many more are planted than were there last week, the deer fence is 3/4's installed and if you're within driving distance, you should make the trip soon. The hostas are in perfect form although some are still unfurling.

The picture above is the lower garden entrance within the old foundation. The picture below shows an update from this weekend of the steps I built a few years ago. There are 63 different hostas planted along the stone steps which lead from the upper drive down into the garden. The total collection is heading towards 500 varieties but many are planted in multiples in various locations so the actual count is many times greater. Gail reports we have over 200 varieties for sale this year but I've been too busy to count. Right now I have to scoot. Thunder and lightning are poor mixes with computers and wiring.

Gardening wishes from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the evening frog chorus starts and stops with each thunderous blast from the heavens. Come visit soon!

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Late Spring Flowers

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Good morning from Vermont Flower Farm! Wet and foggy but the rain has subsided for a bit and we made it through last evening's storm without any damage. It's 52 degrees out right now and that's 30 degrees cooler than it was as the thunderstorm approached last night. Gail and Alex went to East Montpelier to meet a friend and then planned to go to Barre for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. She called about 6:30 in fear that we were also in the midst of a bad storm as the electricity was knocked out in Barre, and East Montpelier had the hardest rain and hail storm Gail had ever seen. Luckily for us the storm's fury went some place else and we got by with rain. Two years ago in late July we weren't as lucky and a hail storm shredded the hostas just when they were in their glory. We spent the rest of the summer explaining what had happened to about everyone who visited. Weather patterns are changing and beautiful gardens can be decimated in minutes.

This is a great time for a walk in the garden because so much color is springing forth. Karl the wonder dog and I have already been out and it seems like every wild animal decided they'd get a better breakfast today to compensate for lost time with last evening's wet meal. We did not see a bear but scared a moose, saw two deer and one jack rabbit so that's not bad for a half hour walk out back. Gail saw a bruiser bear last night coming home from Barre. It was crossing the road in the middle of Plainfield as if it owned the town. Just another reminder that bears are everywhere and with cubs they can be a problem. Use care!

Karl was dripping wet and his tail looked skinny after the walk. I grabbed a towel and when he got done shaking I tried to dry him a little more. I knew he'd probably go back to bed as he often does after a morning walk but if I'm not watching, he makes my bed, his bed and I didn't want a dirty, wet bed. Dog's are not always man's best friend. After the walk I go about gardening but Karl refuses to follow suit.

The bleeding hearts are in full bloom now, both the common type and the ever blooming types. This one by the fence is Dicentra spectabilis. It's easy to grow, can be divided in the spring and it makes a super cut flower which too few people use in arrangements. If you want to divide an older plant, do it in the spring. Do some bending-stretching exercises first because they have a tremendous root system. Have a sharp knife ready too.

I don't have a picture this morning of Dicentra formosa 'Luxuriant' but they are in full bloom here too. These bloom several times during the summer and at 12"-15" tall they make a great border plant and look well integrated with woodland plants on tree line perimeters. I have planted some inside the woodland but they really need more sun to do well. One 'alba' planted below the mailboxes on the steps leading to the lower hosta garden has grown so fast this season that I have pulled clumps of it away several times to maintain the visibility of the adjacent hostas. If you visit, you won't be able to avoid finding it.

If you visit us over the next couple days the flowers along your route will be obvious. It's not just the bleeding hearts that are in bloom but the trollius, lupines in the fields, perennial bachelor's buttons, various crab apples and of course the lilacs in all colors. I always equate the first bloom of the lilacs with the hatch of the tiger swallow tail butterflies. The butterflies are in abundance this week. If I was really an entomologist, I'd be happy today because Gail left the back door light on when she came home last night and we have a collection of bugs on the side of the house that's a collectors dream.


Time to get going as the first customers will be here before I know it. I want to pick a nice bouquet of bleeding heart, ferns and trollius for the table. A couple lilacs for fragrance and I'll have a nice start to a better day.

Be well and stop by if you have a minute. If that's not possible, try the 06 Virtual Tour at http:/vermontflowerfarm.com

From the mountain above Peacham Pond were loons have fish for breakfast and a group of naturalists and a trailer of kayaks just passed by. They will meet in half an hour but neither loons nor people know that.

Damp gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Rununculus Favorites

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Sunday morning, overcast, 59 degrees and heavy with pre-rain humidity. I wish the sun would get moving here and brighten things up but it will obviously be a slow start this morning. It must be that kind of day because I had a time getting Karl the wonder dog to get out of bed and go for a morning walk with me. He did so with great reluctance and when we returned to the house, he went right back to sleep like everyone else around here. A dog's life isn't bad.

I have a lot to get accomplished today but wanted to mention that the trollius are popping and worth looking for if you stop by. This plant is a member of Rununculus and you might know the background from the buttercups that grow wild in Vermont. Gail has liked them for years and has had a number of varieties which sell so well she never gets many in the ground so she can display them.

The plant will take full sun but fares best with a tad of shade and a soil that maintains some moisture. Once established there is a long bloom period. If you do not let the plant go to seed it will bloom again, but less heavily, long about Labor Day time.


Trollius look best when planted in groups of three or more and I have seen mass plantings which are really special. This is a very good cut flower which will last quite a while if cut when the buds have first shown good color and are still tight. It is a good contrast with the first fern leaf peonies but it is so ice you shouldn't have trouble matching it up with other garden favorites.


Colors range from pale, almost creamy-white yellow to dark orange and everything in between. This plant is not used as much as it should be. One look and I'll bet you agree.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where something is apparently hatching in the lower field as three crows are peck, peck pecking at last night's newly mowed grass.

Good gardening wishes'

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Yellow Transparent Tales

Saturday, May 26, 2007

A beautiful day here at Vermont Flower Farm with a clear sky and bright sun that already has pushed the temperature to 78.3. The humidity does not set well with me knowing what has to be accomplished today but summer in Vermont is short and we have no choice but to acccept each day.

I keep rubbing my eyes hoping that they'll adjust to lack of sleep and the long list of things which absolutely have to happen today. Our daylily friends from Morrisville were here for dinner last night and our conversations on until 11 made a long day lead to a short night's sleep. We might still be talking save for Karl, the wonderdog's disruptive barking at what was probably directed at Mr or Mrs Bear coming through the back woods to check out the gas grill.

Bears are being seen with more and more frequency and I have heard three different stories of encounters this very week. Black bears are a fun animal to see if you have never seen one but caution is critical. These are not friendly cirtters like the ones emulated at Vermont Teddy Bear Company in Shelburne. Many Vermonters have never even seen one before but as a whole the bear population is increasing and the chance of seeing one has become more likely. There is less hunting and more disruptions to their habitat .........and just plain more bears. Multiple births have been common in recent years and that translates to more bears per square mile and more bears in your back yard, even if you live in a Vermont country town or city.

I have to say that they adapt too well to domestic life and a free meal only entices them to come and stay. They carry a little automated address book and enter every place that good food can be found. They refer to it often and return time and again to dine. Trouble is they have a bit of arrogance to them and want us to think they are in control of everything. Anything that has big teeth and claws, lots of hair, a musky odor and weighs more than me (wow!) can control what it pleases.

Speaking of arrogance, Gail reminds me often that I occasionaly display a lack of respect for others in this family by doing things head strong that make no sense. The yellow transparent apple out front is an example. Today it is in full bloom and covered with bumble bees and flower bees. Sadly, there isn't a honey bee to be found. If even half the blossoms turn to apples by summer, the tree will probably fall over. Right now it is an interesting sense factory of sound, fragrance and picture to be enjoyed by all.

Three years ago now the tree was in serious shape. If you leaned against it, it headed south. Although it was over 15 years old, the previous owner had put aluminun foil around the base to discourage mice and voles from winter meals of apple cambium. Not! The foil offered a place for insects and the tree was diseased and had a very limited vascular network that was keeping it alive.

One day Gail and Alex were gone and I decided to "save" the tree or eliminate it and be done with the problem. I put the ladder up towards the top and as I climbed, the tree began to move away from each careful step. For some reason, an internal need to become a bonsai artist kicked in and I began to trim each limb into a Dr. Suess type tree that resembled an absurdly clipped poodle. When I finshed the tree was still weak and the ground was deep in prunings.

When Gail and Alex returned that went from "Hi, what kind of day did you have?" to "What are you, some kind of nut?" all in a blink. They didn't care for my pruning. I could tell by Alex's face that he was thinking one of those "Friends don't let friends prune trees." thoughts but it was over and there was no way except by film that you could turn back the event.

Today the tree is strong and it really needs another pruning. By taking off so much excess, the tree apparently established a renewed root system and it's as strong as an ox now. It no longer looks like a Dr. Suess tree although I rather liked it that way. Customers can't stop by now and ask "What exactly is that thing?" and Gail and Alex are relieved. Admittedly Alex likes to see me grovel in past defeat and he is compelled at times to relive the story for visitors. Without having been here, you have no idea what I did. If you taste a good applesauce with these apples and a couple macs, the events of the past fade.

The thermometer in front of me now reads 88.1. It's rising quickly and I have to get going here. Some of the gardens still need to be cleaned up but the place is shaping up and it deserves a visit soon. The hostas should unfurl today and I expect the first trollius will bloom by Monday. If you're out and about this weekend, stop by. As you pull into the drive, look ahead and to the right of the walk to the house. Nice apple tree!



From the mountain above Peacham Pond where a love struck partridge continues for how many days I can't remember to drum away. He is obviously either unsuccessful finding a mate or he has been so successful that he continues with the very same technique. To me it sounds like the old John Deere Model B 2 banger tractor getting started. Stop by and I'll share the sound with you.

Gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Hostas on the Rise

Sunday, May 20, 2007

A very dark morning here on the mountain.....with a sky so dark that it's difficult to believe that the thermometer, standing at 52.8, could possibly be right. The heavy rains of the past few days have encouraged all the trees to spring forth with new leaf growth in various shades of green. I never thought I'd say I was happy to see leaves but there is a very tall green ash tree by the edge of the foundation garden. The emerald ash borer has been killing trees right and left here in recent years and this tree is too nice to lose. Last year it lost a section at the top and although I couldn't find any "D" shaped borer exit holes, I suspected that was the problem. Once the borers are in your neighborhood there is no hope they will leave. It's not a good thought and some agencies try chemical attacks which to my way of thinking just slow the inevitable. There are so many new insects in the gardens this year that even an entomologist would have to work over time.

The hostas jumped out of the ground this week with all the rain after two weeks of hot, dry weather. I'm trying to learn them from their spring display but this is not an easy task, with leaves rolled tightly and grouped closely. Pacific Blue Edger, pictured above is a very nice hosta at about 12" tall. Whiskey Sour, pictured next, is one I picked up from the New England Hosta Society last June. Its spring display is an eye catcher for sure as is Golden Scepter which comes next. Probably the one that has caught gardeners eyes for years how is Sea Fire. I have to keep buying it in because the interest for it between now and mid July is always strong and greater than the speed with which I can reproduce it.

When the hostas break though the ground I begin a fertilizing regieme which works for me. First I take the hand spreader and lime everything. The soil around here is some of the most acid I have encountered and lime helps us get through another year. Since we water the hostas a lot, there is a degree of lime loss to other parts of the garden. A new soil test would be good but I just don't seem to get to that.

After the lime, I spread on commercial 5-10-10. I don't get carried away as too much fertilizer can do your garden in quickly. The little Scott's hand-held plastic spreader set on opening number 5 does just right. Once in a while it stops spreading as a coagulated piece of fertilizer clogs the exit port but all in all it works fine for this task. Something like $12 at the box stores.

Finally I give each plant a good drink of Epsom salts and water. This is magnesium sulphate and a great addition to stimulate root growth. If you looked around the stairs to the cellar of about any old farmhouse in Vermont you'd likely find a discolored box squirreled away someplace. In the old days when it was cheaper, it was used on all the corn fields but in the home it was used to soak feet in tubs and people in their baths to ease the physical stresses of difficult farm chores.

I like magnesium sulphate because it stimulates root growth, doesn't affect the soil ph long term, is easy to use and and enhances leaf color nicely. A competition rose grower told me about it several years ago. My very unscientific distribution format is one heaping handful in a 5 gallon of bucket of water, stirred a couple-three times until it dissolves and then dumped on liberally to each plant. If you want to experiment, buy a carton in about any store's drug section. It comes in little pint and half gallon milk carton sized boxes. Usually in that format it's in crystal form and the crystals take a while to dissolve. It's also more expensive. I buy from the agriculture stores like Agway, Blue Seal and Oliver Seed. 50 pound bags have run about $16-$18 and that's more than enough to carry me through the year. It can be used on anything you grow and the results are significant.

My last fertilizer is fish/seaweed emulsion. I mix 3 ounces in a 5 gallon bucket and again dump some on each plant. It's $14 to $25 a liquid gallon but worth the price because of the inert minerals which come from the sea. All this mixing and lugging and dumping is not easy but it's a worth it. If you can't get through the task yourself and want a real challenge, find a school kid and try to assure them that this is a good job for them to help with.

Hostas in spring are fun to watch. They grow quickly and after they're up, the warm days encourage the leaves to unfurl and grow in size. As you walk your gardens in spring, keep in mind your younger days when you folded a piece of paper and made snowflakes. When you unfolded the paper, the cuts repeated themselves. In spring look for freshly opened leaves and look for repetitive holes of the same size and shape on the same leaf. This could be the sign of insects or worms eating into your hostas at ground level when they started to rise. Take appropriate action and try to eliminate the culprits early on.

There are thousands of hostas available now and the best have yet to be released to gardeners. We have a good 165-175 different varieties for sale this year from minis to extra large. If you like hostas, stop by any time now and you'll get to see unfolding beauty on the mountain above Peacham Pond.

Have a nice Sunday! Garden walks bring peace and a to-do list at the same time.

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Pack and Ship

Thursday, May 17, 2007

A very long day is coming to a close for me and it can't be soon enough. I was in and out of the truck a dozen times since 7 this morning and ended the day with wet feet from hitting too many puddles. Right now it's quiet outside and 42 degrees. The 80 degree weather of last week has been replaced by cold and damp which will continue until next week.

The good news at Vermont Flower Farm is that plant orders continue to arrive by email, website, telephone and the mailbox. So far we have kept up with everything. Gardeners seem very interested in hostas and daylilies but the number of specialty plants has been surprisingly good, almost to the point I'm getting worried about supplies. I'll have to do a good review this weekend.

The daylily pictured above is not a new one. It's named Over There and it was hybridized, named and released by Darrell Apps. It's listed as bright red with a dark red halo and green throat and as a dormant and a rebloomer. I like everything about it but the "rebloomer" part because just saying that sends Gail into a tizzy that doesn't stop for a while.

I have learned that Mr. Apps, previously Prof. Apps, has given retirement a try and is returning to Wisconsin from New Jersey. I "heard" that but it's probably true. His work in the world of daylilies is special and he came to understand how to produce a daylily that bloomed and bloomed. When Over There gets going, it does just that.

Gail doesn't like the word "rebloomer" because she says it suggests that the plant stops blooming for a while and then starts again at some point in the future. People almost think that there is an end-of-bloom on July 10 and on July 25th the plant bursts into flower again. It's not quite like that but plants carrying this description probably bloom more than usual and make the owner very pleased.

Here at Vermont Flower Farm we ship plants that might be smaller than those shipped from the southern states. That's because the weather is different here, it's not as warm and the rain is not as frequent. This picture is of one of four Over There that Gail shipped out today. This is a healthy plant with a strong root system and thick fans. The water droplets look like dots from outer space but they're just part of yesterday's +2.2 inches of rain. Nothing wrong with this plant. Our website has many more to view so if you get a chance, scan our pages and try to pick a few plants. None will rhyme with Over There but we guarantee that they'll grow well and make you pleased.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where the cold evening temperatures have turned off the frog chorus switch.

Damp gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Tool Time Reminder

Tueday, May 15, 2007

Way past 10 PM and gardening chores never seem to cease. I made a mistake to stretch out to watch the news just after supper and woke up at 9:30 in time to be reminded by Gail that I hadn't dug the hostas for two orders that have to go out tomorrow. Good thing our only neighbors are used to flashlights in the garden and night time expletives when I drop things in the dark.

Tonight's digging involved the last of the Raspberry Sorbet for this year and six American Sweetheart. I always run out of Raspberry Sorbet because it's a later flowering hosta with a great purple color that lasts. I'm going to have to spend some time and buy in a bunch and squirrel it away until I have a better supply. If you don't have one in your collection, buy it up when you see it.

One thing I do on these night time missions is leave tools where I shouldn't. This picture of my old spade fork laying in the Lysimachia nummularis 'aurea' represents poor behavior which I will regret. I know other gardeners are lazy about their tools too. Flat on the ground is a good way to ruin a wooden handled tool in a year or less. If you have to leave tools in the garden, buy the cheaper, plastic coated handles. These are typically guaranteed to last three years which means they will probably last two years but the cost is a little less than a good wooden handled tool.

We haven't had rain for over two weeks and today things changed a little. Although people at work made contrary comments, I think everyone knows how dry it is and how high the forest fire threat is. My man-made (that would be me) bog garden has begun to shrink and the vernal pool which usually is full of water into July has dropped two feet. When I cleaned out the little frog pond near the ligularia display garden I safely removed the various frogs eggs to a bucket and transported them to the vernal pool. I noticed most have hatched but now I have a bigger problem with the water going out of sight earlier than expected. Four days of good rain would make me happy.

Spring chores continue here at Vermont Flower Farm. We had a great planting crew this year and finished up most of the work on Sunday. Gail and I are now digging plants from the garden and I have a lot of hosta dividing to do. With this rain I have to hustle because it's a bunch easier to divide hosta when they're first out of the ground than when they begin to unfurl. Yesterday I got the lower hosta garden limed and fertilized but it is far from what I'd like it to be. I have decided you can tell what kind of a gardener you were last year by the number and assortment of weeds you have growing this year. From this springs perspective, I was too busy last year and I will pay this year.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where 55 degrees is perfect encouragement for the frog pond chorus which I hope will sing me back to sleep.

Good gardening from the tired gardener!

George Africa
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
http://vermontflowerfarm.com

Happy Mothers Day

Mothers Day

May 13, 2007

Good morning mothers, good morning gardeners! It's a beautiful day at Vermont Flower Farm even though the wind is strong and the 56 degrees on the thermometer in the sun is misleading. Karl the wonder dog and I went for a morning walk while the rest of the house lay quiet with sleepiness. It's Mothers Day and although there's a lot to do, Gail can sleep as long as she wants. Yesterday she and the crew planted over 700 pots and ended the day with sore hands but a sense that the end of planting is near. She deserves a little extra snoozing.

Karl and I walked out back. The turkeys were off the roost earlier than I expected and three hens were scuffing the new piles of leaves I spread across the back field. The soil is very poor there so I gather spring and fall debris and spread it out and allow sheet composting to take place. It works well and gives the turkeys a place to feed. Try as I might, I could not get a tom turkey to talk to me again this morning. The season is on and perhaps hunters are disturbing their daily patterns.

Two male ruby throated hummingbirds are already fighting over the feeders but to date, no females have arrived. The males arrive first but usually by now we see at least one female. Perhaps later today as it is Mothers Day.

Good gardeners develop their eyesight so they can be watchful for insects and plant diseases. I have always been a detail person and although my eyesight isn't as strong as it used to be, I know how to notice things which are out of the ordinary. This morning a yellow crab spider was obvious to me on one of the daffodils planted outside my office window. There are many crab spiders and this one is a female golden rod spider. The two brownish colored bars on her abdomen tell her gender. This spider enjoys anything white or yellow to hide against while eating.

I have read that these spiders lie and wait for a meal and don't spin a web. Whenever I see one I visually check this out and always thought it to be true until this morning. I noticed that Mrs. S. was raising and lowering her right leg and I could see a tiny web across the daffodil.


Daffodils are a great bulb and make springtime in Vermont a lot brighter for us. I am always amazed how many people stop this time of year and want to buy some and actually ask for "daffodil plants", not knowing that they are bulbs. We don't sell bulbs, even in the fall, as by that time we are busy enough with cleaning things up and getting our own bulbs planted. We have thousands in the garden now and daffodils are a favorite.

Gail and Alex enjoy tulips but they have a short life in Vermont and for me, I like to plant things once and have more than just a memory in future years. There's plenty of time to give this some thought between now and fall but if you don't have any daffodils yet, plan to go to your garden store or online and buy several varieties. They are often sold in 10's and clumps of 5 or ten in your garden will bring enjoyment and welcome comments from your visitors, neighbors and other gardeners. Bulbs usually appear in stores by the first of September. And don't forget, there's also a chance that next year you'll see a golden rod spider.

As I head for the kitchen to begin making my Mothers Day chores, I wish all mothers a happy day. Everyone loves flowers and today is a great day to enjoy your flowers or get out and see what others grow or sell.

Happy gardening, Mothers and others!

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Bloodroots Abound

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Just in from my morning walk which started about 5. For me there's nothing better about the part of year when mornings and evenings apply a day stretcher and give the gardener the biggest opportunity. It was a nice walk out to the small spring on the mountain and then back to the old log landing, the long needle pine stand and then back through the peony nursery.

Difficult to figure what's going on this morning. The weather report is for fine weather but the morning sky is stacked up with black clouds like a January afternoon when a snow storm is approaching. I know that won't be happening as it's already up to 58 degrees en route for a predicted 80.

Every day more wild flowers catch my attention and I thoroughly enjoy them. I know that more and more gardeners are incorporating them in their gardens and that's the good news. The bad news is that wherever I seem to wander, I find pockets in the soil where shovels have dug out scoops of wild flowers. I understand this, but I don't like it.

Wild flower cultivation is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult. For example, the Trillium grandiflorum I grow take 6-7 years from seed if all goes well and the deer don't top off the flowers. If you're out and about and you see a big colony, there's no way you'll understand the age of the group and what it took to get them to that population. "Big" or "many" translates to "ok to dig" and that's just not right.


One wild flower I write about too much is bloodroot. That's because I have always enjoyed it since a kid and I like to see masses of white undercarpet. This is a quick-to-reproduce plant which some see as a weed because of the way it can take over the right location. I really like to watch the way the flowers open and close and the way it unfurls in spring. It's a photographer's challenge because some afternoons it begins to close back up around 3. White is nice and so are bloodroots. I guess the juices are poisonous but apparently not to touch as the native Americans used the orange juice to color their skin before ceremonial events. I'll stick to flowers and avoid the rest of that story.



If you're out and about in the next couple days and you know an area with moist soil

that's open to sun such as along a brook or stream, keep an eye out for bloodroot. Up this way it will only be in bloom until the weekend as the warm weather is making it drop its petals and form seed pods right now. In the meantime, remember my comments about taking wildflowers from the wild. Check out the New England Wild Flower Society too as they have plant sales going on right now and the prices are very reasonable and the proceeds support a good project.

With that thought, I'm out of here for the day. I wish I could wait for a while longer. As I look out the window, Gail and Karl are in the lower garden in front of my office window. Gail is scuffing leaves around like a wild turkey looking for a snack. She's really looking for where she lined out a row of Tiarella 'Iron Butterfly' last summer. From my recall she looks like she's about 2 rows away from the right place. Karl is using his sniffer to help but that's not working either.

From the moutain above Peacham Pond where the potholes in the road get deeper and the sun now rises higher.

With great gardening wishes,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Remember Astilbes!

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Almost 6 AM and the sun is finally crawling above Peacham Pond to light up a previously dull morning. Last night's temperature dropped to 28.9 but I notice that the water flowing over the lower road is still moving fast enough that it didn't freeze. There are still great patches of snow in the woods which keep the water flowing.

Busy day coming today. Gail is finishing up lunch for the planting crew which will begin arriving at 8. She and Alex are heading for Jericho for much of the day so I will be here mixing soil, barking directions, and doling out bags or buckets of plants that must get into pots. The crew is never the same but always interesting and the conversations can cover quite a spectrum.

Gail is usually in charge and about the only thing we do differently is lunch break. I'm big on a break around noon but Gail has this thing about grabbing a good five hours from people, having lunch around 1:30 and then saying "That's all folks!" Her management philosophy is that people who have had a good lunch don't bend as fast and she expects people to keep up with her non-stop performance. I'm getting too old for that but when she's the leader I have to follow suit, often in verbal, badger-like protest.

One of the flowers we'll be planting today is astilbe. I really like this plant and Gail must too as we have 60-70-I don't know how many different astilbes. I like to offer a self preservation comment about this plant every spring because you must be careful when cleaning up last years stems.

We leave all the previous season's flower scapes through the winter because they turn a rusty brown and they look very nice in contrast to the snow cover. What this does, however, is give them a chance to dehydrate over the winter and it turns the stems into upright pin cushions of thin needles which can easily--and I do mean easily--penetrate finger tips and any other unprotected skin.

Be wise about this and always wear a good pair of gloves any time you are cleaning up astilbes. The work goes quickly but again, it's better to put on a pair of safety glasses and gloves and move slowly.

Astilbes work well in semi shade or fairly open settings in this part of Vermont. They'll do fine in full sun as long as moisture prevails and the soil has been amended to maintain moisture. Their thick, mat-like root mass maintains lots of water but if it dehydrates, it's difficult to rehydrate and keep the plant looking good.

So far this has been a dry spring in the gardens and the first leaves have just started to unfurl. If we don't receive any rain by Tuesday, we'll get the hoses going on the potted plants to bring them along. In the meantime, planting chores abound. If you haven't given astilbes a thought before, stop by later this summer and take a look. This is really a low maintenance plant that provides a different texture over a good period of time. Heights range from 10 inches to 5 feet.

Here are close ups of Montgomery and Bressingham Beauty.

From the mountain above Peacham Pond where the temperature is already 38 and a nice day is forecast. For bird watchers in the audience, yesterday at about 2 PM we have a visit from an absolutely superb specimen of male Osprey. Gail's distance vision is not good and she was in awe at this master of the air as he spent about twenty minutes here trying to figure out if our trout pond menu was to his liking.

I don't know if it was the mallards on the pond or our neighbor on his riding tractor but Mr. Osprey failed to complete the entertainment with a dive for a fat trout. This was an adult male and if you haven't seen how big this bird can get, keep an eye out if you visit Peacham Pond. Last year one showed up the same day the state fish trucks dumped 2500 brown trout into Peacham. My guess is this guy checked his calendar yesterday and headed over our way. His wingspan is etched in my mind--giant and masterful!

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Morning Walks

May 2, 2007

The second of May and a beautiful day here on the mountain. I've been out for a walk already and Karl the wonder dog is reflecting dismay that he was left in the house, snoozing and snoring as I exited without him. Sometimes I need a little peace too! I'll be on the road all day today in southern Vermont so the calmness of the morning will be the best part of the day.

Yesterday was May Day in America. It was not a day that's necessarily celebrated with fanfare as it is in other parts of the world. To me it signals having made it through another Vermont winter. The day is a jump start for a summer that once started, just flies by. Operating a nursery, working a full time job, looking out for a couple 89 and 90 year olds, and continuing to learn about autism at home is enough on my plate.

This moring's walk was pleasat as the sun rose quickly. The spring turkey hunting season started yesterday and once again my hunting will be no more than this morning's walk. I take along my assortment fo turkey calls and try to see how good I am at bringing in the big toms. They are magnificent to see and their competitive antics are interesting. I bought three decoys last year and they remian in the original box in the cellar. I had hoped to use them just to call in some big birds and watch them. Big toms do not like competition for their hens.

The wild flowers are coming out now and this weeks warmer weather after a couple good rains will bring on lots of flowers. The hepaticas are looking nice and today I want to try to get some pictures in central Vermont of bloodroot and marsh marigold. Our Trillium grandiflorum are doing well and the flower buds are swelling but it will be another week before they first bloom. I am pleased with the way I have reseeded them each year and the numbers are expanding.

Shelburne Pond south of Burlington probably has a great carpet of these trillium right now, decorating the limestone hills with white, accentuated by the yellow of dogtooth violets. If you have a chance, take a walk this week with a good wild flower guide and a bird guide if you have one. Your lists will be interesting as well as a good test of what you know and what you need to learn. I'm on the "need to learn" side of a lot of things but it's fun to learn more about what we share Vermont with.

Speaking of sharing, get those bird feeders down if you haven't yet. I've already heard two reports of hungry bears. In contrast, get your hummingbird feeders disinfected, thoroughly cleaned, filled and hung. Here at Vermont Flower Farm the ruby throats come like clockwork and they should be here soon.

Spring walking wishes from the mountain above Peacham Pond where loons brag about morning minnow breakfasts and a lost gray squirrel looks at our missing bird feeders wondering what to have for breakfast.

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.bogspot.com