Snow Plow Mailboxes

Monday, December 5, 2011

I always liked this picture of our daylilies and other display gardens when the flower farm was located at our home on Peacham Pond Road in Marshfield. The house in the photo is owned by a friend now who used to work for us.

If you look closely you will see a green mailbox standing in front of a crab apple tree towards the house. I always save old mailboxes when the road crew misses with the wing plow and leaves me sputtering and the box laying in a snow bank. Over time I have too many for my patience but they serve follow up duty in the gardens and never get nailed there!

I use the boxes for paper and pencils for customers with memories as bad as mine. Also include a knife, shears, small shovels, all the tools I don't carry around with me. The key is getting them back to the mailbox when you're done. It works for me--might be worth a try for you too.

Best gardening wishes from Vermont Flower Farm!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener

Writers Cottage Continued

Monday, December 5, 2011

33.4°, windless, with a rose colored sky above Peacham Pond that serves as a backdrop to the tops of the aged fir balsams. A blue jay just tried unsuccessfully to crowd 4 mourning doves off the platform feeder as a couple chickadees, small and polite, crowded in without incident. I filled the feeders yesterday but the changing weather brought in lots of birds yesterday and I have to get back with more food soon.

Work continues on the new writers cottage and I have to say that I am pleased with how a guy who cannot cut a straight line has assembled a workable building that I don't think will fall down. There is a lot of work left to be done but with the main building up and the wood stove functional, so I can get back to the inside work any day I please.

Yesterday was "in the woods" day and I worked hard on cutting out a trail from the cottage to the back Peacham land border. Our 70 acres includes land in Marshfield and Peacham and I am working my way across a mountainside crossing both townships as I make the trail. I'm making it big enough for easy cross country skiing, snowshoeing or just hiking and will use the wood for the cottage stove. I have plans to plant the more open areas with wild flowers that I have been propagating in various locations on the property. Lots of ambition, but less time than I need.

Close to the cottage is a very nice spring that percolates big bubbles of crystal clear, very cold water from a bed of sparkling white, always shinning granite dust. In spring I'll put in a hand pump to make it easier to draw water and somehow I'll pipe that to my idea for a solar shower. Anyone with ideas on the solar shower can let me know what works, what doesn't.

Today is recycling day and I have to get the truck loaded and get to East Montpelier. It looks like the weather will hold til noon and that's good as it will take a bit to get the truck loaded and a few other chores finished. I hope your day goes well too. As you think about holiday gifts, think about replacement tools. There are some handy items on the market that make gardening easier.

Best gardening wishes from the mountain above Peacham Pond where this morning's noisy coyote concert faded quickly, replaced by calming bird songs.

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

Building A Writers Cottage

Sunday, December 4, 2011

24.6°, quiet, a 2 mph breeze. The humidity is high and the air has a little bite this morning. The stars are shutting off for the night and there is a faint lightness beyond Peacham Pond as the sun thinks of getting out of bed on the eastern coast. Light will arrive here in another half hour. I just poured another coffee and went to the cellar to fill the buckets with various bird seed. As light comes, I'll fill the feeders with sunflower seed, cracked corn, millet and thistle. Birds are entertaining and once the bears have gone to rest for the winter, I can be assured that the feeders will be well visited, not disturbed. I have 4 pounds of suet thawing on the kitchen counter. Today will be the first time I'll hang old onion sacks here and there to bring in the woodpeckers and warm all the other birds too.

Karl the Wonder Dog only wanted an abbreviated walk this morning until he looked up and saw two deer standing by the tractor. If there was a little more snow on the ground it would have made a nice picture for a tractor commercial for Christmas. Karl snorted, the deer snorted and I said "Let's go!."

It's nice to know that readers of The Vermont Gardener have remained faithful during this busy fall season when writing has been minimal as this writer has been cyclone-like and busy. It wasn't just fall clean up and equipment repair, but a major project that started October 25th as I began construction of a writers cottage in the woods. I have an office here at the house but there is a peace that comes from the woods that made me want to build a little place to go and write in total quiet. Thoreau did this at Walden Pond and I sure am no Thoreau but I do recognize how nature and quiet provide a different environment for writing.

I had lots of 8X8 hemlock timbers milled almost two years ago and the plan was to build wide steps from the hosta shade house down the steep bank to the lower gardens. My goal was to provide an easier way for people with mobility problems to get up and down and not miss some beautiful displays when they visited Vermont Flower Farm. The floods of May and then again when Hurricane Irene washed half of Vermont to the ocean changed my thinking on steps. Had I built them, they would be washed up on the shore in Burlington or Winooski now as the area they were scheduled for became a new river and under "feet" of water.



Getting 8 and 10 foot timbers to the site meant building a road for my tractor. The site itself had to be cleared and although I began in late September, I didn't start digging holes and pouring cement until the end of October. Since then I have had help from Alex and my friend Michelle has acted like a roof monkey, climbing around, rearranging plywood and screwing down the roofing. The wood stove is in and now I am ready to spend some time inside insulating top to bottom with the luxury of heat. It will be another couple weeks to get the insulating done but after that I am finished until next spring. Alex and I began wrapping the outside with Tyvek yesterday and that will finish today. I'll get a couple more pictures today so everyone can see what I have been up to.

The writers cottage, shed, camp, whatever you wish to call it, was built with another thought in mind too. We have a little over 70 acres here on the mountain and I have toiled with clearing roads and trails for years now. In 1992, some of the land was cut for pulpwood but that was the only time any forest management was undertaken. I have contemplated hiring a logger with horses to clean up the woods. Last fall I built a machine shed that can serve as a temporary horse barn and this little cabin can serve as a base to work out of, even stay at for whomever I get to log for us. I still need an outhouse and a solar shower, hand pump and a sink but these are winter projects too. By next year this time, the place should be finished up, ship lap siding on the outside and typical amenities added. Any building is a surprise in terms of time to build and cost for materials but this was an investment I really wanted to make. Check back tomorrow and see more recent pictures. Right now I have to head out for the Sunday paper.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pnd where sunrise has encouraged more wind. A feral cat I have not seen before is sitting in the lower field waiting for a mouse. Breakfast time for others than just me.

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

Gail has holiday gift cards ready. Each has a picture of one of our gardens, individual flowers, etc Interested? Give her a call to order. She'll gladly add your special message. 802-426-3505

A Murder of Crows

Thursday, November 17, 2011

31.8° here on the mountain and only a faint wind now. The dark skies of an hour ago have faded to a rising sun over Peacham Pond and long flat clouds that don't appear to move. The temperature is more than ten degrees cooler this morning and the feel is more like November than the previous two weeks when we were spoiled by above average temperatures. Blue jays are everywhere this morning and they are greeted by 7 mourning doves that lift off and land outside my office window, apparently remembering the cracked corn feeder that is nowhere to be found. Until the bears hibernate, the feeders remain empty here.

Overhead a few beech leaves rustle as a murder of noisy crows heads east. They were loud enough to get me to stand up from the computer and count them as they went by the window. I stopped at 87 but there were more. "Murder" is a collective noun specific to what many might call a "flock" of crows (or ravens). But crows are usually in small groups until in late Fall when they decide to move along a bit, south to warmer temperatures and more frequent road kills and east to more snowless fields. I like crows and I appreciate their attitude towards clean roads. This morning I hope a few are down at Ian the bagpipers house on RT 232 as there was a giant skunk there yesterday, flatter than flat and already quite odoriferous. Death occurred at the crest of a hill and it's difficult to avoid the pile of black and white with traffic wanting to get by quickly.

Just the word "collective" reminds me that it's Fall and Fall is pick up time in the garden. I have a very bad habit of leaning up tools against trees and then not going back to pick them up. Today will be pick up day and at very least I'll get everything into the cellar in a pile so they can dry out. Later this winter I'll sharpen edges and oil handles but for now, just collecting them will be enough. It's probably a good idea for you to consider too.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where deer hunters pass the house and the wind has grown silent. Have a nice day!

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

Call Gail at 802-426-3505 if you need a holiday or special occasion gift certificate. We're always happy to help you grow your green thumb!

Sweet Peas and Other Maine Thoughts

Sunday, November 13, 2011

28.1° this morning. The moon's light is overshadowed by floating clouds but surrounding stars offer plenty of light. It bounces off the snow and allows for easy travel. Deer hunters will be happy to have a second morning to work their way into the woods easily. There is a crunch to the frozen leaves but the shadows are alluring and remind me that I should learn to take those pictures sometime. Karl the Wonder Dog isn't into photography and just wanted to keep walking but I have things to accomplish today. I am like the message in my favorite poet, Robert Frost's, Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening. He wrote:

"But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Social media gets all the hype now and it's justified. As a gardener I can see and hear new ideas, great suggestions, from around the world from people I may not even know. This morning I read a note from Carol in Hope, Maine reminding me of the garden beauty that appears in the work of Belfast, Maine photographer Lynne Karlin. In 2001, I bought GARDENS Maine Style which Lynn co-authored with Rebecca Sawyer-Fay. I loved the book because it reminded me of so many places I had visited in my "second best state" after Vermont. Their sequel, GARDENS Maine Style Act II is equally entertaining and the books sit side by side on one of my bookcases, a bit worn from sharing with other gardeners.

Although friend Carol was pointing out the books, she was also calling my attention to a gardener in Surry Maine, just down from Bar Harbor. The business is Sue Keating's Sweet Pea Gardens and it's another on my list of "Been there's". Years ago when Gail and I were first growing flowers together, we grew sweet peas for sale at the Burlington Farmers Market. Sweet peas were a New England farmer's garden favorite and every farm lady either of us knew grew sweet peas. Gail's dad was a good gardener too and each year he planted sweet peas for flowers the same time he plated peas to eat. Gail's mom loved the flowers and Ralph was there to please with the peas. There was no question about how Gail learned to grow tall, long stemmed, beautifully fragrant sweet peas or why she loved them so much.

Fast forward 30 years and we have just begun to discuss growing sweet peas again. Success comes in good seed which is more pricey now than the $28 a pound we paid in the early 80's. Success also comes from good garden soil and getting the seed started in early spring. If you are interested in seed, Keating's website offers some for sale. There is also a link to the National Sweet Pea Society (United Kingdom) that will get you thinking about a beautiful flower. What you will not find on the Internet, is any place that offers in-line fragrance of a bouquet of sweet peas. Buy some seed. Enjoy!


Writing from the moutnain above Peacham Pond where deer hunters have started traveling the roads and getting out of camp and into the woods. Not much activity yesterday. Herd is said to be down 10% statewide due to last year's winter.

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

Our nursery is closed for the season but web sales continue year round as we try to help you grow your green thumb!