The Vermont Gardener

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 13:52:00 +0000

INVASIVE PLANTS

Springtime in Vermont can get us excited about gardening but there's a long time between early March and planting time. Those "late" snowstorms that drop several inches of snow and mess up special events such as your favorite flower show come without notice but often leave in days, not weeks. This time of year when there is still lots of snow on the ground--almost 3 feet here where I live--makes it a great time to think about gardening related topics such as invasives.

Invasive plants and insects can have a big impact on our gardens no matter how big or small they grow to. I have written about invasive insects which have made surprising appearances as climates have shown a warming trending. In addition to new insects there are also new plants known to be very invasive. If you live near a stream or river that floods, or live along a major highway such as US Route 2 where Vermont Flower Farm is located, there is no doubt that you have noticed new plants growing in and around your gardens. If you see any, remove them quickly as invasives are multipliers.

Here are some links that will help you learn more about invasives. Remember that some make poison ivy look like a piece of cake. Learn plants before touching them. Plants such as Giant Hogweed can create giant medical problems for a long time. Read on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleum_mantegazzianum

Invasive-Plant-Species-Voluntary-Codes-of-Conduct-2002.pdf

Responsible Use of Non-native Plants in Our Garden Designs | Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Maine Natural Areas Program, Invasive Plants

nh-invasive-plant-list.pdf

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:24:00 +0000

CLIMATE CHANGE

January 30, 2025

Climate change is reshaping ecosystems worldwide, and Vermont is no exception. With warmer winters, longer growing seasons, and shifting precipitation patterns, the state’s native landscapes—and the gardens within them—are undergoing significant transformations. For gardeners, these changes present both challenges and opportunities because of the type of precipitation we receive. Rain, ice, freezing rain, snow.... they each influence how we garden.

Vermont’s gardening culture is a cherished tradition, providing beauty, food production, and a connection to the natural world. The downside however is that changing climate has made the state more hospitable to invasive plant species that thrive in longer, warmer seasons and survive the accompanying milder winters. These invasive plants, once held in check by Vermont’s historically cold, below zero-degree winters, are now spreading rapidly, outcompeting native plants and disrupting ecosystems. As I grew up in mid-state Woodstock, Vermont in the middle fifties on into the late 60s, winter temperatures were often -20° to -30° and those walks to and from the bus stop were formidable. We even saw it colder than that at times. Winter 2023 here in Marshfield had one -5° night all winter and I only plowed the driveway 4 times as snowfall was limited too.

Many gardeners remain unaware of the ecological damage caused by these new arrivals. Invasive species crowd out native plants that support pollinators, reduce biodiversity, and alter soil health, threatening the delicate balance of Vermont’s ecosystems. By understanding the impact of these changes and adopting thoughtful agricultural practices, both home gardeners, professionals, and all farmers can play a vital role in preserving Vermont’s agriculture.

Section II: The Impact of Warmer Winters and Longer Growing Seasons: Who else lives here now?

Vermont’s winters, traditionally long and harsh, once acted as a natural barrier to many invasive species. But as winters grew milder, species that couldn’t previously survive here are now thriving. Longer growing seasons give these invasives a head start, allowing them to spread aggressively and disrupt native communities. The invasives we see surviving now include plants, insects and animals.

Some of the most concerning plant species benefiting from Vermont’s changing climate include:

Buckthorn: Grows as a shrub or smaller tree with thorns and black fruit. (https://vtinvasives.org/news-events/news/spotlight-common-buckthorn)

Burning Bush/Winged Euonymous: Introduced as an easily shaped shrub with colorful red-orange, pink and yellow fruit that is popular with birds, hence invasive due to widespread seed distribution and growth. (https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/burning-bush-or-winged-euonymus)

Common Reed: A vigorous reed to 9 feet tall, prominent in roadside ditches, stream and river beds, and other damp to wet areas. Spreads quickly by abundant seeds that travel easily by wind. ( https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/common-reed)

Common Thistle:(https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/canada-thistle) (https://youtu.be/TOvcv3esV4g) A wonderful pollinator plant that is regularly adorned with varieties of butterflies and wild bees. The stems are covered in prickers that make hand pulling difficult.

Garlic Mustard: Capable of surviving Vermont’s mild winters, this invasive crowds out native wildflowers such as trilliums and produces chemicals that inhibit the growth of surrounding plants. (https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/garlic-mustard)

Goutweed/Bishop’s Weed/Snow on the Mountain: Originally introduced as a garden groundcover, the green and white variegated leaves being the most popular however all plants are seriously invasive as one ¼" piece will regenerate. Now found growing through old pastures and along forest lines. Accepts shade in its now expanded territory. (https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/goutweed-or-bishops-weed)

Asiatic Bittersweet: A fast-growing vine that smothers trees and shrubs, damaging forest ecosystems. In the past century it has spread from New Jersey-New York-Pennsylvania northward to Canada. Seeds are dispensed by birds so it is often found growing in old apple orchards which over time it will kill. The vines are often harvested in the fall and made into wreaths but that very popular process contributes to the spread of the vines. (https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/bittersweet-asiatic)

Japanese Knotweed: A tenacious plant that thrives in disturbed soils, displacing native vegetation including wildflowers along waterways and roadsides. Climate change has brought more flooding so this vigorous grower is distributed far and wide and seeds of pieces as small as 1/8” root and grow. This has become a disaster for organic farmers who often grow food plants along rivers where one flood can destroy the organic potential of the land. (https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/knotweed-japanese)

Japanese Barberry: The most vigorous of all the barberries. Popular with birds so it can be found spreading across abandoned farmland, hillsides, along waterways, and in residential settings. The bushes are covered in thorns which keep humans and domestic and farm animals away. This provides a protective opportunity for mice, voles and moles to thrive. Such rodents are critical to the life cycle of Lyme Disease which requires the Blacklegged Deer Tick. (https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/barberry-japanese)

Purple Loosestrife: Noticeable in North America in the early 1800s and now an obvious plant, growing to 3 feet tall with purple blooms. Grows in ditches, damp fields, marshes and along ponds. Confused with Common Liatris found in many flower gardens. (https://vtinvasives.org/invasive/loosestrife-purple)

As invasive plants take root, they displace native plants such as milkweed, goldenrod, and aster—critical sources of food and habitat for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. They crowd out trout lilies, wild ginger, trillium, rattlesnake plantain, and wild orchids. The loss of these plants directly contributes to declining pollinator populations, which affects not only individual ecosystems but also crop yields for fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Section III. The Impact of Invasives on Native Plants and Pollinators.

Invasive insects are another significant consequence of Vermont’s warming climate. Milder winters enable species that once couldn’t survive here to establish themselves, causing extensive damage to forests, gardens, and agriculture.

Here are some examples of insects fairly new to this part of New England which have already shown their destructive capabilities over short periods of time.

Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) (https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/eab): This beetle, previously restricted by Vermont’s cold winters, now poses a severe threat to ash trees statewide. Its larvae burrow into trees, disrupting nutrient flow and eventually killing the trees. Ash trees are important to Vermont’s economy via its use as lumber and firewood. Historically the bark of the brown ash was critical to indigenous peoples for making baskets, and buckets for maple syrup production. Finally, the loss of ash trees due to the emerald ash borer disrupts forest canopies, exposing understories to invasive plants such as knotweed and bittersweet.

Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula)(https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/slf): A recent invader, this colorful insect targets a wide range of plants, including grapevines, maples, orchard fruits, and ornamentals. It weakens them and leaves them susceptible to disease. The fruit and maple syrup industries represent a large part of Vermont’s economy. Spotted lanternflies can quickly devastate vineyards, fields and orchards, creating economic and ecological challenges for both gardeners and farmers.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae)(https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/invertebrates/hemlock-woolly-adelgid): Warmer winters have allowed this pest to spread across Vermont’s hemlock forests, leading to tree mortality and ecosystem collapse in affected areas. Hemlock declines changes soil and water conditions, making it easier for invasive plants to spread in these newly vulnerable areas. Historically hemlocks have provided very useful lumber for projects such as docks, walkways and bridges

in, on or near water.

Beech bark disease is caused by the wooly beech scale or felted beech scale in conjuction with one or two Neocentrix fungi. The tiny scale make holes in the bark so the fungi can enter and over a few years the bark begins to crack and the tree begins to die. Beech trees are a valuable wood for the furniture industry and the wood is also a high BTU firewood. The wood becomes punky and useless as firewood after it has been infected over only a couple years. (https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/pathogens-and-diseases/beech-bark-disease)

Asian Longhorn Beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, is another wood boring beetle that seeks out hardwood trees including maples, birch, elm, chestnut and willows. In recent years, detection has not determined any beetles in the area of Marshfield where we live but beetles have been located in Massachusetts, and southern and western New Hampshire. Vermont produces more maple syrup and related maple products than any other state in the US. (https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/invertebrates/asian-long-horned-beetle)

Spongy Moth. The caterpillars (Lymantria dispar dispar) continue serious outbreaks in various portions of Vermont. Estimates of 50,000 acres of defoliation occurred in 2021 and in 2022, and have been noticeable in lesser ammounts in 2023 and 2024 perhaps due to wet spring weather in the latter two years. The caterpillars have a a big impact on oak trees but also prefer maples and poplars but will attack spruce and hemlock which are not preferred unless other foliage declines. (https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/spongy-moth)

Animal Changes Two noteworthy changes in the past 8-9 years involve Oppossums (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum) and Jumping Worms (https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/invertebrates/asian-jumping-worm) . Warmer winters have encouraged possums to move northward and I have seen them as far north as St Albans, Vermont in the west, and St Johnsbury, Vermont here on the more eastern side of the state. They have been obvious here at our home which borders Groton State Forest off Route 232 that runs north to south off Route 2 in Marshfield. One of a possum’s interesting and positive behaviors is that they eat ticks. Deer mice and the Blacklegged deer tick are part of the life cycle of Lyme Disease which has become a serious human health hazard for which there still is no immunization.

Jumping Worms, Crazy Snake Works, Alabama Jumpers are some of the names for the same night crawler-sized worm that came to us from Asia. This worm get it various names because when disturbed, it rolls around with great speed and might appear to jump. In the fall of each year the mature worms lay egg cases and then dies over the winter. Come spring the eggs hatch and the worms quickly grow. The speed with which they mature is amazing but is caused by the fact that they eat all the organic material on the forest floor. They are so successful eating all the leaves and composting soil on the forest floor that they devour all the seeds and seedlings of wildflowers, trees and shrubs. This is especially concerning to maple syrup producers since forest floor compost in a sugar orchard is critical to the health of the maturing and sap producing trees, and the seedlings that will become the future’s syrup producers.

Section IV. Big Ecological and Gardening Impacts: What Can We Do?

The dual threat of invasive plants and insects compound each other. Vermont loggers, farmers of all persuasions, and home gardeners can take the following steps:

Learn to Identify and Monitor Invasives

Familiarize yourself with local invasive plants and insects. The Vermont Invasives website (https://vtinvasives.org/) offers excellent resources for identification and reporting.

Regularly inspect your garden and surrounding areas for signs of invasive species. Early detection is key to preventing their spread.

Plant Native and Climate-Resilient Species

Choose native plants such as milkweed, bee balm, asters, and goldenrod to support pollinators.

Incorporate climate-resilient varieties that can thrive in Vermont’s changing conditions, reducing the risk of invasives gaining a foothold.

Manage Invasive Plants and Pests Responsibly

Remove invasive plants carefully, ensuring roots are fully extracted and disposed of to prevent regrowth.

Use traps, barriers, or biological controls to manage invasive insects instead of chemical pesticides, which can harm beneficial insects.

Support Community Efforts

Join local conservation groups or garden clubs working to combat invasive species.

Report sightings of invasive insects like the spotted lanternfly or emerald ash borer, or invasive plants to Vermont’s Department of Agriculture or Forest Service.

Share what you see and what you learn with other gardeners and farmers.

Call to Action

Gardening is more than a hobby; it’s an opportunity to protect Vermont’s ecosystems and biodiversity. By taking proactive steps to combat invasive species, and planting for the future, gardeners can be powerful allies in the fight against climate change.

Join the movement to protect Vermont’s gardens and landscapes! Visit other gardens, nurseries, orchards and fruit, vegetable and flower farms.

Teach your children what you have learned and teach them to be good gardeners too

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:15:00 +0000

Vernonia noveboracensis

Vermont Flower Farm & Gardens

2263 US 2

Marshfield VT 05658

Welcome back!

Over the course of +35 years I have used a variety of social media to get the word out about Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. Concurrent with our original website, https://vermontflowerfarm.com we began using the free blog software from Google named Blogspot. I also have posted regularly on a personal Facebook site, George Africa, which has a heavy concentration of flowers that we grow and sell. The posts also cover Vermont history, my trips to Maine, and detailed information about plant sources, propagation and sale both at the farm and by mail order. I also offer a Facebook business site, named Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. For three years I wrote a monthly piece on perennials in the North Star Journal from nearby Danville, Vermont. Between these various media writings, gardeners could obtain a sound overview of plants that grow well in this temperate zone, and could find out where to buy them and how to grow them successfully.

The world of automation changes quicker that I do and recent changes in US politics has drawn some readers to new avenues. While I figure out where people from Vermont's Zones 3 and 4 have landed, I want to return to Blogspot while continuing with both Facebook sites. If you intend to continue reading these media opportunities, you will likely find some of my posts are redundant. Please bear with me while I sort things out. If there's an area of interest that you cannot find answers to, drop me a line and I will respond. In the interim, I hope you will continue to enjoy learning about Vermont Flower Farm and the plants that grow here along the Winooski River.

My first post of 2025 is a pass-down piece from Deleware's Mt. Cuba Center. Learn about different varieties of Vernonia. At our farm we grow and sell Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) and Vernonia giganteum. Read on!

https://mtcubacenter.org/trials/vernonia/

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 11:44:00 +0000

WEATHER IN VERMONT

Monday morning on the mountain above Peacham Pond. Light snow has been falling for a couple hours, 2" of new snow on the ground, 1-2 mph wind and 20°. Morning is the time I check with the National Weather Service to see what to expect for the next couple days. A St. Albans, Vermont weatherman, Matt Sutkoski (https://matttsweatherrapport.blogspot.com) uses this service too. He just posted a resource list from that NWS that posts on Twitter/X. It has resources that might be useful to you if you have an interest in weather regardless of where you live.

I can't explain why but my Dad always watched the weather and I learned from him. It could have been his interest when during WWII he served on three different destroyers in various parts of the world--all the oceans of the world--so he saw all kinds of weather. Older Vermonters might remember when Channel 3 television finally began to air in the early 50s, a man named Stuart Hall was the weatherman and he did the weather flawlessly, by himself, and without computers. Every night we watched the weather which in our family was almost "mandatory"....and surprisingly compared to modern standards he was almost always right.

Local to where I live now there is meteorologist Roger Hill who posts (https://weatheringheights1.wordpress.com) and there is Mark Breen and the Eye on The Sky Guys at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium (https://fairbanksmuseum.org/eye-on-the-sky-guys). If you only checked in with these three sites you would always have a valid idea of what is happening in Vermont.

There's the resource list.

https://www.weather.gov/twitter

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 12:43:00 +0000

Our Soils, Our Gardens

February 21, 2024

I just wrote this summary and believe it might be of interest to gardeners and gardening groups. I am working on a number of soil issues at Vermont Flower Farm and I will share what I learn along the way. I'll post this and follow up information on The Vermont Gardener blog (https://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com/) as well as my two Facebook pages, George Africa (https://www.facebook.com/george.africa) and also Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens (https://www.facebook.com/Vermont-Flower-Farm-Gardens-198640921659)

I am always glad to share experiences that will make gardeners better at what they do and love. I have been having many discussions with various Plant and Soil Science staff at UVM regarding the ramifications of the recent flooding—actually starting in 2011 with Tropical Storm Irene. A staff member will be visiting Vermont Flower Farm this spring to assist me with soil sampling which I hope will consider heavy metals such as lead that came off buildings and old scrap piles of wood with lead paint, hydrocarbons such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, and oil, and the residues from municipal sewage treatment plants, private septic systems and farms, etc. My farm borders the Winooski River and has 5 different types of soil so there are challenges with what arrived, and what was washed away. I will be writing a summary of what I have learned so far and will keep the process updated this spring if you and others are interested.

One of the big questions is PFAS-- Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained) ( 4-CASA_PFASFactSheet4.pdf (casaweb.org). Although extensive testing was underway after the 2023 floods, PFAS were not included in most testing. This is something I will be working on with soil staff to get a better understanding at VFF. I do not know if you live on a mountaintop, a valley, or in between but the opportunity to have had water flow from storms bring contamination to your properties was still possible. I have a still further reason to be interested.

As many of you know I grow a lot of hostas. One of the issues hosta growers everywhere encounter is white-tailed deer eating them, hence the nickname "deer lettuce". Many years ago, I was introduced to a fertilizer named Milorganite which was made from dehydrated waters from the Milwaukee sewage treatment facilities. I was 12 years old and working in a hardware/grocery store in Woodstock when the store started selling the product locally and to the golf course, and it's been around as a product since 1925. Since I have been growing hostas I learned from growers in the midwest that Milorganite is not only a good fertilizer but the smell from the product which remains noticeable to humans for only a couple days after application remains noticeable to animals for over a year and hence helps keeps them away. It works!......... But the issue of PFAS is of concern and the State of Maine prohibited the sale of Milorganite three years ago and that's where the Vermont supply came from. Milorganite is still available in New Hampshire at Lowes and Home Depot. I have been trying to establish the testing levels that Maine certified Milorganite at as they removed a locally made organic fertilizer that used to be sold at McSherry's Nursery in Conway NH. That nursery posted this announcement about PFAS levels of the product they sold and it was "less than 7 parts-per-billion". (https://www.mcsherrysnurseries.com) . I wonder where Milorganite falls in this evaluation? (https://www.milorganite.com/what-is-milorganite/safety)

Sometimes when we think we are doing the right thing we are not. That's why it's important to share information and try to reach sound decisions. The State of Maine is one of the most environmentally sensitive states and that's a great thing. The pulp processing industry of the past +200 years contaminated many water supplies and until recent years many farmers did not know that they and the products they raised and sold were contaminated. Try to keep these things in mind as you build and plant new gardens. Share what you learn with others and over time we'll all be doing a better job!

George Africa

Vermont Flower Farm

https://vermontflowerfarm.com

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 12:41:00 +0000

Daylily

Ruby Throat

THE COLOR RED

Morning on the mountain. Working in the woods makes me sleep well and until the snow begins and gets deep, that's where Alex and I will be part of every day. It's 25.3° right now, windless, quiet. I just looked at the storms coming east over the next couple weeks but there's still enough debate that I am not getting excited. We need a foot of snow to fill in the ruts in the roads. They are all a mess. Last week our town guys spread three loads of stay mat/crushed granite down our road and then graded it but it was raining so everything turned to mud, vehicles of all sizes went through and now its 8-10" ruts frozen solid. That's Vermont!

I have written before about Fine Gardening Magazine which I have read since the 70s. My only complaint is that it doesn't cover enough gardens and plants in the northern northeast and it doesn't always get the temperate zones to reflect that some of what they feature will actually grow here.

Here's the latest garden and this one is about red. I wrote previously that I read an article one time that said of 500,000 daylilies growing in our world, 90,000 are red. Some gardeners say they love shades of red and others are like those talking about oranges and yellows---"No more for me!" I'm not like that . I like them all. That's why I have contemplated making a garden that contains every red in a group, every yellow, every orange, every white, every purple, every pink, etc., etc. I have the space to do this but ever since Mother Nature teamed up with climate change, my daily schedules have been reworked and new gardens aren't on the horizon.

https://www.finegardening.com/article/red-in-the-garden?

Abbot's Old Fashioned

Cabot, Vermont

Unregistered

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:39:00 +0000

INVASIVE INSECT ALERT!

Climate change has brought a number of new insects to Vermont. Read about the latest which is attacking the few elm trees that remain here. In the past ten years we have had to deal with the Emerald Ash Borer, the Pine Borer originally from Montana, the Eastern Tamarack Beetle, and now the Spotted Lantern Fly is in southern New Hampshire so probably here in Vermont too. Things are not looking good for our forests.

Read on.

https://vtdigger.org/2023/08/15/invasive-insect-found-zigzagging-on-vermont-elm-trees\

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 10:24:00 +0000

GARDENING UNDER WATER

If you have been watching the news you might well have seen what has happened in your favorite Vermont during the past couple weeks. The rain turned on and never turned off and as a result the worst flooding since the 1920's has devasted many places in Vermont. We have been through the 2011 floods--two in May of that year that brought +10 feet of water over our propagation fields, display lilacs and hydrangeas, and over our entire hosta display garden. Then in August of the same year, Tropical Storm Irene did it to us all over again. That was nothing like what we have just been through.

Take a look at this link from VTdigger, one of Vermont's premier news resources. Check out our Facebook pages too. Not pretty, but we are rebuilding where necessary. All our potted plants grown for retail and wholesale escaped the flood which increased the height of the Winooski River by 20 feet. We are entering daylily season with +500 varieties side by side with +400 varieties of hostas, and exciting examples of astilbes, shade plants, pollinator plants--over 10,000 pots ready to move from our nursery to your gardens. Come visit!

https://vtdigger.org/2023-july-flooding/

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 15:00:00 +0000

PEONIES

I just finished updating the Peony page on our website https://vermontflowerfarm.com. Peonies are available for sale at the farm as potted plants in 12-quart peony pots. Each root is planted at the correct level so you can take pots home and replant them at the same depth they are currently growing. Planting depth is very important to your success so please be sure never to plant the roots deeper than 1.5" to 2" deep. Plant deeper and the peony will live well but as for blooms--it probably will not happen.

Peonies are only available at the farm--no mail order is offered. They are available until they sell out and it's first come, first sold. We do not reserve pots in advance but feel free to call us at 802-426-3506 after April 15 to check availability. There are four peonies that are noted as being in short supply but the balance of varieties will begin the season with 20 pots or more.

Here's the peony page with pictures and descriptions. Herbaceous peonies are $32. Most Itoh peonies are $65.

https://vermontflowerfarm.com/category/d-peonies/

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 11:50:00 +0000

TICKS

April 2, 2023. 7:30 AM. 24.4° The wind is swirling snowflakes in big circles as small birds such as nuthatches and chickadees have trouble landing at the feeders. The temperature is dropping because of the wind but also in front of another weather pattern that made us smile yesterday with 62° in the afternoon but frown now. Spring is fickle and what we want is not what we always see. There is +2 feet of snow here on the mountain above Peacham Pond but a walk in the woods requires snowshoes as the snow depth exceeds 3 feet. It will be a while before the snow is gone but in the meantime, maple sugaring is doing well and with cooler forest floor temperatures sap should continue in better quality and quantity longer. "Should" is the operative because one weather front from the southwest and things can look different in a day or so.

Here's the latest from one of the organizations that keeps me informed about ticks. Because of climate change Vermont has declared that there is no "season" but instead ticks should be considered a problem year-round. In case you have gotten lazy over the winter on tick control, get with the program right now. 20 miles to our west are towns such as Montpelier and Barre and many properties have no snow left. Yesterday I saw people working in their yards and if you are outside now, ticks have to be a concern. I have permethrin spray bottles by the back door here at the house, in the cars and truck, and at the flower farm. Don't wait until it's too late, take command now. Keep reading sites and newsletters and check yourself, and your family members including your pets. Becoming infected is just not good.

https://lymediseaseassociation.org/news/newsletter/

Vermont Flower Farm

https://www.facebook.com/george.africa

https://www.facebook.com/VFFG20/

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 11:21:00 +0000

MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

Each year we try to do more to encourage monarch butterflies at our flower farm. We are doing a better job every year but there are many, many natural forces involved that make things more difficult. In 2021, there were consecutive weeks when any day you could walk into the fields and easily count 25 monarchs at any time. In 2022, the best consecutive total was 17 but most days 10 would have been an exceptional count.

Here's a link to Mary Holland's Naturally Curious. Insight is always helpful and suggests more that we should do. Read on. Visit us this summer, walk the gardens, and talk with us about all pollinators.

https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/2023/03/24/2022-23-monarch-butterfly-winter-numbers-decreased/

Vermont Flower Farm

https://www.facebook.com/george.africa

https://www.facebook.com/VFFG20/

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 17:38:00 +0000

SPRING IS GETTING CLOSER

Just outside my home office window, I maintain two bird birders and several suet cages for winter entertainment while I am answering email and orders from the Vermont Flower Farm. Each morning either my son Alex or I fill the feeders and enjoy the birds arriving for breakfast. But this time of year, we are often surprised by other visitors that want breakfast too. Three days ago, when the field was clear, white with snow, and untouched, a raccoon began across and then was joined by another. They cleared the field and entered our machine shed and showed no sign of exiting there all day. The following morning the suet cages had been pulled down and were completely empty. Obviously, the raccoons visited for a guaranteed feed during a time when a couple feet of snow covered the ground and food was limited.

This morning, Alex fed the birds and it was quiet for a while. I got up for another cup of coffee and looked out only to see a woodchuck eating sunflower seeds under one of the feeders. I grabbed the camera and took this picture. Its hair was disheveled and wet in places but otherwise, he or she looked fine. The temperature was expected to rise to +40° and now as I write at 1:30 PM it's up to a surprising 48.4°. The rise in temperature --or was it the advent of daylight savings time gave suggestion that Spring was coming and it was time to wake up. We have a big storm arriving in about 24 hours and it's apparent the animals knew that and decided now was the time to find some food. In about a month most of the snow will be history and we'll be at the flower farm cleaning up for another season. And the crittters of the fields and forests will be with us too. Different companions but all part of living in rural Vermont. Be well!

Dividing Daylilies

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 19:28:00 +0000

Dividing Daylilies

Saturday afternoon, January 14 at 2 PM. I am using up a little time online while waiting for the San Francisco 49ers playoff game at 4:30. Just noticed that there's no reason for me to prepare an instructional video on dividing daylilies when there are already a number of them on YouTube. Here's a video that Stuart Kendig prepared. Scroll back and you will see his name mentioned in a couple posts I just made. His daylily website featuring plants from his gardens in York, Pennsylvania is http://kendigdaylilies.com/ Here's the You Tube video. Dividing daylilies is not as difficult as many make it out to be. The hard part is usually when you get to the point of needing to remove the entire root ball from the soil. Try this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgw7IP91DuE

Here's a picture of our lower daylily propagation field. You can see from the size of the clumps that you can benefit from some help from a friend getting them out.

White Daylilies

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 01:50:00 +0000

Quite a day here on the mountain above Peacham Pond where we live. It started out cold but by 9 AM the light snow had changed to rain and you could actually see last night's 4 inches of fluffy snow shrink. I worked online for a couple more hours trying to figure out what happened to my personal George Africa Facebook page as well as our FB business page, Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens. Facebook, like many of the big boys, wants nothing to do with you after you get up and running unless you spend money. I have spent several years putting together 4-5000 friends but since January 4th, communication has been shut off. I have tried every approach I could find and all to no avail so I am returning to an old blog that I have always used seasonally named The Vermont Gardener. If you have a solution to my Facebook dilemma, please advise and if you liked my FB pages, join me here as I write about gardening in the northeast and using and growing Vermont hardy plants.

Yesterday I mentioned the color white and I'd like to pick up from there right now. We belong to the American Hemerocallis Society and part of the membership includes journals. I love them because as with any magazine, I can stop and start reading as time permits. Winter 2021 had a great article by Stuart Kendig who has been classifying white daylilies, both diploids and tetraploids, for several years now. He has been accompanied by half a dozen other AHS members and together they reviewed about 250 white daylilies.

Gardeners often ask for "the best white you have" but few can even name what might be acceptable to them. Stuart and his friends came up with five groups of white daylilies, separated into diploids and tetraploids. They established from the beginning that Group One would contain the whitest of all whites or as they described it "Very white and whiter than 'Gentle Shepherd' and all members of Group 2. The search for the best white had just begun so Group one remained empty. Those found in Group 2 are described as "Bright White, comparable to 'Gentle Shepherd' or 'Sagarmatha' ". Group 3 is described as "Comparitively White, but not as white as Group 2." Group 4 is "Near white but with an obvious color shade when viewed from near." And finally, Group 5 contains daylilies with "White blend that will appear white when viewed with a green background but presenting an obvious color tint."

With the group headings established, Stuart and his friends placed the first 250 daylilies in what they felt was the correct group. You need to see the entire list to get a feel for the work Stuart and friends accomplished but I placed white daylilies we grow either for sale or for display so you can get a start on the classification system. You'll have to find a copy of the original article "A Progress Report On White Daylilies" to coordinate your own classifications.

From my daylilies, Group 2 Diploids contains Gentle Shepherd. From Group 3, Diploids we grow include Joan Senior, Sunday Gloves and White Temptation. We grow one Group 3 Tetraploid named Lime Frost. In Group 4 we grow the Diploid Ice Carnival for display and Group 4 Tetraploids August Frost and Early Snow which always get a lot of attention. And finally, in Group 5 Diploids we have Vanilla Fluff and White Formal for display. Group 5 Tetraploids include Artic Snow, Frostbite Falls and Wedding Band. When you know some of the daylilies, the categories begin to make a lot of sense. In the past couple years I have picked up Pointer Sisters, White Summer and White Bread from Don and Susan Church, Blue Hill, Maine. (bluehilldaylilies.com). And from the Barth family, originally from Alna, Maine from Maine I have Sheepscot Valley Snow in both diploid, and tetraploid (I think!)

The world of daylilies is now shooting for 100,000 registrations so there are a number of white daylilies that could fit into Stuart Kendigs's Groups 2-5 and maybe even Group 1. If you get a chance, try to find the background of this project. And from me, a novice grower, many, many thanks to Stewart Kendig and friends for their much-appreciated work. Over the next couple days, I'll try to line up a few of my pictures. Be well!

Just White

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 00:57:00 +0000

January White

January 12, 2023. 7:30 PM. I couldn't wait any longer and I had to open the back door to see whether the weather was changing or not. Two days ago, it was below zero, this morning it started out at 16°, and now as I sit here online, it's an even 30°, up 2 degrees in an hour. Although snowflakes have been falling much of the day, the accumulation was negligible, and rain is predicted in the next hour. Climate change is upon us despite what some folks think. Ask anyone who loves to ski, snowboard or snowmobile and you will hear groans as snow hardly exists in the lowlands and is slim on the mountains except in ski areas that keep trying to manufacture snow.

Yesterday morning I was in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, a small city of sorts that is kind of midway up and down the state. I decided on the way home to get off Interstate 89 in Sharon and head over the mountain to Strafford and then down into Tunbridge on Route 110. Even on the mountains in that area, snow was limited and whitetail deer could be seen in good numbers and that made me think it was April, not January. Life is different now and the weather is taking some getting used to.

I'm not sure why but as I was driving along enjoying Vermont's very rural nature, I thought of the color white, a color almost absent as I traveled. But then I thought of white flowers and how much their purity and perfection always impress me. As the snow melts in April, the hellebores push through the snow and despite the cold they offer up a variety of colors but clearly some nice whites. And after the hellebores welcome us, galanthus/snowdrops arrive, joined by anenomes, and bloodroot, and white trillium, then clumps of white crocus and Narcissus Thalia, Chionodoxa/Glory of the Snow, hyacinths, Lily of the Valley, trailing arbutus and more. Yes, the snow melts away but the color white continues in living color.

It may seem strange that I am thinking about white flowers but most gardeners enjoy incorporating them in all their gardens. If you don't use a garden journal yet or maybe even a notebook with ideas, pull out your smart phone and make lists of plants to purchase come spring. That way sixteen months from now the plants I just mentioned might be making their presence known in your gardens. None are expensive, all are Vermont hardy, and every one will make you smile. Guaranteed!!

White Trillium

7 years from seed to flower

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 14:22:00 +0000

BEAVERS & GARDENERS

If you live and garden anyplace in Vermont and you have a nearby stream, river, pond or lake, you are probably already aware, that like it or not, beavers are your neighbors. This large rodent has an increasing population and with the loss of trappers who used to keep the numbers lower, they are populating closer and closer to human populations. They are in no way an endangered species so Fish and Wildlife with its very limited resources can offer no more than advice on dealing with beavers, their dams and related flooding.

Bev Soychak from Monkton Vermont wrote the following piece for VtDigger today. It's a worthy read, especially if you have been plagued by beavers in your neighborhood.

https://vtdigger.org/2022/10/25/bev-soychak-state-wont-endorse-a-renowned-beaver-specialist-who-lives-in-vermont

Over the past several years I have had an opportunity to watch beaver numbers grow along the Lanesboro Road here in Marshfield. The roadbed is left from the days of the Montpelier to Wells River RR and on either side of it, some portions involve swampland and beaver habitat. Included is Marshfield Pond, a.k.a Turtlehead Pond. The pond encompasses about 64 acres of water and a bit of surrounding swampland. It's a kettle pond left from glacial days so it is shallow with most places less than 20 feet deep. Water flows into the pond from adjacent streams as well as from springs on the pond floor.

When beavers got serious about damming up the exit sluiceway, a device which is probably the one created by Skip Lisle and described above was installed. I noticed a little extra time was spent adjusting the components to the flow as well as the beaver activity but it appears to have worked very well. Here are some pictures I have taken of the area and the flow device. I visited there two days ago and noticed that beavers have gone below the exit and the flow device and have started a new dam there. For now it is not large enough to reach the adjacent road but in time it probably will. Another place I have been watching is a short distance from the junction of Route 232 and Route 302 in Groton. There is a nice little waterfall there and beavers have created two dams and so far have raised the water about four feet over the entire area. As that water closes in on the roads, one of Lisle's water flow devices might be an option.

If beavers approach your property remember that they can be destructive to trees and shrubs as they seek food sources and dam materials. Walking outside and finding that your 20 year old sugar maple is now missing is not a good sight which is why I recommend keeping track of your property if you have any water flows across it. There are options. Although live trapping is an option and Fish and Wildlife might offer the name of a trapper, this may need some rethinking. I have a friend who used to live trap nuisance beavers and one day he received a call and said he's come check out the space. The pond that the beavers had created so far was over five acres in size. My friend turned down that job because of the time and hardware needed to take it on. Again, pay attention to the problem and don't let the beavers thinking get ahead of yours.

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 08:21:00 +0000

Karol Emmerich, owner of Springwood Gardens in Minnesota recently posted this to Facebook and the Discovering Daylilies page. It is worth the read. See my follow up comments below.

"Shallow-rooted trees growing anywhere near your daylilies are not your friend. They will soak up almost all the water and nutrients in the area, and drastically reduce a daylily’s bud count, height, etc. This link provides an excellent description of common shallow-rooted trees: www.treemusketeers.net/trees-with-shallow-roots/ It notes, for example, that “Cottonwood is genetically programmed to produce shallow roots. It grows naturally in flood plains where waterlogged soils are the norm. The tree’s roots typically grow no deeper than six feet, but they can extend up to 100 feet from the trunk.” The pictures in this post illustrate what can happen even if you were careful when initially constructing your garden beds. No cottonwood or other trees were apparent in picture 1 when these flower beds were created and planted with seedlings about 18 years ago - just some shrubby looking plants in the background - so we assumed all was OK. Picture 2 is what this same area looked like in the summer of 2022. As you can see in picture 3, shallow-rooted trees like these cottonwoods (which self-seed here in the wild) are clearly incompatible with the nearby underground water pipes for the sprinkler system and with growing healthy daylilies. Roots from the same tree 50 feet from its trunk are shown in picture 4, and picture 5 depicts its roots 100 feet away! Maple trees, although extraordinarily beautiful, will create the same issues. Their shallow roots can spread 60 feet from the trunk and dramatically change a daylily’s height and bud count."

My comments:

I have shared comments and pictures from Karol Emmerich before as I find her to be one of the leading daylily hybridizers in the US. This post is significant because it points out a common question here in Vermont---can I plant under trees? This becomes a more common question with gardeners in Vermont's urban locations where lot size is smaller and neighbors may well have trees too. I find the question even more common with those interested in growing hostas and other shade tolerant plants because they often plant first and then come asking about issues a couple years later, sometimes after the surrounding trees have grown even taller. Lilacs and hydrangeas both have shallow root systems that extend well beyond what you think but trees that grow larger such as Vermont's admired sugar maples grow tons of roots. I once planted 30 hostas in individual 20-gallon nursery pots sunk to almost ground level with a 1-inch lip left above ground to slow down voles and other problem critters. It was a lot of work and expense but now twenty years later some that I left are still there from when we moved our flower farm. The pots allow you to control water, fertilizers or other additives. If you are thinking about planting around trees, consider all these points and at very least be prepared to take a shovel and annually cut the roots that are encroaching upon every plant you have placed within the root system.

Farm for Sale

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 22:53:00 +0000

Stuck In Vermont

A video about Vermont Flower Farm created by Eva Sollberger

https://mailchi.mp/sevendaysvt/the-couple-behind-vermont-flower-farm?e=f32eaa2160

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 09:06:00 +0000

PEST MANAGEMENT

We only grow flowers at Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens but many in New England grow vegetables as their main crop. The Xerces Society just posted this very interesting article on Winter Street Farm (https://www.winterstreetfarm.com) in Claremont, NH. Can you imagine vacuuming up cucumber bugs as a pest control effort? Interesting!!

https://xerces.org/blog/pollinator-friendly-pest-management-solutions-at-winter-street-farm

Farm For Sale

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 08:58:00 +0000

We just had a new drone video made with help from local producer Seth O'brien, owner of Green Mountain Drone (https://facebook.com greenmtndrone). We hope the video will help us find the right buyer for our business....someone who will keep the land in agriculture and carry on our philosophy about protecting our environment while producing and selling Vermont hardy plants that come from people who know plants and communicate how to be good gardeners. Please take a look and pass it on to anyone who might be interested in flower farming in the great state of Vermont.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEXMQcujH2Y

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 11:38:00 +0000

NEAR WHITE DAYLILIES

Remember the far distant cartoon show named Rocky and Bullwinkle? It was located in a fictional Minnesota town named Frostbite Falls. My friend Don Church hybridized a very nice daylily and he named it Frostbite Falls. Here's the picture and the registration information. I'm growing it here in Marshfield and will have a couple plants I can sell this fall. One of the parents is Early Snow which is one of our favorites here at the farm. It's pictured here below our picture of Frostbite Falls. #vermontflowerfarmforsale; #vermontrealestate; #buylocal;

Frostbite Falls (Church, 2009) Height 38 inches (96 cm), bloom 6.5 inches (17 cm), season M, Dormant, Tetraploid, 25 buds, 3 branches, Near white self. (Early Snow × Chablis Blanc)

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 13:37:00 +0000

PEONIES FROM SEEDS

It may seem a while back to June 9th when I took this picture of peonies setting nice buds. Now two months later it's a different time and the peonies have set seed and soon the pods will be cracking open. The peonies pictured have been raised from seed and if you are patient you can do the same thing. As the seed pods begin to crack, pick off the seeds. Wait a day too long and they will be spread all over the ground so keep an eye on them. Then prepare a bed in your garden and plant the seeds right away. Plant them a couple inches deep and mark the rows or the places you plant them. Although a few may germinate the first full year, most need the following year after stratification. The first year above ground they will be a couple inches tall and after that they will take off. Peonies from seed are like winning the lottery. You never know the result until your number is called. In this batch of plants which came from my friend Mary B., there are a couple beautiful little plants now still bushel basket sized with small 2.5-3" single petals, white blooms with golden stamens. What a beautiful plant to place along walkways or front of gardens or as borders. The others of the first 60 Mary gave me are mostly large singles, a few doubles and one Itoh. A couple of them have the highest producing scapes I have ever seen. They are all very nice cut flower plants and a couple are very fragrant and would make any gardener smile. Give the seeds a try! #vermontflowerfarm; #farmforsale; #peonies; #cutflowers; #hostas; #600daylilies; #buylocal; #vermontrealestate; #oregon; #california;

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 08:53:00 +0000

DAYLILY SEASON

We are about 18-19 days away from excellent daylily bloom at Vermont Flower. Farm. Even a little rain will get things going faster but it's been a dry spring and the scapes have just begun to get going this week. Days like today when it will reach the high 80's slow the growth just a bit but tonight's predicted quarter inch of rain, although skimpy compared to what we would like to see, will be enough to get more scapes growing.

These pictures are from a year back on July 19th so you can get an idea what you will see at our farm. We encourage people to walk the gardens and enjoy the color. We have thousands of potted daylilies ready to move from our gardens to yours and one thing you will most always find here is #600/6 quart pots of daylilies with several large fans that once planted will give the appearance that the plants have been there for some time. Come visit and see what we offer. Can't visit? Try our website https://vermontflowerfarm.com and place an order. We ship Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday bu US Postal Service.

Phenology

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 12:03:00 +0000

Pollinators

The Rocky Mountain Biological Lab may be a long way from Vermont but the research there is critical to our eastern pollinators. Scan this brief article and share your thoughts and observations on weather changes you have noticed in Vermont.

https://www.vaildaily.com/opinion/chase-shaw-what-happens-when-the-birds-and-bees-cant-pollinate

noreply@blogger.com (vermontflowerfarm@outlook.com) — Wed, 11 May 2022 10:32:00 +0000

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