Beware of Borage

Borago Officinalis, common name Borage is an edible herb hardy to zone 5 in Vermont. This plant is grown for its foliage and attractive blue flowers which are both edible and used in Spring garden salads. The flowers are also valued as an excellent source of nectar by beekeepers. Borage grows to a height of 18” x 18” wide with long leaves that resemble that of Lungwort.

I revisited one of my clients gardens this Fall that I had renovated about 6 years ago. I originally cleaned out the beds, brought in new topsoil and planted new perennials. Since then my client planted Borage in these gardens not aware of how aggressive these plants really are. Much to my demise the perennials I planted 6 years ago are gone and taken over by the Borage plants. This herb grows like a weed spreading quickly by sowing seed prolifically and rhizomes to create a dense mass of ground cover. It's creeping habit is much like Ajuga that is tolerant of a wide range of light and soil conditions. I used my backhoe to dig out and remove the majority of this plant from the garden beds and covered as much as I could with black plastic to kill the seeds. I believe this herb is going to stay around and will have to be weeded annually to keep under control. My advice is to plant this herb in a raised bed or border by itself to keep under control and avoid planting in or near an ornamental garden.

Strauss Residence Colchester, VT

Natural field stone steps. My client wanted her front porch entrance to resemble a stone wall and function as steps.

Poynter Residence Huntington, VT

Before: The Poynters had an old wooden deck they removed and wanted something attractive and more permanent.

The Poynters wanted a small walk, steps and patio close to their front entrance for entertaining.

Bluestone nursery steps with thermaled treads. A thermaled surface is textured to make it more slip resistant.

Full color thermaled dimensional bluestone walk.

Bluestone flagging patio with polymeric stone dust in between joints.

There was an existing retaining wall I rebuilt on the right side of the steps for soil retention and garden space.

Project is finished and ready for grass seed and straw.

Toad Lily

I took photos of this Toad Lily, Tricyrtis hirta in the garden at my house. This attractive Fall flowering perennial is always a welcome surprise!

Franklinia Tree

While on our family vacation in Connecticut I spotted this fine tree specimen at Old Mystic Seaport. Franklinia alatamaha was discovered by John Bartram in Georgia in the late 1700's. Since then there has been no sightings of this plant in the wild and all existing plants originate from his collections. This beautiful tree is truly one of a kind.

Safe Ecological Alternatives To Burning Bush

Burning Bush Euonymus alatus is a popular landscape shrub planted for its attractive red Fall color. The red seeds of this plant are eaten by birds in the Fall and carried long distances to forests where they are deposited in their droppings. Once Burning Bush is established in the forest understory it creates a dense stand and out competes native plants that many wildlife depend on for food. One way to help alleviate this problem is to remove and destroy existing plants in the landscape. Another is to not plant any new Burning Bush plants in the landscape. Many nurseries throughout the state have ceased the sale and use of this plant.

The question is what do you plant in place of a Burning Bush? The answer is there are many great options that are ornamental without being invasive. Fothergilla major Large Fothergilla is a shrub that grows 8' tall x 6' wide and produces sphere like fragrant white flowers in the Spring. This plant also has beautiful Fall foliage that turns colors of red, orange and yellow. Cotinus coggygria Smoke Bush is a shrub growing 12' tall x 10' wide and produces showy smoky pink flowers in Summer. Fall foliage is a nice combination of yellow, red and purple. For more shady locations there is Enkianthus campanulatus Red Veined Enkianthus (Zone 5) and Hydrangea quercifolia Oakleaf Hydrangea (Zone 5). Enkianthus grows 10' tall x 6' wide producing light yellow bell shaped flowers with red veins in Spring. Fall color is an attractive bright red. Hydrangea q. grows 6' tall x 4' wide producing large white flowers in Summer but the real quality of this plant is its foliage, which is shaped like an Oak leaf and turns a stunning dark red and orange color in Fall.

For a more natural look there are native Vermont plants to choose from. Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima' Red Chokeberry is a shrub that grows 8' tall x 4' wide producing white flowers in the Spring. The leaves turn a showy bright red color in Fall. Ilex verticillata Winterberry is also a shrub that grows 12' x 8' that produces bright red berries in the Fall which persist into Winter. Vaccinium corymbosum High Bush Blueberry grows 8' tall x 4' wide producing abundant edible blueberries in the Summer. In the Fall the leaves turn an attractive dark burgundy red.

I have recently signed a voluntary code of conduct (PlantWise) through the VNLA, VIEPC and Nature Conservancy to not buy, sell or incorporate into my designs invasive plants including Burning Bush. To learn more you can visit Greenworks VNLA at http://greenworksvermont.org/ and The Nature Conservancy: http://www.nature.org/vermont/weeds.

UVM Hortfarm Perennial Gardens July 2011

This arbor was constructed in a Friends of the Hortfarm workshop 2 years ago. Brian Gluck of Rustic Cedar instructed 20 members to build and erect the structure in one day!

This is the front gate garden of the Horticultural Research Center (Hortfarm). Marielle Fisher and Ariel Adelstein the 2 Summer UVM/FHF interns renovated the garden this Spring. The new perennials were donated by Fairfax Perennial Farm and showcase new cultivars of Phlox, Echinacea, Leucanthemum, Rudbeckia and Sedum.

Saint George Cemetery Walls

I designed and built 2 free standing walls to mark each corner of the new cremation burial site at the Saint George cemetery. The walls and cap stones are built with Chester granite quarried in Chester, VT.

This is my first public job and one of my most satisfying projects. I am happy to do this for the residents and my home town of Saint George!

Keyser Residence Colchester, VT

My clients goal was to create an interesting low maintenance garden while reducing their lawn area and carbon footprint. The sites soil was sandy so the first step was to haul in 30 yards of high quality topsoil.

Laying the stepping stone path.

Path finished.

Here is the list of plants I used:

Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' Summersweet

Cornus sericea 'Baileyi' Red Stemmed Dogwood

Cotinus coggygria 'Grace' Smokebush

Fothergilla major

Hibiscus syriacus 'White Chiffon' Rose of Sharon

Hydrangea arborescens 'Invinciball' & 'Invincibelle Spirit'

Ilex verticillata 'Sparkleberry' Winterberry

Larix decidua Weeping Larch

Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' Ornamental Grass

Physocarpus opulifolius 'Summer Wine' Ninebark

Picea abies 'Nidiformis' Bird's Nest Spruce

Picea pungens 'Glauca Globosa' Dwarf Globe Spruce

Pinus strobus 'Nana' Dwarf White Pine

Rhododendron 'Rosy Lights' Azalea

Rhus 'Tiger Eyes' Ornamental Sumac

Snyder Residence Burlington, VT

Here is the list of shade perennials I used:

Alchemilla mollis 'Thriller'

Astilbe 'Brautscheier', 'Fanal', 'Finale', 'Montgomery', 'Erica'

Brunnera macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream', 'Jack Frost'

Campanula carpatica 'Dark Blue Chips', White Chips'

Dicentra spectabilis 'Old Fashion Pink', alba 'Old Fasion White'

Digitalis grandiflora, purpurea

Athyrium niponicum 'Metallicum'

Heuchera 'Crimson Curls', 'Pewter Moon'

Hosta 'Gold Standard', 'Guacamole', 'Patriot', 'Halcyon', 'Fire & Ice'

Lamium maculatum 'Pink Pewter', 'White Nancy'

Lewisia cotyledon 'Special Mix'

Phlox stolonifera 'Blue Ridge', 'Home Fires'

Polemonium caeruleum 'Brise D'Anjou'

Polygonatum falcatum variegatum

Pulmonaria longifolia 'E.B. Anderson', saccarata 'Mrs. Moon'

Vermont Certified Horticulturist Program

This program was created to help clients find qualified professionals in the field of horticulture and set a high level of ethical standards within our industry. Vermont Certified Horticulturists can answer questions on landscape design, construction, arboriculture, lawn care, disease, insects and plant knowledge. A VCH must pass a rigorous exam and possess a Bachelor's degree or post secondary education combined with employment in the horticulture field.

I became a Vermont Certified Horticulturist in 2000 and have remained certified ever since. To maintain certification a Vermont Nursery and Landscape Association member must achieve continuing education credits throughout the year. This includes attending 2 annual VNLA meetings, educational workshops, presenting seminars to organizations and subscribing to horticulture literature. My business has benefited by keeping up to date on the latest trends and research in horticulture. There are currently 80 certified horticulturists in Vermont.

http://greenworksvermont.org/

FHF Perennial Gardens - Spring 2011

I hope everyone is ready for Spring as much I am, this has been a long, cold snowy Winter! I have come up with a plan to renovate the front entrance gardens to the Hortfarm this Spring. Fairfax Perennial Farm, a local wholesale nursery has agreed to donate the perennials for these beds, thank you! Most of the existing perennials will be potted up and sold at our annual Plant Sale in July. The beds will be prepared with compost and planted with showy low maintenance perennials. The beds will feature new cultivars of the following perennials: Phlox, Echinacea, Leucanthemum, Rudbeckia, Sedum, Hemerocallis and Iris. The FHF interns will be involved in the planting and maintenance of these beds and should be a great learning experience for them. My goal is to improve the look of the front entrance and invite people to come through the gate.

Please consider volunteering to help clean up and maintain the gardens on the following maintenance workdays: April 23rd 9-1pm and May 7th 9-1pm. The gardens have to be edged and mulched to look their best before the Bloomtime festival on May 21st. Master Gardener's receive volunteer hours for this and I can guarantee you there will be no shortage of work and fellow gardeners to chat with! There will be another maintenance day later on July 16th 10-1pm to spruce up the gardens for our annual Plant Sale on July 24th. I want to thank all of the volunteers who have helped in the past and future, without you the gardens would not look as beautiful as they are. I am continuing to work on making new labels for the perennial garden. This is a long, tedious task that will require the expertise of Leonard Perry to help I.D. the plants. The labels are made by UVM interns under the direction of Mark Starrett. I hope to have some new labels made by the Spring of 2012. I'll see you around the Hortfarm, Brian.

Friends of the Horticulture Farm 2011 Calendar of Events

*Click on image to view
http://www.friendsofthehortfarm.org