THE DIRT

Spring Issue 2017, Volume 43, Issue 1

The Vermont Flower Show page 4

Green Works Tuesday Twilights page 10

1
Magnolias page 29
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT COMMITTEES
VJ Comai
Ed Burke Bartlett Tree Experts BUDGET AND FINANCE
Rocky Dale Gardens 184 Tamarack Rd COMMITTEE CHAIR
806 Rocky Dale Road Charlotte, VT 05445 Nate Carr - Church Hill Landscapes, Inc.
Bristol, VT 05443 802.296.1797 802.425.5222
802.453.2782 vcomai@bartlett.com
ed@rockydalegardens.com INDUSTRY AWARDS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Marlys Eddy Ed Burke - Rocky Dale Gardens
VICE-PRESIDENT Vermont Technical College 802.453.2782
PO Box 500
Hannah Decker Randolph Center, VT 05061 LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR
Fairfax Perennial Farm, Inc. 802.728.1207 Gabriel Bushey - Crafted Landscapes, LLC
7 Blackberry Hill Road meddy@vtc.edu 802.233.8551
Fairfax, VT 05454
802.849.2775 Ashley Robinson MARKETING & EDUCATION
perennialfarm@surfglobal.net Ashley Robinson Landscape Designer COMMITTEE CHAIR
SECRETARY/TREASURER PO Box 28 Ed Burke - Rocky Dale Gardens
Charlotte, VT 05445 802.453.2782
Nate Carr 802.922.1924
Church Hill Landscapes, Inc. arobinsonld@gmail.com MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR
287 Church Hill Road VJ Comai - Bartlett Tree Experts
Charlotte, VT 05445 802.425.6222
ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY Hannah Decker - Fairfax Perennial Farm
802.425.5222
nate@churchhilllandscapes.com 802.849.2775
Kristina MacKulin
DIRECTORS Green Works/VNLA PROGRAM COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS
Gabriel Bushey P.O. Box 92 VJ Comai - Bartlett Tree Experts
Crafted Landscapes, LLC N. Ferrisburgh, VT 05473 802.425.6222
4800 Basin Harbor Road Toll Free: 888.518.6484 Ashley Robinson - Ashley Robinson
Vergennes, VT 05491 P: 802.425.5117; F: 802.425.5122 Landscape Designer
802.233.8551 Kristina@greenworksvermont.org 802.922.1924
gabe.w.bushey@gmail.com www.greenworksvermont.org
RESEARCH & AWARDS
Carrie Chalmers COMMITTEE CHAIR
Carrie Chalmers Design VJ Comai - Bartlett Tree Experts
239 Lawrence Hill Road 802.296.1797
Weston, VT 05161
802.375.5930 VERMONT CERTIFIED HORTICULTURIST
carriechalmers6694@gmail.com COMMITTEE
Nate Carr - Church Hill Landscapes, Inc.
802.425.5222

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER Ed Burke, Rocky Dale Gardens

Dear Fellow Green Works Members, inside this

Spring is here, hooray! issue
Amazingly another Flower Show is behind us and it
proved to be a big success thanks to the stalwart efforts Board of Directors 2
of our members and the many other volunteers who The President’s Letter 3
came together to make it happen.
The Buzz 4
Our show is unique in that we combine the talent, Green Works Recap on
efforts and good will of our membership and volunteers The 2017 Vermont
from the Master Gardeners Program to create an experience that transports Flower Show
people through a fantasy garden and landscape. Many shows have several 2017 Vermont Flower
landscapers that create their own smaller gardens and these are placed Show Committees &
throughout an exhibit hall. But we work to create one Grand Garden Display Sponsors
together. It’s a model of creative cooperation by selfless and generous Welcome New Members
individuals. & VCHers
Introducing Tuesday
Twilight Gatherings
While we intend to improve upon recognition of these individuals, it’s
Calendar of Event
important to note that none have asked for it. And even after 16-hour days
building the show and months of meetings leading up to it, this group is
excited about the next one. Leonard’s Clippings 12

The Lab 15
In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins compares a business to a bus. He advises
Observations from
business owners to think about hiring people based on who’d you want on your
UVM Diag. Lab
bus. What if your bus broke down, who on that bus would be helpful and figure
out how to get the bus going again? Who on that bus would be looking at The Idea Factory 18
people to blame for the bus breaking down or freaking out that the bus broke Judith Irven Book Review
down? Well, I can tell you, the Flower Show bus is awesome and full of problem Biophilic Design is
solvers! Coming to a Building
Near You!
As we turn the page from Flower Show to our spring season, I’m looking
forward to gatherings with fellow Green Works members and seeing all my Strictly Business 25
friends and colleagues from the Flower Show. We’re taking some of that Flower Strategic Thinking: A
Show ambition and creating events the second Tuesday of each month that will New Perspective
Why Crop Insurance
combine a little education with a lot of socializing, as VJ, (past president)
New Member Profile:
nicknamed a possible event, “Beers and Tears”! So stay tuned for some fun
Annie White
times and opportunities to congregate and commiserate!
The Plant Lounge 29
In signing off- Thank you again to the entire Flower Show team- great job!! I Magnificent Magnolias
hope to see you soon! When the Bleeding
Hearts Bloom . . .
Ed

Cover Photo: Magnolia

‘Butterflies’ - Ed Burke
3 Rocky Dale Gardens
 THE BUZZ
the low down on what’s up!

Green Works
2017 Vermont Flower Show
The 2017 Vermont Flower Show was held on March 1 – 3, 2017 at
the Champlain Valley Expo. The months and months of planning,
and the four days of set up gave us ‘Neverland’ and while I am not
sure how we do this, it was our best show yet!

We made the call at the end of our 2015 show that it was time to
expand and it paid off! Adding an additional 30,000 square feet
(Expo North) allowed us to house the Grand Garden Display all in
one space as well as cue our line indoors, which meant no one was
waiting out in the cold. The exhibitors and other displays were
located in Expo South and the Blue Ribbon Pavilion, which made
set up for them much easier. The Show - Neverland
We also added more food
vendors (Skinny Pancake & I would like to give you a “snapshot” of what the 2017
Mediterranean Mix), wider Vermont Flower Show had to offer this year, especially
aisles everywhere and lots of for those who were unable to attend. The show drew a
seating. This made the entire crowd of 9,500 enthusiasts, as you can see by some of
show experience feel way their survey comments below:
more leisurely and less jam
“Best show I’ve ever been to.”
packed, which was our goal.
“Loved the lectures.”
When the doors open and the “Nice variety of vendors.”
public enters it makes all the
“The garden was MAGICAL. Really loved the
effort worthwhile and
scenarios that were set up . . . great imagination.
reinforces why Green Works
continues to produce the Beautiful design. So well done!”
Vermont Flower Show. We “Really wonderful Neverland display. Very, very
spread the “horticultural” professional!”
word as well as educate and
Choosing the theme ‘Neverland’ was hands-down a
inspire. We offer a view of
unanimous decision made by the Grand Garden Display
what is to come– the sites and
Committee. The design captured the fictional place of
smells of Spring! One of the
fairies, mermaids, pirates and magical dwellings through
best aspects of the Flower
the use of flowers, animals, trees, stone, and water.
Show is that it appeals to all
ages – there is really something The Grand Garden Display
for everyone. In three short days
The Rooftops were the entrance to the display. Once
we greet so many visitors and
you stepped through the windows you were gliding over
get to talk about plants,
the rooftop gardens and clock tower (designed and
gardening, landscaping, flower
constructed by committee members and volunteers), all
arrangements, bark mulch,
framed in the light of the full moon. Further down the
insects, cooking, worms, and so
path you could see the all white garden illuminated by
much more! Visitors come from
the moonlight. If you stood still long enough glimpses
all over Vermont, New York, New
of a twinkling fairy shone through the forest. Next,
Hampshire, Massachusetts,
tucked deep in the woods was Wendy’s House, designed
Canada, and beyond.
and constructed by the students in the Building

4
Technology Department at Essex artist, Ken Packie. This is where the
Center for Technology. Wendy’s Neverland journey ended as you
House represented a place to gather, stepped out of the window, ready to
join your friends and play, where the carry the magic of Neverland and
magic never ends! Spring with you.

Rounding the corner brought you to

We saw many people walk through the
Mermaid’s Lagoon at Marooner’s
display over and over again. It was a
Rock, where a spectacular mountain
fantastic representation of Neverland
waterfall and lagoon awaited. You
and was the perfect place to look
could walk under the mountain but
forward to the magic of a new season.
were ever watchful as this was a dark
You can view more more photos on
and mysterious place where mermaids
our website. You can also view the
hid. Next came the Lost Boys Cave,
timelapse video of set-up at: https://
where your
www.youtube.com/
imagination
watch?v=uqTzkuDsTQ8.
could run wild.
This is a 3.17 minute
This home below
video of 4 days of set
captured the
up!
underground
dwelling and
In keeping with the
vibrant forest
connection of art in the
floor. Above you
garden we invited
could seek a
artists to paint
higher vantage
in the Grand
point by
Garden
climbing the
Display again.
platform and
It was a true
taking in the
joy to watch
wide expanse of
their paintings
‘Neverland’.
unfold live
Next came The before our
Village Above. eyes. Many
This festive thanks to area
encampment artists Ginny Joyner of Ginny Joyner Studios, Reed Prescott of
brought to life Prescott Galleries at Verde Mountain, and Shanley Triggs of
the enchantment Vermont H’Art for taking up their easels on our behalf.
of different
A very special thank you to artist and wood sculptor Ken Packie,
dwellings, the tinkling sounds of
who drove all the way up (and back) from the Berkshires to donate
light, music and firelight, something
the use of “the crocodile” . It was a wonderful addition to the
that the world of Neverland speaks to.
display. Ken is the winner of the 2012 Huskycup World
The colorful and unique plants
Championship Mulda Germany award for his chainsaw carvings.
captured the uniqueness of these
You can learn more about Ken at www.kfpackie.com.
abodes. Along the path on the right
was a beautiful stone interpretation of
a bird’s wing, representing the Peter
Pan character The Neverbird. This
wing was crafted using a dry laid
stone technique and sparked the
imagination.

Neverland would not be complete

without pirates! The journey ended
at Pirate’s Cove, complete with a pirate boat and mast and the
most awesome carving of a crocodile you were ever sure to see!
The crocodile was generously loaned to us by wood sculptor and

5
The Rest of the Show! In place of “Cooking Demonstrations” we offered “Food/Flora/
Fresh demonstrations complete with a beautifully built “outdoor
While the Grand Garden Display is our true creative masterpiece
stone kitchen display loaned to us by Trowel Trades Supply. A big
there are many other show features we offer each day. We strive to
thank you to Katie Baas of Lucky Star Catering who organized
have something for everyone and appeal to all ages. We had 117
these demonstrations!
vendors participate this year - which is record! Vendors offered
There was a wide range
products and services that related to plants, gardening,
of topics covered – from
landscaping, composting, and more. We also set up the Vermont
juicing, to getting the
Specialty Food Pavilion in the center of Expo North which was
most out of your CSA, to
filled with vendors selling
using edible flowers, to
Vermont food and spirits
pie making.
products. A big thank you
to Delaney, Meeting & The very popular Family
Event Management, the firm Room was filled with
who oversees the facility kids and families
and vendors before, during, planting seeds, digging
and after the show. for worms, and
watching some
Dr. Leonard Perry organized
awesome entertainment
37 seminars and workshops
provided by Mermaid
over the three days, 17 of
Dalni, a professional
which were presented by
mermaid performer,
Green Works members. The
Rick Adam with “Songs
subject matter covered a
and Silly Stuff”, which
wide array of topics over the
included music, hand
course of three days. Our
shadows, mime and
keynote speaker, Claudia
magic, and No Strings
West of North Creek
Marionettes presented
Nurseries presented on
“Treasure Hunt”. The
Saturday and Sunday. We
Family Room would
also screened the
not be complete
documentary film
without hat making
Homeward Habitat:
and it is always such a
Stories of Bringing Nature
pleasure to see the
Home on Saturday and
many “floral” hats
Sunday. The seminars
parade by! A thank you to Terry Skorstad, who coordinates this
and workshop continue
room.
to be a big draw and
offers a wide range of At the close of the show on Sunday we also offered a plant sale.
educational and learning This helps us with clean up and allows people to enjoy the flowers
opportunities thanks to a bit longer. The sale did very well thanks to Marijke Niles, who
Leonard’s hard work. organized the many volunteers and coordinated the sale set up! A
gratitude of thanks!
The St. Albans Garden
Club, thanks to member
Even More Thank Yous!
Kelly Wakefield, set up
One has to ask how we make this show possible because it is a
educational displays in
HUGE undertaking. While sometimes it seems like magic occurs in
the Blue Ribbon Pavilion
the 4 days of setup, our true secret formula is the many wonderful
which offered floral
people who bring the show to fruition. The Flower Show
arrangements,
Committees spent hundreds of hours organizing and planning our
houseplants, and flower
signature event over 18 months. Please recognize these committee
arranging
members listed on page 8.
demonstrations. David
Loysen, Cliva enthusiast We are very lucky indeed to have this core group of people who
set up a spectacular display of Clivias. The Vermont Garden make up the Flower Show Committees and continue to be the
Railway Society set up their landscaped train display and remains inspiration, motivation, and the doers who bring the show to life.
an area that attracts the young and old at heart. They give up numerous hours of their own time, often taking away

6
from their own businesses and home life, to meet
monthly, coordinate donations, send so many
emails, and basically see to all the aspects and
details of the show. They represent collaboration
at its finest and I am so proud and humbled at
what they accomplish.
A big thank you to the members of the Grand
Garden Display Committee! Each one of them
takes on sections of the display to help build and
their unique contributions shine through. Also, a
shout out to the Grand Garden Display Committee
co-chairs, Melita Bass and Ashley Robinson and
design coordinators Ed Burke and Katie Raycroft-
Meyer for their leadership. A shout out to the the
many who were instrumental in
supplying and forcing the plant material
for the show - the plants were a work of
art! All of the committee members
deserve many thanks and recognition for
their team work and collaboration.
Neverland was a true masterpiece!
A big thank you to the Flower Show
Committee members who tend to the
many other aspects of the show: the
vendors, organizing seminars, workshops
and food/flora/fresh demonstrations,
seeing to the floral and garden displays,
organizing hundreds of volunteers,
organizing the family room activities and
entertainment, organizing the train/
garden display, spearheading the plant
sale at the close of the show, as well as
the herculean effort of cleanup Sunday
through Monday. This committee once
again worked together in such an
effortless way. As they say the devil is in
the details and each of these committee
members makes it all go seamlessly.
We are very grateful to our monetary sponsors as we secured the
most cash sponsorship to date. We were able to produce a
beautiful, reusable VT Flower Show bag with the help of four
generous bag sponsors. The bags were a big hit again!
We are also extremely grateful to the many in-kind sponsors that
donated time, labor, equipment, plants and materials. We could
not continue to produce the Flower Show without all this support.
Please take the time to recognize all of our sponsors on Page 8.
We are extremely grateful to the hundreds of volunteers that came
forth over the course of the week! Thank you to our Green Works
members, master gardeners, students, and community members
who came forward to help build the show, to staff the show and to
help do the dirty work of clean-up! A very special thank you to
Shari Johnson, the Flower Show Committee volunteer coordinator.
It is a big task answering all those emails and getting everyone
where they need to be! Also, a special thank you to
7
Cheryl Dorschner and other volunteers who kept
everyone well fed, in addition to all the other help
you offered.
Thank you to Sarah Holland, our Clean-Up
Coordinator and Aaron Smith who stepped in on
short notice to take charge of the clean-up crew on
Sunday. Clean up is the least sexy part of the show
for sure and we are grateful to all our members who
came forward and helped with the trucking, the
sweeping, and the hauling of materials and
everything in between!
Thank you to the many students involved with the
show. Students from the Natural Resources
Department at the Center for Technology
at Essex grew sod for the display;
students from the UVM Horticulture Club
grew vegetables and helped set up;
students from the Building Technology
Department at the Center for Technology
at Essex built Wendy’s House, the mast,
and a pirate ship sand box we raffled off.
Students from the Northland Job Corps
were instrumental in helping with set up
for three days.
Why We Do This
While some of our members might
wonder what they get out of a flower
show when they don’t live in Chittenden
County or nearby, I would say to them the
benefits are many and far reaching. Each
show we produce we are promoting Green
Works members, our Association, and the
green industry in Vermont and beyond
through an elaborate event that inspires,
educates, and entertains. On the Friday
of the show the VT Secretary of
Agriculture Anson Tebbetts toured the
show with Green Works president Ed
Burke and vice-president Hannah Decker. We were excited to
showcase what Green Work and our members are all about.
We market our Association and the show statewide and beyond
through television, radio, print and social media platforms. It
continues to be our mission to enhance and support the
horticulture industry of Vermont as well as promote a greater
awareness to the public of YOU – our green industry professionals
that offer plants, products and services. The Vermont Flower Show
offers us a spectacular way to send that message home with the
people who attend.
The beginning of planning will not be far away for the 2019 show. I
invite you get involved and participate! New committee members
and new ideas are always welcome. In the meantime, we have a
couple growing “seasons” to work through, all the while dreaming
up what comes next! Have your best season yet!
A very special thanks and gratitude to 2017SPONSORS
SPONSORS
2017
the 2017 Vermont Flower Show Peter Pan Presenting Sponsors

committee members, monetary

and in-kind sponsors!
We could not do the show without you! Tiger Lily Bag Sponsors Neverland Media Sponsors Lost Boys Sponsor

Grand Garden Display Committee Food/Flora/Fresh

Crocodile Seminar Sponsors Display Sponsors
Melita J. Bass, VCH & Ashley Robinson Landscape
Designer, Grand Garden Display Co-chairs Pirate Support Sponsors

Ed Burke, Rocky Dale Gardens, Design Coordinator

Katie Raycroft-Meyer, Raycroft/Meyer Landscape
Architecture, Design Coordinator
Aaron Smith, S & D Landscapes, LLC Equipment Sponsors Contributing Sponsor Supporting Sponsors
Claybrook Griffith, Long Leaf Landscaping, LLC
David Burton, diStefano Landscaping, Inc.
David Loysen, Shaw Hill Nursery
Gabe Bushey, Crafted Landscapes, LLC
Hannah Decker, Fairfax Perennial Farm, Inc. In-Kind Sponsors
In-Kind Sponsors Green Feet Gardening Northern Nurseries
Jamie Masefield, Masefield Dry Stone Wall Masonry Agway Essex Green Mountain Compost Northland Job Corp
John Padua, Cobble Creek Nursery Aquarius Landscape Sprinklers, Green Mountain Florist Supply Pete’s Pine’s and Needles Tree Farm
Inc. Green Mountain Landscaping Prescott Galleries
Kelly Wakefield, Green Feet Landscaping Ashley Robinson Landscape Greenhaven Gardens & Nursery Price Chopper
Liam Murphy, Murphy Landscape Design & Siteworks Designer Horsford’s Garden & Nursery Prides Corner Farm
Bartlett Tree Experts Kate Brook Nursery R.R. Charlebois, Inc.
Marie Limoge, Landscape Designer
Center for Technology, Essex Ken F. Packie – Wood Sculptor Raycroft/Meyer Landscape
Nate Carr, Church Hill Landscapes Inc. Champlain Landworks Lake Champlain Maritime Architecture
Rick Villamil, Aquarius Landscape Sprinklers, Inc Charley MacMartin, Queen City Museum River’s Bend Design, LLC
Soil & Stone Lamell Lumber Rocky Dale Gardens
Sam Chicaderis, SJC Garden Services Church Hill Landscapes, Inc Landshapes/Hutchins Excavating RR Charlebois Trucking
Sarah Holland, River’s Bend Design, LLC Claussen’s Florist, Greenhouse & Lincoln General Store Ryder Truck Rental
Perennial Farm Long Leaf Landscaping, LLC S&D Landscapes
Sarah Salatino, Full Circle Gardens Cleary Stone Company Longacres Nursery Shelburne Farms
Shannon & Katherine Lee, Sisters of Nature Cobble Creek Nursery Lucky Star Catering Sisters of Nature
Crafted Landscapes, LLC Mama’s Gardens SJC Garden Services
Tanya Retz, Mama’s Gardens
Craig Scribner Trucking Marie Limoge SMB Custom Landworks
VJ Comai, Bartlett Tree Experts CW Stageworks Marijke’s Perennials Plus St. Albans Garden Club
David Loysen Masefield Dry Stone Massonry Studio Roji
diStefano Landscaping, Inc. Melita J. Bass, VCH Techno Bloc
Flower Show Committee Essex Rentals Millican Nursery Trowel Trades Supply, Inc.
Evergreen Gardens Milton/CAT UVM Extension Master Gardeners
Kristina MacKulin, Green Works, Fairfax Perennial Farm Mother Nature’s Helper UVM Horticulture Club
Flower Show Committee Chair Farrell-Lee Farm Murphy Landscape Design & van Berkum Nursery
Full Circle Gardens Sitework Vermont Garden Railway Society
Cheryl Dorschner Gardener’s Supply Company NES Rentals Vermont Hart
Dr. Leonard Perry, Green Mountain Horticulture, Ginny Joyner Studio No Waste Tape Wright Family Farm
17
LLC, Seminar Coordinator
Emma Voci & Meg Boera, Delaney Meeting &
Event Management
John Joy, Dave Cozzens & Carl Kokes,
VT Garden Railway Society Bringing Plants to Bloom
Katie Baas, Lucky Star Catering,
Food/Flora/Fresh Demo Coordinator Brett Wilbur, Chris Conant, Mark Storch and Staff,
Kelly Wakefield, St. Albans Garden Club Display Claussen’s Florist, Greenhouse and Perennial Farm
Coordinator Center for Technology, Essex Technology Students
Marijke Niles, Perennial Gardens Plus, David Loysen
Plant Sale Coordinator Hannah Decker, Fairfax Perennial Farm, Inc.
Melita Bass, VCH John Padua, Cobble Creek Nursery
Shari Johnson, UVM Master Gardener, Kelly Wakefield, Green Feet Gardening, Inc.
Volunteer Coordinator Dr. Mark Starrett & UVM Horticulture Club Students
Terry Skorstad, Family Room Coordinator Nate Carr, Church Hill Landscapes, Inc.

8
Welcome New Green Works Members!
Bruce Gagne
Gagne Insurance Agency
PO Box 1688
St. Albans, VT 05478
802-527-0350
bgagne44@gmail.com
Associate Member
Category: Insurance
Kelly Wakefield
Green Feet Gardening
1073 Buck Hollow Road
Fairfax, VT 05454
802-782-0958
green.feet.gardening@gmail.com
Active Member
Category: Landscape/Install/
Maintenance
Welcome New Vermont Certified Horticulturists!
Sarah Hoffmeier
Ecolibrium, LLC
51 Terrace Street
Montpelier, VT 05602
802-522-5840
sarahhoffmeier@gmail.com
www.ecolibrium.com
Category: Hardscaping, Landscape
Designer, Landscape/Design/Build,
Landscape/Install/Maintenance,
Stonework
Jane Larsen
Greenhaven Gardens & Nursery
2638 Ethan Allen Hwy.
New Haven, VT 05472
802-453-5382
greenhaven@greenhavenvt.com
www.greenhavengardensandnursery
.com
Category: Garden Center,
Greenhouse Retail, Landscape/
Install/Maintenance, Nursery Retail
Mary Heninger
175 Country Hill
Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-258-2411
heninger175@comcast.net
Student Member
NECTAR Landscape Design Studio
Annie White
PO Box 4006
Burlington, VT 05406
802-777-1350
annie@nectarvt.com
www.nectarvt.com
Active Member
Category: Ecological Consulting,
Educator, Garden Writer,
Landscape Architect
Peter Anderson
S & D Landscapes
91 Ethan Allen Drive, Unit C
South Burlington, VT 05403
802-399-2742
peter@landscapevermont.com
www.landscapevermont.com
Category: Landscape Designer,
Landscape/Design/Build, Landscape/
Install/Maintenance, Turf Care
Aaron Smith
S & D Landscapes, LLC
66 Logwood Circle
Essex, VT 05452
802-497-0032
aaron@landscapevermont.com
www.landscapevermont.com
Category: Landscape Designer,
Landscape/Design/Build, Landscape/
Install/Maintenance, Turf Care
9
The Artful Digger, LLC
Cara Montague
68 West Street
Winooski, VT 05404
802-655-2454
theartfuldigger@gmail.com
www.artfuldigger.com
Active Member
Category: Landscape Design,
Landscape/Install/Maintenance
The Jim Reck Company
James Reck
26 Cornfield Point
Woodstock, CT 06281
866-929-0672
jimreck1@gmail.com
www.jimreck.com
Associate Member
Category: Supplier
Your source for over 35 years
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• SHADE TREES • PERENNIALS
• FLOWERING SHRUBS • WETLAND PLANTS
• EVERGREENS • BROADLEAFS
WE DELIVER WHERE YOU ARE
CONTACT US IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE
OUR WEEKLY AVAILABILITY & SPECIALS EMAIL
Mailing: 24 Buzzell Road, Biddeford ME 04005
Physical: 291 Waterhouse Rd, Dayton ME 04005
phone (207) 499-2994 • fax (207) 499-2912
email: sales@piersonnurseries.com
www.piersonnurseries.com
Introducing Green Works Tuesday Twilight Gatherings!
We are pleased to announce we will be holding monthly
“Tuesday Twilight Gatherings” (the second Tuesday of
each month) which are meant to be part social, part catch
up with your colleagues to take a breath, and part
educational! Our first gathering was held on April 23 at
Fairfax Perennial Farm, hosted by Hannah and Dana
Decker. It was a lovely afternoon for the tour, along with
food and drinks!

Keep you eyes out for email notices! The next two
gatherings are on May 9 to be held at Full Circle Gardens
in Essex and June 13 at the Basin Harbor Club for a Lake
Champlain cruise and garden tour. You can view complete Fairfax Perennial Farm, Fairfax, VT
details on our website at www.greenworksvermont.org.

Mark your calendars for the Green Works Summer Meeting and Trade
Show - August 16, 2017 - to be held at the Marble House Project in
Dorset, VT. Details will be announced soon!

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10
 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
May 9, 2017 - 5:00 - 7:00 pm July 11, 2017 August 16, 2017
Green Works Tuesday Twilight Gathering Green Works Tuesday Twilight Gathering Green Works Summer Meeting
Full Circle Gardens Details TBA & Trade Show
Broadening Perennial Choices for Landscapers www.greenworksvermont.org Marble House Project
www.greenworksvermont.org Dorset, VT
July 19, 2017 www.greenworksvermont.org
May 22, 2017 MNLA Down to Earth: Annual
Green Works Greenhouse Shopping Tour Summer Conference & Trade Show September 11-12, 2017
w/Dr. Leonard Perry Wachusett Mountain Ottawa Mosaicultures &
www.greenworksvermont.org Princeton, MA Montreal Botanical Garden Tour
413-369-4731 / www.mnla.com w/Dr. Leonard Perry
June 7 - 10, 2017
Native Plants in the Landscape Conference July 21 - 25, 2017 www.greenworksvermont.org
Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve Philadelphia Area Garden Bus Tour (almost full)
Millersville, PA w/Dr. Leonard Perry & Charlie Nardozzi
http://www.millersvillenativeplants.org/ www.greenworksvermont.org November 29 - December 2, 2017
New England Grows
June 13, 2017 - 5:00 - 7:00 pm Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
July 24-28, 2017
Green Works Tuesday Twilight Gathering Boston, MA
35th Perennial Plant Symposium
Basin Harbor Club Cruise & Garden Tour www.newenglandgrows.org
Denver, CO
www.greenworksvermont.org
ww.perennialplant.org
June 30, 2017 - 1:00 - 3:00 pm Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show
Birds & Bees, Meadows and Native Field August 8, 2017 January 20 - 12, 2018
Trials - Meadow & Studio Tour Green Works Tuesday Twilight Gathering The Baltimore Convention Center
Linden L.A.N.D. Group Open House Details TBA Baltimore, MD
6608 Route 116 / Shelburne, VT 05482 www.greenworksvermont.org www.mants.com
http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/birds-
bees-meadows-native-field-trials/

Participate in the Green Works

Northeast Greenhouse & Nursery Supply
2017 Industry Awards Program a division of Northeast Nursery, Inc. – Est. 1982

WHAT WE O F F ER . . .
• Professional Growing Media • Pots & Containers • Soils & Mulches
• Soluble Fertilizers • Injectors/Sprayers/Foggers • Control Release Fertilizers
• Control Products • Films & Coverings • Irrigation Supplies

PRO-LINE

Northeast Golf & Turf Supply

a division of Northeast Nursery, Inc. – Est. 1982

Start Planning Now!

WHAT WE O F F ER . . .

There is a great project out • Fertilizers

• Speciality Nutrients
• Control Products
• Soil Conditioners
• Turfgrass Seed
• Golf Course Irrigation Supplies

there waiting for an award!

11
 LEONARD’S CLIPPINGS!
by Dr. Leonard Perry, UVM Horticulture Professor Emeritus

News from the U including summer courses, this season’s ! Thanks to producer Will Mikell and the Across the Fence
program, we’ve had several tapings this winter and spring
tours which will benefit your clients and this Association,
to benefit your association and some members. You can
avoiding ticks and their diseases, and why you should be
view them on YouTube from the Extension site, or linked on
growing Culver’s Root are my clippings for this issue.
my website (perrysperennials.info). These included the
Landscape Awards, Vermont Flower Show preview,
News from campus includes these items:
interview with our flower show keynote Claudia West (if
you missed her talks, catch the highlights in 15 minutes),
! In a report this winter (http://www.collegerank.net/
and tree care and planting with VJ Comai of Bartlett Tree
best-college-farms/), UVM’s farms ranked 14th out of
Experts.
the top 35 in the country. Many were from smaller
schools, some large like UC Davis and Michigan, 12th
For summer courses, the following are being advertised. By the
was UNH.
time you’re reading this we’ll know which have enough students
! PSS Graduate student Vanesa Perillo has published her
to actually happen. Ones related to the “Catamount Farm
first book, a young adult novel. Water Thieves was
Summer Experience” (not mine for instance) usually happen
written as part of an outreach program for the project
regardless of numbers enrolled. (https://www.uvm.edu/
“Sensing the Americas’ Freshwater Ecosystem Risk
~summer/programs):
from Climate Change” (SAFER).
! Eco Ag alum, Mollie Silvers was featured on Shark April
! Herb Growing, Design and Use (Perry)
7, 2017 with products from the Middlebury company
! Perennial Garden Design, (Perry)
she works for (www.seedsheets.com). These were also
! Landscape Design Fundamentals (White)
featured on QVC April 14.
! Composting Ecology (Herlihy)
! Thanks to Mark Starrett, a UVM colleague in chemistry
! Cold-Climate Viticulture (Bradshaw)
and the UVM Beekeepers Club, UVM was named the
! Field-based IPM (Hazelrigg, Lynne)
first official Bee Campus in New England. “In
! Summer Farm Operations (Bradshaw)
recognition of its adoption of rigorous commitments to
! Soil Water Movement (Gorres)
raise awareness and enhance habitat for pollinators,”
! International Agroecology (Mendez)
UVM was designated a Bee Campus USA affiliate
(beecampususa.org).
Tis the season for ticks. With a few tips, exposure can be
! Extension Professor Sid Bosworth received the
greatly reduced and any infections prevented. If you’re not up
Outstanding Career Service Award from the American
to speed on latest prevention measures and symptoms to watch
Society of Agronomy, at the 2017 NE Plant Health and
for, check out these websites including the new revamped
Pest Conference held January 3-6, 2017 in Philadelphia,
Vermont one from Bradley Tompkins who spoke on these at our
PA. The Society recognized his many years of teaching
Flower Show.
and service to the NE region. 
! Much of this winter the PSS department was involved
! www.healthvermont.org (search for ticks)
with the search for a new faculty member with
expertise in plant breeding/genetics. There were over ! www.tickeencounter.org (URI, one of the first to begin
80 applicants, 15 phone interviews, then 5 on-campus
researching these)
interviews over 5 weeks. Decisions are being made, and
by the time you’re reading this there may be a new PSS
Some facts I’ve picked up reading these that most may not
faculty member coming on board—a position the
know, or seem important to know about ticks and avoiding
department has been working to get for over 30 years.
them:
! The 18th annual International Agroecology Shortcourse:
Pathways to Resilience, is being held on campus July
! that one of THE most effective sprays against ticks is
31-August 10. The course is organized by the
permethrin (a relatively safe synthetic version of the
Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative (ALC)—
natural extracts from chrysanthemums, and used in
under Ernesto Mendez of PSS-- and the Community
mosquito control programs). Often you can buy pre-treated
Agroecology Network (CAN), in collaboration with
clothing, good for 70 washes. I found a spray online (make
sponsoring organizations. 
12
 sure to get the version for this use, as those for Meadowbrook Farm of the Pennsylvania Horticulture
veterinary and other uses may not be suitable for Society, the Morris Arboretum, and more.
fabrics). Make sure to spray shoes and lower clothes; ! Finally in September I’ll lead an overnight tour to the
www.rei.com sells this product as well as impregnated Ottawa Mosaicultures (yes they’re back for the Canada 150
clothing. celebration) and Montreal Botanical Gardens with their
! The reason to treat lower clothes and shoes is that ticks Chinese lanterns. As of this writing there are only a
crawl upwards—“they don’t jump, fly or drop from handful of seats left.
trees” and “are programmed to head for head and ears
where tissues are thinner.
! The best way to remove them is with pointy tweezers
(don’t crush them). I have one of those small metal
tick-remover tools you can find in drugstores.
! Various ticks can carry and transmit various disease-
causing microbes. Only deer ticks transmit the
infamous Lyme disease.
! Actually deer are usually just the ride, the infection
coming from the other host—field mice. Especially
watch for deer ticks even if no deer are about, if you’re
working around mice habitats (overwintered
perennials, fields and grassy areas).

Garden tours were mentioned in the last issue, but are

worth repeating here as proceeds help benefit Green Works.
Check the Green Works website for registration and details
Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Lavendelturm’
of the tours, and please pass along to your clients or
customers who may be interested.

Finally, if you’re not familiar with Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum

virginicum), check it out. This is one of my favorite mid-summer
perennials, as well as of former grad student and now
consultant Annie White (www.pollinatorgardens.org). It is a
magnet for pollinators, over 80 percent of pollinators being
various bees. Of these, in her research Annie observed percents
on the species of 30 and 50 for bumblebees and honeybees. On
the cultivar ‘Lavender Towers’ (similar 4 to 5 foot plants with
branched flower spikes, only lavender not white), the percents
respectively were about equal (40 and 40 percent). Most the
rest of the pollinators were native bees, which preferred the
cultivar to the species about 3 to 1—the only pairing she
studied where the cultivar came out ahead.

Lavender Towers (‘Lavendelturm’ is the legal cultivar name)

The Morris Arboretum - The Long Fountain and Pennock Walk - prefers full sun but tolerates part shade (but may get leggy and
part of the Philadelphia Garden Tour in July. need staking). It prefers a moist, well-drained soil, but is
adaptable once established to many soil types including
drought. This cultivar of our American native was introduced
! Hopefully we’ll get enough (as of this writing we need
by German nurseryman Ernst Pagels. With its secondary flower
12 more) to run the May 22 Greenhouse Shopping tour
spikes blooming after the first finish, it can provide 4 to 6 weeks
to the Burlington area of northwest Vermont.
of bloom. It also was one of the top cultivars of this species in
! Then July 21-25, Charlie Nardozzi and I will be leading a
comparative Midwest trials. Check out more at
5-day tour to gardens of the Philadelphia area—places
www.chicagobotanic.org>science>ornamental plant
like Longwood Gardens, Chanticleer, the Penn State
research>plant evaluation.
Flower Trials and trials at Burpee’s Fordhook Farm,

13
Your Landscaping Resource

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472 Marshall Avenue, Williston, Vermont

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Phone: 802-658-2433 • Fax: 802-860-2936 • E-mail: wholesale@gardeners.com

14
 THE LAB
putting it under the lens . . .

Observations from the UVM

Plant Diagnostic Lab
Ann Hazelrigg, Phd.

I spend a lot of time talking about new pests and diseases that larvae produce strands of
silk and can “balloon”
have recently appeared in Vermont, however, winter moth is a
into areas where they
new (ish) pest in coastal New England that we don’t have! At
were not a problem the
this point, winter moths don't seem to be making their way
previous year. The mature
very far inland. It may have more to do with timing of when
larvae eventually reach an
caterpillars hatch and whether or not buds are open enough to
inch and can defoliate
accept them. Colder inland temperatures do not seem to be an
trees. In late May or early
issue; however, climate change may make inland locations
June, the mature
more susceptible to winter moth.
caterpillars will drop to
the ground to pupate
until mid-November
Female Moth
when the small brown
male moths emerge in
large numbers. Female
moths are wingless and
rarely seen.

These moths can stay

This pest originated in Europe and was introduced into Nova active until January if the
Scotia in the 1930’s. By the 1950’s it had become a serious pest weather conditions
in coastal Eastern Canada (Nova Scotia and PEI) and was also remain mild. The moths
found in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon in the mate, lay 150-350 very
1970s. The moth spread to Cape Cod by the 1990s and was first tiny eggs in bark crevices
discovered in coastal Massachusetts in 2003 and Rhode Island and then die. Eggs
Male Moth
in 2004. Currently, the insect has also been identified in initially are green, turn
southern NH, coastal Maine and one location in southeastern orange then turn blue/black just before hatch. Researchers
CT. It is estimated the immature larvae or caterpillars from MA and RI are concerned the damage this season may be
defoliated about 27,000 acres of trees in Rhode Island in spring high as a result of the trees being drought-stressed last
2015 and will likely do more damage this year. summer. In Southeastern MA many oak trees have been lost
due to the combination of stress and feeding by this pest in
The caterpillars feed on several different deciduous hosts addition to feeding by forest tent caterpillar and gypsy moth.
including oak, maple and apple in addition to cherry,
basswood, ash, white elm, crabapple, and blueberry. Management-

The winter moth caterpillars hatch in March and April just as
the buds are opening and start feeding in the opening flower or
leaf buds. When flower buds of blueberry or apple are
destroyed, harvest can be impacted. If spring conditions are
cool and buds are delayed, caterpillars may die. This very
hungry caterpillar starts out the size of an eyelash but grows as
it feeds. It is considered to be a “looper” or “inchworm” and is
green with a faint white stripe running along its sides. The
Sticky bands placed around tree trunks have been tried, but the
moths just lay eggs above. There are a couple of organic spray
options (Spinosad and Bacillus thuringiensis, kurstaki Btk) for
caterpillars, but there are downsides to these materials. The
Btk is most effective if applied when caterpillars are small.
Spinosad, although organic, can harm bee populations if
sprayed when bees are active. There are other conventional
insecticides available, also, that would control the pest, but the

15
best option for control of winter moth
populations may be the release of a
small parasitic fly. Joe Elkinton, UMass,
is releasing a tiny parasitic fly that lays
its eggs on tree leaves. As the winter
moth caterpillar feeds on foliage it
consumes the eggs, these hatch inside
the caterpillar and the fly larva
consume the caterpillar from the inside
out. The fly has succeeded in
suppressing winter moth populations in
Wellesley, MA and two other release
sites in Massachusetts. She has released
the flies in seven locations in Rhode
Island between 2011 and 2015, and she
hopes to soon see signs that it is
beginning to work.
The new location at Jeffords above.
Below the UVM Plant Diagnostic Lab.
Left: Winter Moth caterpillars feast.
Right: Winter Moth in flight in November.
The Master Gardener Helpline
Ann Hazelrigg, PhD.
The UVM Extension Master Gardener (MG) Helpline has a new
home in the UVM Plant Diagnostic Clinic in 201 Jeffords Hall on the
UVM campus. The Helpline is a statewide toll-free call-in line
staffed by trained Master Gardeners to help answer gardeners’
horticulture plus disease and pest questions. Currently two
volunteers staff the Helpline Monday, Thursdays and Fridays from 9
am-12 pm but beginning May 1, the Helpline will be available
Monday-Thursdays 9 am-12 pm. The Helpline volunteers field over
1,000 calls each season and receive about 100 physical plant
samples including turf, insects in vials, apple fruit and tomato
leaves! Gardeners may also submit home horticulture questions
with photos by completing an on-line form at https://
uvmmastergardener.wufoo.com/forms/home-garden-questions-
ask-a-master-gardener/.
This new location allows the program staff, Beret Halverson and
Lisa Chouinard, to interact with the volunteers daily. Volunteers
also are able to gain more experience by looking at samples sent by
commercial growers to the UVM Plant Diagnostic Clinic. A map
showing our location with directions and parking information can
be accessed here http://www.uvm.edu/mastergardener/documents/
jeffordsmapparkinglot2.pdf.
Home gardeners can call the toll free number (1-800-639-2230)
or if they live in Chittenden county 656-5421. If you are a
commercial grower with a pest or disease issue, contact the UVM
Plant Diagnostic Clinic directly at 802-656-0493 or by emailing Ann
Hazelrigg at ann.hazelrigg@uvm.edu.
16
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17
 THE IDEA FACTORY
tips & trends, food for thought…
Data Watch: How People
Upgrade Their Yards and
What They Spend
A recent study by Houzz, the on-line community about
design, architecture and home improvement, tracks how
homeowners spend their money on outdoor projects. While
the amount of money spent varied greatly, the bottom line,
homeowners are spending! Americans are increasingly more
interested in investing in their outdoor spaces. This bodes
well for our industry, as we encourage more and more people
to see the value in such improvements. Value increased not
only in dollars, but quality or life.
Homeowners were more engaged with neighbors and
community members as a result of work on their outdoor
projects; a notable, interesting and yet not entirely
surprising result of these improvement projects. So go forth
and prosper, feeling good about what you do, and how
influential your work is!
To see the complete feature article visit: www.houzz.com/
ideabooks/8307112/list/data-watch-how-people-upgrade-
their-yards-and-what-it-costs
Ashley Robinson
Nuggets from Ecological Landscape
Symposium - January 12 & 13, 2017
Know your site and what you want it to be. Keep a journal,
study a place, sketch it, learn from it. Ask, “What does this
land want to be? Work with it rather than against it”
Sometimes you have to take a step back to really move
forward. To truly be a steward of the land, and advocate
for preservation and reclamation, we need to reflect, study
and learn. Slow changes yield better results.
Ashley Robinson
18
Sharing the Words of Daniel Segal
from The Plantsmen Nursery
Groton, NY
Dan Segal is the owner of The Plantsmen Nursery and
founder and host of the Ithaca Native Landscape
Symposium which was established in 2009.
“In Horticulture, too often people focus on traits as if they
were the only features we are supposed to evaluate for our
pleasure. However, plant traits arise through the complex and
beautiful process of adaptation to environment. Before we
focus on aesthetics, we must focus on adaptations,
adaptability and how a plant has grown to relate/respond to its
environment…”
“Traits are best learned and understood by observing plants in
the wild. If you understand the traits of plants, why they grow
where they grow, you understand how to use them.
“All sites bear some resemblance to a type of habitat in the
wild. Our job as designers and plant professionals, gardeners,
is to understand the analogous habitats in the wild where we
can find the plant species that will grow and be happy on our
site.”
“Not all native plants work on all sites! This should be
obvious, but it’s critical to trace this truth back to adaptation
and environment, because that’s how we will succeed.”
“Remember that understanding the existing adaptations of
native plants to certain ecological conditions will vastly
increase your ability to use these plants successfully. Native
plants that live and thrive are beautiful – but choosing
native plants for their beauty alone will often result in
plants that don’t live.”
“Garden like conservation matters. First do no harm”
Ashley Robinson
“A garden is indeed the forum for creativity,
reflection, repose, and spirituality”.
Dr. Michael A. Dirr
 Wild and Lovely: Books on Getting to
Know the Native Plants of Vermont
by Judith Irven

"My heart found its home long ago in the beauty,
mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth."
Lady Bird Johnson
With their beautiful colors and
shapes, and sometimes a subtle
fragrance, I have always had a
passion for flowers. Of course, as a
designer, I spend countless hours
contemplating the best ways to
cultivate and display flowers to their
best advantage in the garden. But I
am also in awe of the diversity and
beauty of wildflowers that—with
absolutely no help or assistance from
humankind—thrive in our mountains
and meadows.
Some, like clover, daisies and
milkweed, bloom prolifically for
months on end, and we mostly know
their names and their habits. Others
are less common and may be quite
unfamiliar to many of us. Last June,
when hiking around Hogback A Wood Lily growing wild on Hogback Mountain in
Mountain behind our house, I
Goshen, part of the Green Mountain National Forest.
discovered a beautiful solitary lily,
shown in this picture. Its gorgeous
orange flowers decorated with striking purple spots, seemed to
smile at the sky. Amazingly it was growing all by itself, and yet
it appeared to be flourishing among the thick ferns and
grasses. So, that same evening, I asked my husband Dick to take Plants that share certain characteristics are grouped together in
the picture you see here.
Now, with the photograph to remind me of the details of the
flower and the leaves, I used a duo of wonderful new books,
both published last year, to positively identify the plant I had
seen.
The first book, Wildflowers of New England by Ted Elliman
(published by Timber Press) is an illustrated field guide of all
the perennial, biennial and annual flowers that can be found
growing wild in any of the six New England states.
In these books I quickly discovered the plant I had seen was a
Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum). Apparently Wood Lilies are
found in dry woodlands or along the edges of fields and, in
Vermont, they are considered uncommon or rare, having only
been seen in our eight southern
counties.
I also learned about two other lilies
that grow wild in Vermont, the native
Canada lily (Lilium canadense), and
the Tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium)
which was introduced from Asia.
For me the bloom-time of the many
wildflowers is a sweet reminder of
the passage of the seasons— spring,
summer and fall. And some
wildflowers bloom just briefly,
making them even more special. A
few days later I returned to see my
lovely lily once more, only to find
that it was all done flowering for this
year. So, unless I find a different
plant, a whole year must pass before I
see the wood lilies once more.
Learning to See
We humans love to name and
describe everything we encounter—
from our family and friends to the numerous objects or ideas
that interest us, and of course all the plants we encounter, both
wild and cultivated.
families. Thus true lilies are classified in the genus Lilium and
are grouped with other lily-like flowers into a ‘family’ known as
Liliaeceae.
So, if you come across an unknown plant in the wild, you can
use its visible characteristics, such as the color and structure of
its flowers and the shape and arrangement of its leaves, to both
name it and find its position in the great hierarchy of all plants.
‘Wildflowers of New England’ by Ted Elliman

The second, The New Vermont Flora by Arthur Gilman
(published by the New York Botanical Gardens) is an in-depth
scholarly reference book naming and describing all the vascular
plants that grow naturally (i.e. outside cultivation) in Vermont.
Ted Ellian, who has worked at the venerable New England
Wildflower Society for many years, has created a beautiful and
extremely comprehensive field guide, covering well over 1000
wildflowers, both native and naturalized, that are found in our
six-state region.

19
The book is organized around flower color—first the white
flowers, followed by ones that are yellow, red, blue, green,
orange and lastly brown.
At the beginning of the book an easy-to-use identification key
or index makes it relatively foolproof to
identify and name that unknown flower you
discovered on your walk. Start with the color
of the flower, and then look carefully at the
number of petals in each flower as well as
how they are arranged. For small-flowered
plants you will definitely need a magnifying
glass for this!
This lily was clearly orange, there were six
petals and they were arranged in a circle.
Next study the characteristics of its leaves.
In the case of my orange lily it was easy to
see that the leaves grew from the stem in
whorls.
This information was sufficient to take me
directly to a page showing a small number
of plants with these characteristics and, by
looking at the color photographs and
descriptive paragraphs, it was easy to
identify the plant I had seen.
The wood lily is grouped with other orange
lily-like flowers including and the tiger lily
(Lilium lancifolium) found today around old
farmsteads but which originated in East
Asia, as well as the native Turk’s Cap lily
( Lilium superbum) found in CT, MA, NH and
RI, but not in Vermont. And there is also the
commonplace orange daylily (Hemerocallis
fulva) we see along Vermont roadsides in
July and August.
The New Flora of Vermont by Arthur
Gilman
The New Flora of Vermont, the climax of
years of painstaking solo research by
Vermont native and life-long
environmentalist, Arthur Gilman is a monumental reference
book, where he both describes and categorizes over 2000
vascular plants—from trees and shrubs to wildflowers, grasses,
ferns and club-mosses—that grow wild in Vermont. Many have
been growing here for hundreds of years. Other have been
‘introduced’ by human activity, while still others are relatively
recent arrivals, pushing north as our climate changes.
Gilman calls his book a ‘NEW Flora of Vermont’. In his quest to
document the condition of our wild plants today, his starting
point was the original ‘Flora of Vermont’, first published in
1900, with a final fourth edition printed almost fifty years ago,
in 1969.
20
Then, every weekend for twelve long years, he would travel as
far as New York and Boston to scour old plant records and dried
plant collections archived in libraries, and then roam the length
of the state to locate where the different plants can be found
today. From here he delved into modern research, especially
DNA analysis, to categorize each plant in its
correct family and genus.
The culmination of his work, the New Flora
of Vermont, is an amazing gift to everybody
who would like to learn more about the
myriad plants—from the very rare to the
commonplace—to be found across our
beautiful state.
Plant Detective
While the New Flora of Vermont provides an
abundance of information on any plant you
might encounter, using its key system to
identify an unknown plant is a somewhat
cumbersome process.
A much better way is to use these two books
in tandem. First use The Wildflowers on
New England to find the name, photograph
and a brief description of the unknown
plant, as I did with my Wood Lily. Now use
the index in the New Flora to go to a longer
description of your plant, including the
counties where it has been observed, as well
as information on the other plants in the
same family and genus.
I used this technique with the orange Wood
Lily, and in the Gilman book discovered the
existence of its very close relative, the
beautiful yellow Canada Lily (Lilium
canadense)—which I missed entirely in the
Elliman field guide where it is, quite
logically, grouped among the yellow flowers
—along with the fascinating detail that the
Canada Lily is pollinated by hummingbirds!
I never cease to be astonished and beguiled by the wonderful world
of nature!
About the Author & Photographer: Judith Irven and Dick
Conrad live in Goshen where together they nurture a large garden.
Judith is a Green Works member, a Vermont Certified
Horticulturist and teaches Sustainable Home Landscaping for the
Vermont Master Gardener Program. You can subscribe to her blog
about her Vermont gardening life at
www.northcountryreflections.com. Dick is a landscape and garden
photographer; you can see more of his photographs at
www.northcountryimpressions.
 Biophilic Design is Coming to a Building Near You!
by Rebecca Lindenmeyr

The realization that nature can heal us is hardly new, but Conversely, when we are immersed in artificial environments
for extended periods of time our health declines. In chaotic and
recent research has shown just how much we benefit from its
unsettling environments, the body’s sympathetic system is
close proximity. A 2016 review of 52 scientific articles on the
highly engaged in a “fight-or-flight” mindset. The
ancient practice of Japanese “Forest Bathing”1  presents data to
parasympathetic system is suppressed, disrupting our natural
support that we have a positive physiological reaction when we
balance and resulting in energy drain and mental fatigue. This
are surrounded by nature. Specifically, our heart rate goes down
combination induces stress, frustration, irritability, and
about 5%, our blood pressure decreases, and we produce 15%
distraction. Prolonged exposure to artificial environments
less stress hormones. This autonomic nervous system reaction
(such as the traditional office building, school, or hospital)
results in our being 56% more relaxed, which leads to improved
leads to a suppression of our immunity and delayed healing.
cognitive function and enhanced creativity when we are in
contact with nature.
The positive effect of nature on humans is well
documented– and yet despite overwhelming evidence we
Forward thinking businesses such as Amazon, YouTube,
still don’t go outside, even though we know it’s good for us.
Google, Facebook, Airbnb, Lonely Planet, Kickstarter, Bank of
According to the
America and TD Bank
WELL Living Lab (a
have taken note. They
collaboration between
realized that if they
the Mayo Clinic and
want their workers to
Delos), on average we
be less stressed and
now spend 90% of our
more focused and
time inside (21.6 hrs/
productive (and on
day), and only 10% of
average 20% more
our time outside (2.4
profitable), they can’t
hrs/day), and most
rely on the
indoor environments
assumption that their
are making us stressed
workers will get up,
and physically ill. So
get out, and seek
why choose to stay
nature. Instead they
indoors? The reality is
are bringing nature to
that the majority of us
people inside, up
prefer comfortable
close and personal.
environments, (read
It’s called Biophilic
lazy), and are easily
Design, and you’re
distracted – I’m no
going to start seeing
exception. Even as a nature enthusiast with easy access to
it everywhere.
beautiful trails, I often look out my office window and say, “It’s
a nice day; I should take a walk.” Then in the next breath I say,
Nature Makes Us Better Humans
“Just let me answer this one email,” and I never leave my desk.
Sound familiar?
The term biophilia, stemming from the Greek roots meaning
love of life, was coined in 1973 by the social psychologist Erich
Bringing Nature Inside = Biophilic Design
Fromm. It came into use in the 1980s when Edward O. Wilson,
an American biologist, proposed that our evolution, occurring
In 1993 E.O. Wilson co-edited a book called The Biophilia
over 6-7 million years spent in nature, has soft-wired us to
Hypothesis with Dr. Stephen R. Kellert, a Professor Emeritus of
prefer natural settings over the built environment, and that we
Social Ecology at the Yale University School of Forestry and
need to bring humans back in contact with nature for our
Environmental Studies. Kellert is now one of the leading
sustained health and wellness. Neuroscientists studying
“Attention Restoration Theory”2 found that views of complex, proponents of Biophilic Design in the U.S. His work focuses on
dynamic natural scenes such as waves, leaves in a breeze, fish understanding the connection between nature and humanity
swimming in an aquarium, or a flickering fire, capture and hold with a particular interest in environmental conservation and
our attention better than artificial environments or stimuli. sustainable design and development.

21
“People possess an inherent need to affiliate with nature,
something we have called biophilia. This can occur directly in
the built environment through the experience of plants and
natural lighting, but also indirectly indirectly
Biophilic design bridges indoor and outdoor environments
with shapes, forms, and materials originating in the natural
world.
through shapes, forms, and materials that originate in the
natural world. Incorporating these features into the work
place, through the application of biophilic design, can enhance
employee health, motivation, problem solving, and
creativity. In effect, it can
lead to superior performance
and productivity.”
Benefits of Biophilic Design
in our Built Environment
We can now prove that it
makes financial sense to
invest in biophilic design.
Productivity, health, and
well-being can be measured
– metrics range from reduced
absenteeism to greater
worker satisfaction –and
translated into dollar
savings. In 2008, Kellert wrote
a book with Judith
Heerwagen, Martin Mador, along with Terrapin’s Bill Browning
and Bob Fox, called Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science, and
22
Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life. Heerwagen, an expert in
environmental psychology with the Office of Federal High
Performance Buildings (USGSA), described how early pioneers
in biophilic design are beginning to demonstrate tangible
financial benefits.
In 2012, Bill Browning and his co-authors from Terrapin Bright
Green published a report called “The Economics of Biophilia,”
in which they showed that integrating views to nature in an
office space can save over $2,000 per employee per year in
office costs, whereas over $93 million in healthcare costs could
be saved annually as a result of providing patients with views
to nature. The 2015 the Human Spaces’ report, The Global
Impact of Biophilic Design in the Workplace, found employees in
environments with natural elements are reporting a 15% higher
level of well-being, are 6% more productive, and are 15% more
creative overall.3 Research also shows hospitals can shorten
patients’ healing times by providing them a view of trees or
other elements of nature from their beds. Schools that are
incorporating Biophilic Design are reporting higher test scores
by providing views of nature giving children greater access to
the outdoors and encouraging contact with natural materials.
How to Bring Nature Inside
In 2014, Terrapin Bright Green published a subsequent report
titled “14 Patterns of Biophilic Design” which serves as a model
for architects and designers looking to incorporate Biophilic
strategies into their spaces. Here are the 14 Patterns:
Nature in the Space encompasses seven biophilic design
patterns:
1. Visual Connection with Nature
2. Non-Visual Connection with Nature
3. Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli
4. Thermal & Airflow Variability
5. Presence of Water
6. Dynamic & Diffuse Light
7. Connection with Natural Systems
Natural Analogues addresses organic, non-living and indirect
evocations of nature and encompasses three patterns of
biophilic design:
8. Biomorphic Forms & Patterns.
9. Material Connection with Nature.
10. Complexity & Order
Nature of the Space addresses spatial configurations in nature
and encompasses four biophilic design patterns:
11. Prospect
12. Refuge
13. Mystery
14. Risk/Peril
Applying the Patterns and Principles

So how can we all reap the benefits of Biophilic design? Much

of the research has focused on the workplace since it has the
most direct and obvious economic impacts, but since we
spend more time at home than at work I believe our
residential built environment has as much of an impact on
our health and well being as our workplace, and deserves as
much attention.

In our sustainable landscape and interior design practice at

Linden L.A.N.D. Group, we are applying the principles of
Biophilic Design to connected indoor and outdoor spaces, in
both residential and commercial settings. Specifically we work
with architects, builders and homeowners to design spaces
that include:

• Large windows that overlook complex but ordered

landscapes, particularly multi-layered native
woodlands, meadows, and ponds that attract wildlife
including birds and pollinators
• Interesting kinetic sculptures and plants that move in
the wind and change with the seasons
• Plant-filled atriums and conservatories that sustain
greenery during our long winters
• Interior water features such as reflecting pools for
fish, waterfalls, and solar-heated swim spas
• Colorful, living green walls that remove VOCs and
other pollutants from the air
• Highly textured and touchable natural building
materials such as wood, stone, and natural fibers
• Nature-based patterns in interior furnishings,
(especially affordable, stylish, non-toxic and
sustainable furnishings and textiles)
• Places for relaxing (refuge and prospect) such as cozy
References
reading nooks and sunbathed window seats
• Places that are exciting and encourage movement
1. Chorong Song, Physiological Effects of Nature Therapy: A
(mystery and risk) such as overlooks, open stairwells,
Review of the Research in Japan, (Int J Environ Res Public
and meandering passageways inside that connect to
paths outside and continue a journey Health. 2016 Aug; 13(8))
2. Marc G. Bergman, The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting with
In essence, Biophilic Design creates fascinating, sustainable Nature, (Psychological Science December 2008 vol. 19 no.
buildings connected to nature both inside and outside, which 12 1207-1212)
carry the promise of increased health and wellness, as well as 3. Sir Cary Cooper, Human Spaces: The Global Impact of
increased productivity and reduced human resource costs. Biophilic Design in the Workplace, (June 2015)
What’s not to love?
Learn More About the Author: Rebecca Lindenmeyr is a WELL AP, Green
Works member, and a VT Certified Horticulturist, practicing
Visit the following websites for more information: Sustainable Landscape and Interior Design at Linden L.A.N.D.
Group with her husband Tim Lindenmeyr in Shelburne, VT.
Terrapin Bright Green – https://
www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/report/14-patterns/
Human Spaces – http://humanspaces.com/.
Healthy Building Network – http://www.healthybuilding.net/
World Green Building Council – http://www.worldgbc.org/

23
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24
 STRICTLY BUSINESS
Strategic Thinking: A New Perspective
by Jacki Hart
When I talk to business owners about strategy, they typically
roll their eyes, conjuring up images of lengthy strat plans
requiring days of work. That’s not why I talk about strategy. To
me, strategy requires thinking strategically – which is a critical
business leadership skill of which most entrepreneurs are
unaware.
Based on many years as a consultant working with
entrepreneurs, I believe there are 6 key steps baked into a
sound, well thought out business strategy. ‘The Plan’ (strategic
plan) depends on this critical thinking in order to determine
what investment the company needs to move forward, and how
much profit will be generated.
Here are my six Strategic Thinking steps to building a solid,
well led business:
1. Clarify Culture. WHO is your company? (not to be confused
with what your company does or offers.) What are the non-
negotiable values in your business? What do believe in? What
is unique about the effective dynamics behind the scenes, and
between staff and customers? (HINT: if you’re feeling your
company doesn’t have effective dynamics either behind the
scenes or with customers, you really need to start with a
Culture Project!) This is about defining your Foundation – your
Culture. A particularly crucial step to take if you’re having
trouble attracting ‘right fit’ people – something you simply
can’t do if you don’t have a clear definition of what ‘right fit’
is!
2. Establish Strategic Focus. WHY does your business exist
(what’s its’ purpose / mission?), and what are you ultimately
trying to create by being in business? Where are is the
company headed, when, and with which service/product
offerings? (What’s the Vision?) By taking this step, you are
setting the context for your business. This becomes the filter
through which vast information you take in (i.e. online
offerings or information) is either discarded or adopted. Time
is money, and without intentionally defining your Strategic
Focus, you may find yourself wasting many valuable hours of
desk time trying to figure out what’s relevant and what’s not,
or bounding madly off in all directions without getting
anything actually done.
25
no kidding …
3. Create Structure. This will support and drive your strategy
(Strategic Focus) … not the other way around: Strategy drives
structure. Strategy determines what fits (including people and
positions) and what doesn’t. Structure is the implementation
plan for your Strategy. Be careful not to create business
strategies around personalities, or the talents (or lack thereof)
of various employees (or family employees). The template we
call structure, is used to determine what positions to create
and people to fill them (i.e. corporate structure), should be
driven primarily by your Strategic Focus.
4. Align People. One of the most effective ways to increase
productivity (and profit), is to reduce or eliminate
unproductive friction. It’s invaluable in helping you to
seamlessly maintain and fuel alignment of people, purpose and
to engage the highest potential of individual passion and
talent. And, by the way, aligned people hold themselves and
each other accountable to results, actions and attitudes.
5. Improve Productivity. Clarity and alignment, combined
with the addition of accountability will launch productivity to
new heights. To maximize productivity, it’s human nature to
know what is considered good, bad and outstanding. By setting
clear targets, goals and bench marks, you can establish better
team collaboration, alignment, and productivity. Make sure
that your culture insists everyone checks their egos at the
door, and watch them soar. Productivity can be remarkably
improved when the company culture supports accountability,
where people know when to step up and when to step back,
when to own their mistakes, and own their victories.
6. Attract Right Fit Business. When you engage your
valuable resources in ‘wrong fit’ contracts, customers or
markets, you run the risk of wasted efforts which not only
contribute to increased costs, but distract people and
materials from more profitable work and potential. You will
best gain forward momentum by engaging your team (and
company advocates – which includes loyal customers,
subtrades, suppliers etc) in a collaborative culture for mutual
improvement and success. Get clear on what ‘right fit’ is, and
go for it! Ignore ‘wrong fit’. It took me years to learn to stand
my ground so to speak, and realize that some work would
turn out more profitable if not acquired at all. There have
been memorable occasions in my career, when I’ve realized
(and on occasion, articulated to a client) that the company
would make more profit if it were to send staff and
equipment ‘home’ rather than engage with the customers’
project on their unreasonable terms. Know what you do well,
who you sell to that appreciates your offering, and do what
you promise to, and when. That’s right fit. And Profitable.
About
the Author: Jacki Hart is president of Consulting by Hart in
Ontario, Canada. She is an entrepreneur, advisor, business
consultant, and workshop facilitator with a career in the Green
Industry spanning 35 years. Jacki is one of Canada’s first
women to hold the North American Green Industry certificate
for business management excellence. Jacki also manages the
Prosperity Program and Peer to Peer Network for Landscape
Ontario.
Jacki writes for other trade magazines and will be a regular
contributor to our business column. CBH is a consulting firm
that “passionately believes that entrepreneurial success depends
on sustained forward momentum - across all areas of business -
both the visible and the invisible. To learn more about CBH visit
www.consultingbyhart.com.

Cobble Creek Nursery, LLC

C obble Creek Nursery will be specializing

in quality field grown B&B nursery
stock, having sold our container growing
operation. We would like to take this
opportunity to thank Sally, Jason and Sonya
for their years of loyalty and service and
to wish them well in their new endeavors!
John, Patti and Todd will continue to
offer the same high quality plants and
exceptional customer service you have
come to expect from Cobble Creek.

John Padua
991 Tyler Bridge Road, Bristol, VT 05443
phone/fax: 802- 453-3889 / e-mail: cobcreek@gmavt.net

26
Article for Green Works/VNLA spring newsletter
The immediate answer to this question is simple: agricultural production is risky business.

Why Consider Crop Insurance? Vermont, August 2011

Why Consider Crop Insurance?
The immediate answer to this question is simple: agricultural production In the wake
is risky of
business.
Hurricane Irene
Vermont, August 2011
If weather was more
TheHurricane
In the wake of
immediate
Irene answer to this question is simple: agricultural
predictable, agricultural
production
If weather was more is risky business. producers would have no
predictable, agricultural problem planning for
If weather
producers would washave nomore predictable, agriculturaldifficult producers would years.
production
have no problem planning for difficult production
problem planning for
But of years.
course,But of not
that’s
difficult production years.
course, that’s
But of course, that’s not
not the case. And it is not only major catastrophic
the case. And it is not only
theevents
case. Andlikeit isHurricane
not only Irene in 2011 that causemajor losses.catastrophic events
Crop
major insurance
catastrophic provides a safety net against perils
events
like such asIrene in
Hurricane
frost, drought, flooding and hail. The chart below
like Hurricane Irene in
2011 illustrates the
that cause losses.
2011 that cause losses.
causes of agricultural losses in Vermont due to
Crop insurance provides a safety net against perils such as frost, drought, weather
Crop insurance events
provides
flooding and hail. The a safety net against perils such as frost, drought, flooding and hail. The
since
chart belowcrop insurance
illustrates was
the causes first available
of agricultural losses in to Vermont
Vermont due to farmers
weather andsince
events Vermont, August 2011 - In the wake of Hurricane Irene.
chart below illustrates the causes of agricultural losses in Vermont due to weather events since
growers
crop insurancein was1990.
first available to Vermont farmers and growers in 1990.
crop insurance was first available to Vermont farmers and growers in 1990.
go to RMA’s agent locator on their web site: http://
Vermont Causes of Loss-All Years www.rma.usda.gov/tools/agent.html.
$10,000,000.00 Vermont Causes of Loss-All Years
$10,000,000.00 Without a strong crop insurance program, uncontrollable
weather events can undermine the financial security of
$5,000,000.00 individual farmers and could potentially place an enterprise
or even an entire agricultural sector in jeopardy. And the
$0.00
$5,000,000.00 business and financial impact of agriculture is important to
Vermont’s economy. In 2015 Vermont’s agriculture industry
Heat
Flood

Frost
Hail
Drought

Freeze

Hurricane
Wind
Cold Wet

contributed more than $940 million to the state’s economy.

$0.00

Heat
Flood

Frost
Hail
Drought

Freeze

Hurricane
Wind
Cold Wet
Indemnity Buying a crop insurance policy is a risk management tool
In 2016, crop insurance protected $27 million of liability on growing crops in Vermo
were 73,000 acres insured and more than $880,000 was paid to farmers in indemn
available to nursery growers.
production Producers
and/or revenue losses. should consider how
a policy will work
Do in conjunction
you need with
crop insurance for theircrops?
your nursery other Therisk
best way to determine yo

management strategies to insure the best possible outcome

crop insurance coverage is to assess your level of risk, working with a USDA-license
agent. To find an agent, visit your local FSA office or go to RMA’s agent locator on
In 2016, crop insurance protected $27 million of liability on each crop year. Cropsite:insurance Indemnity
agents and other agri-business
http://www.rma.usda.gov/tools/agent.html
growing crops in Vermont. There were 73,000 acres insured and specialists can assist nursery producers
Without a strong crop in developing
insurance program, a good
uncontrollable weather events can unde
more than $880,000 was paid to farmers in indemnities for risk management plan
financial security of individual farmers and could potentially place an enterprise or
entire for theirsector
agricultural unique agricultural
in jeopardy. And the businessenterprise.
and financial impact of agr
production and/or revenue losses. important to Vermont’s economy. In 2015 Vermont’s agriculture industry contribu
than $940 million to the state’s economy.
This article was provided by Jake Jacobs, Crop Insurance
Do you need crop insurance for your nursery crops? The best Buying a crop insurance policy is a risk management tool available to nursery grow
Education Coordinator, Department
Producers should consider ofhowCommunity Development
a policy will work in conjunction with their other ri
way to determine your need for crop insurance coverage is to and Applied Economics, University
management ofinsure
strategies to Vermont. For outcome
the best possible more each crop year. Crop i
assess your level of risk, working with a USDA-licensed agents and other agri-business specialists can assist nursery producers in developin
information you canmanagement
reach Jake plan at jake.jacobs@uvm.edu.
for their unique agricultural enterprise. or
insurance agent. To find an agent, visit your local FSA office or 802.656.7356.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

27

Annie White of Nectar Landscape Design Studio
We would like to introduce Annie White of Nectar Landscape
Design Studio, who has recently joined Green Works. We sent
Annie a questionnaire so we could learn more about her and
her business. Welcome to Green Works Annie!
Introduce yourself and your business.
Greetings! I’m Annie White, a new member
to Green Works and a new owner of Nectar
Landscape Design Studio based in
Burlington.
How did you get started in horticulture
and design? I was born into horticulture
and haven’t been able to shake the genetic
green thumb yet. I’m the fourth generation
in a family of horticulture professionals.
We’ve all found our passions and our
livelihoods in horticulture, but with each
generation, we’ve adapted to the times and
found our own unique niche in the green
industry.
Before I was old enough to get a real job, I
became passionate about growing culinary
herbs in my Dad’s greenhouses in
Maidstone, Vermont. I called my offshoot of
the family business “Annie’s Herbs,” and
would sell my herbs on commission in our
storefront, also offering value-added herb products at local
farmer’s markets. My first foray into design came from
designing and installing elaborate herb gardens on our farm,
complete with geometric pathways and water features. I retired
from Annie’s Herbs when I turned 16 to pursue other interests,
but the passion for plants, design, and the entrepreneurial
spirit endured.
What is your educational background? After growing up in
a remote place like Maidstone, I couldn’t wait to get out and
experience more of the world. I went as far away as possible for
college, choosing to study conservation biology and ecology at
The University of Hawaii-Hilo. It was here that I came to
recognize the strong connection between ecology,
conservation, and what we plant in our landscapes. I
immediately went on for a master’s degree in Landscape
Architecture from the University of Wisconsin – Madison
where I specialized in restoration ecology. Most recently, I
completed a PhD in Plant & Soil Science at The University of
Vermont with a concentration in ecological landscape design.
My PhD research focused on plant/pollinator interactions and
improving plant selection for pollinator habitat restoration.
Where else have you worked in the industry? I’ve held a
wide range of jobs within the horticulture and design
28
New Member Profile:
industries in both the public and private sectors. Most
formative was my time spent doing landscape restoration
projects on an Agriturismo in Tuscany, Italy, as well as my 6
years working as an ecological designer and project manager
for Earth Source, Inc. - a small landscape architecture and
environmental consulting firm in the
Midwest. I’ve also always enjoyed writing
about various aspects of our industry. I
supplemented my PhD years moonlighting
as the Editor of Ball Publishing’s Inside
Grower e-newsletter and magazine and
continue to write freelance articles as time
allows.
What’s unique about your business and
what type of projects do your specialize
in? I think I offer a unique combination of
having a formal education in landscape
architecture, but specializing in ecological
design approaches and ecologically
functional plantings. I take on a wide
variety of design challenges, but my special
niches are pollinator-friendly landscaping,
lakeshore landscaping, and shoreline
stabilization. In addition to design work,
I’m teaching a summer introductory
landscape design course at UVM, am
working with Vermont DEC’s Lakewise program to create a
bioengineering manual for lakeshore stabilization, and am a
consultant with New England Wild Flower Society’s new
Pollinate New England program.
Why do you like being a member of Green Works? One
thing I’ve always loved about this industry is how supportive
and friendly everyone is to each other. It’s like one big family
and Green Works helps keep us connected. The people who are
our closest competitors may also be our closest friends. Case in
point: I spend a few days a week sharing a collaborative studio
space with Rebecca Lindenmeyr, co-owner of Linden L.A.N.D.
Group. While we both specialize in ecological landscape design
and may be interested in similar projects, we strongly feel that
the collaborative and supportive environment we’ve created is
a boost for both our businesses.
What do you like to do during your down time? Like most
of us in this industry, there’s little distinction between my
professional passions and how I spend my free time. I find
respite getting my hands dirty and working on various
gardening projects around my home in Burlington’s South End.
I escape to nature wherever possible, botanizing all along the
way. I now have the joy of sharing these wonders with my 3-yr-
old daughter, which is the greatest pleasure of all.
 THE PLANT LOUNGE
wiry stems, hairy leaves and bodacious blooms. . .
Magnificent Magnolias!
by Amy Rose-White
New gardeners to Vermont always seem so
surprised when I tell them that they can
grow Magnolias. They think that they have
to “give them up” like azaleas and flowering
dogwoods. But there are varieties of
Magnolias that grow well here and survive
our subzero winter temperatures. Magnolia
x loebneri ‘Merrill’ has bloomed here at
Rocky Dale Gardens even after -32° F. It is
covered with clouds of fragrant starry
white flowers in very early spring and
looks fabulous with a carpet of blue
Chionodoxa beneath. And it’s reached an
impressive 25-30 feet in height.
I like to think that Rocky Dale is
responsible for the many white
Magnolias seen in Bristol in the spring.
Merrill is one, as well as Star Magnolia
(M. stellata) which is one of Merrill’s
“parents”. From the same breeding
comes M. x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’.
The petals on this cultivar are backed
with dark pink giving the flowers an
overall rosy color. The Little Girl hybrids
were created from a cross between M.
stellata and M. liliiflora. ‘Ann’ and ‘Jane’,
with deep purple-backed petals, are more
compact and bloom a bit later. All these
cultivars are doing quite well in Bristol.
Frost damage can be a risk, but growing
them is well worth it. Even when not in
bloom the plants are attractive – they
have great winter form and buds and clean
green foliage through the summer.
The Cucumbertree Magnolia (M.
acuminata) is a hardy species with
greenish-yellow flowers that grows way
too large for most gardens. Fortunately,
many new hybrids have been created using Bottom: Magnolia macrophylla
it as a parent. They have fragrant yellow
flowers and a much more compact habit. They also bloom later
and are less susceptible to frost damage. Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’
was one of the first created and still one of the best. It’s
covered with fragrant lemon yellow flowers and is quite hardy.
Customers are growing it in Waterbury and
Duxbury. Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ has
smaller, but more profuse, deeper yellow
flowers. It does well here, but I’ve had
mixed reports from growers at higher
elevations. Then there is ‘Yellow Lantern’,
‘Yellow Fever’, Golden Sun’, Golden Gift’ –
the list goes on and on! They’re all worth
giving a try.
One of our biggest surprises was the
survival of Magnolia ‘Daybreak’ in Bristol.
We first saw this growing in Connecticut
-- it has huge pink flowers and looks way
too tropical to grow in Vermont! A few
came in as substitutes for Magnolia
‘Elizabeth’ one spring and one was
planted in downtown Bristol. It’s lived
through at least 5 winters and flowers
every spring. What a sight! It turns out
that it does have Magnolia acuminata in
its parentage and perhaps some of its
ruggedness.
Another surprise was the hardiness of
Magnolia sieboldii, the Oyama magnolia.
Dirr has this listed only to Zone 6, but it
grew and flowered here at Rocky Dale for
many years before it was shaded by larger
trees. This species has showy white, cup-
shaped flowers with a maroon eye and
blooms in late spring. A customer brought
me a picture of one flowering in Lincoln (a
solid Zone 4). It was next to her house
and looked to be 10’ tall.
For a really over the top tropical look try
one of the Bigleaf Magnolias, Magnolia
macrophylla or Magnolia tripetala. These
Top: Magnolia x loebneri “Dr. Merrill have huge leaves and flowers. I have seen
these growing in some Zone 4 gardens and
Middle: Magnolia ‘Ann’
if sited carefully they may even bloom!
And let’s not forget the saucer magnolias
(Magnolia x soulangeana). I’ve only ever seen these blooming
reliably in the Champlain Valley, but so magnificent when well-
grown. They bring back such fond memories of growing up on
Long Island. I may not see any azaleas in Vermont and only an
occasional dogwood, but at least I can get my Magnolia fix!
29
When the Bleeding Hearts Bloom, You Know Spring is Here to Stay!
by Judith Irven

Everyone loves Bleeding Hearts, with their delicate flowers— The plants of Squirrel Corn are fairly compact and apparently
readily self-seed. So, squirrels notwithstanding, in the wild
each reminiscent of a little pink heart with a tiny drop of blood
one usually finds several plants growing near one another.
dripping from it—that are perfectly complemented by mounds
of dainty fern-like leaves. They bloom in mid-spring, once the By contrast, a single plant of Dutchman’s Breeches will
weather is settled and winter’s chill is out of the ground. eventually become a substantial colony with many flowering
stalks above mounds of
There are actually several
feathery leaves—always a
kinds of Bleeding Hearts and
delightful sight.
their near relatives—all of
which make delightful plants I imagine, in times past, those
for the spring garden. Let’s small white flowers dangling
take a look! from the stem reminded
people of a row of sailor’s
Fringed Bleeding Hearts—
pantaloons drying on the
Exquisite Plants from the
wash-line—hence their quaint
Mountains of Appalachia
name Dutchman’s Breeches.
The diminutive Fringed Both Dicentra cucullaria
Bleeding Heart, Dicentra (available at American
eximia, which also goes by the Meadows) and Dicentra
odd name of Turkey Corn, is a canadensis (does anybody
North American native found know of a source?) would make
along the spine of Appalachian great additions to a woodland
Mountains, from Southwestern garden. But it is important to
Pennsylvania to North note that, unlike the Fringed
Carolina. Position Dicentra eximia near the front of the border so that Bleeding Heart, these are both
And, since it thrives where the people can enjoy its delicate heart-sharped flowers up close. spring ephemerals meaning
soil is acidic and summers are that, as soon as they have
moist, Fringed Bleeding Hearts flowered and set seed, the
are also quite at home in Vermont gardens (with the possible plants will go dormant for the remainder of the summer.
exception of those along the limestone ridges where the soils Careful Hybridization Brings New Cultivars
are likely to be more alkaline).
Plant hybridizers are always seeking the opportunity to make
It often comes as a surprise when clients discover that,
new and better varieties by crossing closely related plant
although the Fringed Bleeding Heart is usually considered a
species.
springtime flower, it actually blooms on and off all summer
long. So position it near the front of the border where its And, in the case of the Dicentra genus, they experimented with
dainty personality will be appreciated throughout the season. crossing our Eastern Bleeding Heart, Dicentra eximia, with its
Western counterpart, Dicentra formosa, as well as with a related
Two Bleeding Heart Relatives that are Native to Vermont
species from eastern Asia—Dicentra peregrina.
The Fringed Bleeding Heart also has two lovely relatives that The results are many newer cultivars that thrive in part shade
belong to the same Dicentra genus, which are native to —collectively called Fern-leaf Bleeding Hearts—including
Vermont. These are Squirrel Corn—Dicentra canadensis—and Burning Hearts, Ivory Hearts, Fire Island, King of Hearts and
Dutchman’s Breeches—Dicentra cucullaria. Each spring I find Red Fountain. And, it should be noted, Fire Island also
both in the National Forest, just above our house. prospers in the sun.
Dicentra canadensis, with heart-shaped flowers clustered atop And, best of all, these cultivars bloom on and off for most of
short stems, is a bit like a white version of Dicentra eximia. But the summer, with flowers about 12-18 inches high above a
I have no idea how it came by its peculiar name, Squirrel Corn. circle of delicate leaves.
Maybe squirrels do indeed enjoy feasting on those knobby
little roots.

30
And Finally Let’s not Forget Those Charming
Old-Fashioned Bleeding Hearts!
These are perhaps the most well-known type of
Bleeding Heart and certainly the longest in
cultivation. Some people even remember them
gracing their grandmother’s garden!
Their dainty pink and white flowers hang from their
stems like charms along a necklace, making a
beautiful contrast above the mounded leaves. The
robust plants eventually grow to about thirty inches
high and wide.
There are also several lovely cultivars available,
including White Bleeding Heart, the more compact
‘Valentine’ and ‘Gold Heart’ which has golden
leaves. Try combining two or more of these together
for some interesting effects.
However, clients need to know that in a hot
summer, these Old Fashioned charmers will become
dormant by mid-July.
Just For the Record: a New Name
A study in textural contrasts: The huge flat leaves of Astilboides tabular
Because of the similarity of their flowers, Old- floating over a colony of ground-hugging Dicentra eximia.
Fashioned Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) and
Fringed Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra eximia) were
always considered to be part of the same Dicentra
genus.
But attempts to create hybrids between Dicentra
spectabilis and other members of the Dicentra
genus, have proven elusive, indicating they are
probably not that closely related after all.
So, recently botanists reclassified the Old Fashioned
Bleeding Hearts as a separate own genus:
Lamprocapnos spectabilis, which is now used on
many websites.
But, whatever their formal name,
gardeners still love them!!

About the Author: Judith Irven and Dick Conrad live

in Goshen where together they nurture a large garden.
Judith is a Vermont Certified Horticulturist and
teaches Sustainable Home Landscaping for the
Vermont Master Gardener Program. You can
subscribe to her blog about her Vermont gardening life
at www.northcountryreflections.com. Dick is a
landscape and garden photographer; you can see
more of his photographs at
www.northcountryimpressions.

31
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