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Saturday, another workday, and more volunteers. What a job was done in the lilacs. Between the April volunteers, DynaPower volunteers in May, and yesterday’s, the lilacs are getting cleaned up. Believe me, the lilacs seriously need this help, and plenty more.

So many of the lilacs were decimated by the virus going around, but as Josh Miller of the ILS said during his visit May 23, while examining the damage, “at least there are plenty of new shots coming up to replace the dead canes.” And there are! Our job on these workdays has been to cut down all the dead canes and clean out around the lilacs. Their work shows!

In spite of the iffy air quality, if you look carefully, you can see several piles of the cleaned out debris — anything from grasses, invasive bittersweet and grapevine, spent blooms and dead canes.

Thank you! Thank you, volunteers!

To honor the memory of Don and Stephanie Miner, two of the founders of The Friends of the Hort Farm, a new garden will be created behind the lilacs. Judith Irven has designed a basic plan that includes walking paths, incorporates our new Wiggans pavilion, plenty of pollinator plants–most of Stephanie’s favorites, shrubs, benches, and very limited parking for visitors with mobility issues.

Our committee is working on final plans, the NW Chapter of the Extension Master Gardeners will help with the creation of the garden; donations of plants from Full Circle Gardens, and American Meadows will help fill out the new garden.

JULY NEWS — Our plant sale is done for the year. A great many thanks to our wonderful donors — we couldn’t have done this without all of you! You keep the FHF going, helping to maintain our collections into the future:

Adam’s Farm Market, Williston
American Meadows, Shelburne
Arcana Gardens & Greenhouses, Jericho
B & B Nurseries, Morrisville
Bailey Nursery, Jeffersonville
Branch Out Burlington, S Burlington
Cabot Greenhouse & Nursery, Cabot
Claussen’s Enterprises, Colchester
Creative Landscaping, Jericho
Elmer C. Brown Nursery, Thetford Ctr
Evergreen Gardens of Vermont, Waterbury Center
Fairfax Perennial Farm, Fairfax
Frazier’s Greenhouse, Roxbury
Full Circle Gardens, Essex
Gardener’s Supply Company, Williston
Golden Russet Farm, Shoreham
Green Mountain Landscaping, Morristown
Greenhaven Gardens & Nursery, New Haven
Horsford Gardens & Nursery, Charlotte
Kate Brook Nursery, Wolcott
Mark Twery, Burlington
Marijke’s Perennial Gardens Plus, Starksboro
Paquette Full of Posies, Williston
Red Wagon Plants, Hinesburg
River Walk Farm, Charlotte
Rocky Dale Gardens, Bristol
S. Mazza Farmstand & Greenhouses, Colchester
Summersweet Gardens, East Hardwick
The Farm Between at Sterling College,  Jeffersonville
UVM Greenhouse, Burlington

MARCH NEWS: The Friends of the Horticulture Farm welcome new Board Member and new Rhododendron Curator

Kate Schubart joined the Friends of the Horticulture Farm as a board member. She is a retired journalist and editor who created and produced Camel’s Hump Radio for Vermont Public Radio.  Later she helped found the Vermont Journalism Trust, the parent organization of VTDigger, and was a Statehouse reporter for VTDigger from 2010 to 2015. Kate has Master Gardener training and has been a volunteer for the Friends of the Hort Farm over the years, and has run the Annual Plant Sale twice.

Kate is excited to focus on strengthening the Friends of the Horticulture Farm’s outreach and to explore the farm more and learn about the grounds: “I’m particularly interested in the invasives, because that should be of interest to anybody who has a garden or cares about the ecosystem in Vermont.” Kate recognizes the importance of being a part of an active board that does useful work through volunteering, promoting the organization, and fundraising.

Paul Wieczoreck, horticulturist and owner of Champlain Valley Landscaping, joined the Friends of the Horticulture Farm as the curator of the Rhododendron Collection.  He has been a rhododendron collector and grower for 35 years. The rhododendron collection at the Horticulture Farm was started in the 1960s, and Paul looks forward to the role of caring for and developing the collection further. 

Paul graduated from the University of Vermont and worked at the Horticulture Farm after graduation, so he is very familiar with the environment there. He says, “The thing I’m most excited about is trying to manage what I think is one of the more impressive collections of mature rhododendrons in the state.” His work will allow the rhododendron collection to thrive and continue to be available to the public. Paul is committed to instilling a greater awareness in the community of the resources that are available at the Hort Farm.