Henry Recommends:
Here are some of the businesses and products that I like:
Over the years I have gotten most of my perennial flowers from Gary and Sarah Milek at Cider Hill Gardens. They have great plant diversity, and because they grow most of their own nursery stock, I know it is hardy in my area (as opposed to the big suppliers that bring in plants from down South). They specialize in primroses, herbs, hostas and other shade plants, daylilies and roses. Their display gardens are wonderful to visit as you can see mature specimens growing in their gardens - not just plants in rows of pots. Gary and Sarah have terrific knowledge about plants, and are very generous with their knowledge. They use organic techniques, which I think makes for healthier plants, and sell Pro-Gro, my favorite organic fertilizer.
Gary is a very gifted artist whose art has been shown from New York City to Cornish Flat and beyond - I hang two of his landscapes over my mantle. He does wonderful paintings of flowers and wildflowers as well. They have a gallery at the gardens.
For more info visit their web site,
Cider Hill Gardens.
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This is a great place to buy fruit trees, nut trees, vines, berry bushes, roses and more that are tough as nails. Located in the village of Elmore (near Wolcott, Vermont), Elmore Roots is in a very cold spot - they regularly see temperatures of 30 to 40 below zero in winter.
In August of 2007 I drove the 100 miles from my house to Elmore Roots because David Fried and his crew identify and propagate fruit varieties that are not only hardy, but tasty. Elmore Roots is also the only NOFA-certified organic tree nursery that I know of in Vermont. They have have all kinds of things you just can't find elsewhere, such as mulberry trees, sweet-tasting Aronia bushes and northern kiwi vines. The only things he doesn't grow are peaches - because they aren't cold hardy in northern New England, and he wants folks to be happy with what they buy.
Among other things, I went home with an apricot variety (Navigator) from him that he promises will produce big, juicy apricots for me. And I got one of his roses, 'Snow Pavement,' that blooms most of the summer and is wonderfully fragrant. It's a rugosa cross that has nice form. I munched on his Royalty raspberries that are purple and delicious and HUGE. He has gooseberries, elderberries, currants and more.
The Elmore Roots crew sends you home - even me - with an instruction sheet on how to plant your new things, and will sell you their mineral mix that will get your new tree off to a good start. They sell books and a variety of excellent tools including Silky pole saws that seem easy to use. For more info go to their Web site,
Elmore Roots
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For years I used the Cape Cod Weeder, but this past summer I switched over to the CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator. It's great for getting under a clump of grass or feeling around to locate the roots of an orange daylily that has refused to go away despite previous attempts to dig it completely out. By pushing down on the curved handle the sharp tip - shaped like a tine from an old fashioned cultivator - goes easily into the soil. The grip is big enough to pull with both hands. I've used it for planting and edging - it's a very versatile tool. I also used it for planting small bulbs by inserting it into the soil, pulling back slightly, then dropping in a bulb.
The handle is bright blue plastic, all recycled, so it's easy to find in the dirt, too. I've lent mine to an 80-something woman and to a friend who only weighs 100 pounds and they both liked it, so I guess it's not just for big strong galoots like me.
Ask for it at your local garden center (in the Upper Valley go to West Lebanon Supply, though they are selling them so fast there may be a wait) or go to
Cobrahead, where it's for sale for $24.95, including shipping.
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I love visiting Cadys Falls Nursery in Morrisville, Vermont for the sheer tranquility of the gardens, and because I can get things there that are not available anywhere else. They have wonderful mature display gardens including many weeping and unusual conifers, rock garden plants, and lesser known perennials. The owners, Don and Lela Avery, have created dozens of small gardens with unusual plants in distinctly different ecological niches, each with a clear identity. Don and Lela grow 90% of the plants they sell right there in northern Vermont.
Cadys Falls now grows 15 species of ladyslipper orchids, and their display of showy ladyslippers in mid-June is quite amazing. Some of the ladyslippers can easily be grown, and are not as fussy as some folks would have you believe. Other unusual gardens include a sphagnum bog with pitcher plants, a collection of ferns that Don propagates from spore, a water lily garden and a tufa garden. Tufa is a naturally occurring calcium carbonate rock. Don has drilled holes in the stone, allowing them to grow certain types of unusual rock garden plants.
The gardens are a cross between a designer's gardens and a collector's garden: they have thousand of varieties of plants in small collections, but not in mass plantings. The various collections are nicely hidden by hedges or tall plants. Unlike most garden centers, they grow their own nursery stock, and do not bother with the newest introductions in the nursery trade. Call 802-888-5559 for more information, or go to
Cadys Falls.
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Some of my favorite tools come from OESCO Inc, formerly known as Orchard Supply and Equipment Company. Located in Conway, Massachusetts, about 6 miles off exit 24 northbound on I-91 (or Exit 25 southbound), they have a showroom full of pruning saws, pruners, grafting knives, grafting wax and lots more. I've compared their prices with other catalog companies and found them better at OESCO. Here are a few of my tools from them:
I like the Corona Pruning Saw RS7160 with a 21" curved handle and nice stiff, sharp teeth. It will go through hardwood branches 4 inches in diameter like an alligator through miniature poodles. The cost is $38.55, and I highly recommend getting a scabbard, too. This handsaw is so good I prefer it to a chainsaw for most jobs.
For smaller jobs I got the Prosenti SIL 108-24 pruning saw. It has about a 9-inch blade with two different tooth sizes: fine for 3 inches at the tip, bigger teeth farther back. It snaps into a plastic holster that allows you to strap it on to your belt; the holster has a quick-release clip that allows you to take off the saw if you are in a tree and it gets caught, or if you just want to sit down for lunch without undoing your belt. $ 44.70
I recently bought a Bahco pruner from OESCO. I like it better than many others because it has a different cutting angle. When you hold it and reach out, it is in the right position for making pruning cuts without putting your wrist and arm at an awkward, tiring angle. Mine is the PX-M2, which cost $41.99. If you visit the showroom they will measure your hand and fit you with the proper size, or go call them and they will tell you how to do it. Their website also has instructions. (Go to Hand Tools, then to Bahco PX/PXR Ergo Pruners.)
Need a diamond sharpener or a soil thermometer? They have them. They primarily sell to professionals, but will be glad to sell to ordinary folks like us. Call 800-634-5557 or go to
www.oescoinc.com .
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West Lebanon Supply is a great resource for buying organic fertilizers
(Pro-Gro and others) and soil ammendments such as green sand and rock
phosphate. I buy spring bulbs there every fall, and all my dog food! They have
tomato cages, tools, wheelbarrows, and lots more. My favorite hand weeding
tool is for sale there, the CobraHead weeder (see below). Nice people to help
you, too!"
To visit their web site, click on the image below:
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When it comes to a diverse selection of top-quality trees and shrubs in the Upper Valley, there is only one act in town. EC Brown's Nursery on Rte 113 in Thetford Center,Vt is it. They have a great selection, and are big enough to provide plants in quantity for bigger jobs. The owner, Elmer Brown started eons ago, and his son Kevin does most of the day-to-day running of the business, at least as far as I can see. All the staff there are serious plant people. They have great variety, many unusual plants. In addition to the trees, they have a full line of perennials, and their prices are very reasonable. They also sell Pro-Gro and other organic soil amendments. I have bought fruit trees, grapes, berry bushes, from them-- all good, hardy varieties. They know their stuff. Phone is 802-785-2167. They are just a mile or two from the Thetford exit on I-91. Tell 'em I sent ya! To visit their web site, click on the image below:
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I recently got a Garden Master food dehydrator from NESCO American Harvest, a company in Wisconsin, and am delighted with it. I've used other dehydrators, and this really is the Cadillac of Food dehydrators - or the Mercedes, if you prefer. Here's what I like about it:
- It holds a lot of food. Each tray is 15 inches in diameter, which is about a square foot of drying space. You can easily load 6 large apples on a tray if sliced in 8 pieces each.
- The distance between trays over an inch which means that I can slice apples or tomatoes nice and thick and they won't impede stacking.
- It has a thermostat. This means I can crank it up to 155 and make beef jerky, or turn it down as low as 95 degrees. This means you can dehydrate veggies without compromising vitamin content.
- It comes with some plastic mesh screens that you can put in each tray to keep small things from falling through. So you can dry herbs, and not lose a bunch. The really great thing is, the screens have some magical (?) quality so that things like tomatoes and pears don't stick to them. With my old one, I had to arrange each cherry tomato so that the sliced side was up. With this one, it doesn't matter which side is up, so loading it up is quicker. The trays clean up easily.
- It also comes with an insert for making fruit leather. My sister in law has one of these, and tells me you can use up extra apple sauce up and make a great fruit snack.
- The fan is strong enough that you can stack up to 30 trays, which means 180 apples at once! Of course, you have to buy extra trays if you're going to do that.
Over all, this is better than any I've used or seen. To get one, you may call them at 1-800-288-4545 or order on-line by clicking on their web address here,
NESCO American Harvest.
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