The Wildflower Farm

This story is typical of a host of articles that have resulted from the visits
 of many garden writers to our business.  From major book authors
 to free-lancers, we are always happy to host visitors
interested in gardening and wildflowers.
  In addition to newspaper, magazine and television writers, we have been happy to host many nationally-known writers on wildflowers, such as Edwin Steffek, author of "Wildflowers and How to Grow Them" (Timber Press) , Carlton Lees, NY Times writer and Founding Vice President of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Rick Imes, author of "Wildflowers," (Rodale Press),
 and Viki Ferreniea, author of "Wildflowers in your Garden." (Random House) 

By Charles Keenan

In August I visited The Wildflower Farm in Charlotte, Vermont. Surrounded by acres of wildflowers, I thought back to my childhood battles with the dandelion. Our next-door neighbor had a perfectly manicured lawn; I, too, wanted a yard that looked like a country club fairway. I purchased an arsenal of water-soluble herbicide pellets and loaded a three-foot plastic squirt tube, my bazooka for the mother of battles. I dropped the pellets into the transparent cylinder, filled with water, and watched them fizz like Alka-Seltzer. The contraption had a nozzle at the bottom of the tube that released a milky poison, saturating the dandelions.

I launched my blitzkriegs from the patio. Step, press, squirt. Step, press, squirt. I repeated the action hundreds of times as I swept across the yard, past the vegetable garden, and out to the property line, the line of demarcation dividing the wild growth of our yard from the manicured perfection of our neighbor's. Within a few days, the dandelions would wither and die. But, in the end, the dandelions won the war, thanks to my many distractions, such as eating, stickball, and naps. I settled for the laissez-faire lawn, and with it, the beauty of the yellow dandelions.

The dandelion and almost 300 other wildflowers stand tall at the Wildflower Farm, located on Route 7, about 10 miles south of Burlington. Here, they are free from suburban scorn and abuse. In fact, they're pampered and adored by the Farm's owners, Ray Allen and his wife, Chy. Ray is a native Floridian and former advertising executive; Chy, a native of Massachusetts and former teacher. Both are long-time gardeners. "We turned our hobby into a family business," Allen says.

The Wildflower Farm opened in 1981 as a tourist attraction. When a few packets of wildflower seeds were placed in the gift shop and sold on the same day, the Allens knew they were onto something. The company is now a leading supplier of wildflower seed, shipping over 12 tons of it nationwide and abroad each year.

The Farm continues to be a tourist attraction, drawing 35,000 visitors a year. By the time of my own visit, in late August, the dandelions had faded, but the Main Field, at the center of the six-acre site, was filled with purple coneflowers, spotted knapweed, sow thistle, woodland sunflowers. Queen Ann's Lace, the prolific biennial, grows along the white fence surrounding the field. Late bloomers will be around until the first frost.

According to Rob Towne, Vice-President of Horticulture at the Vermont Wildflower Farm, fall brings a magnificent display of perennials such as golden rods, asters, and wild sunflowers. It's Towne's favorite time of year. "The autumn flowers are the best," he says. "The field is kind of like a Monet painting."

Once wet woodland, then most likely a hayfield, the Main Field was stripped of its topsoil before the Allens bought the property. They left the clay subsoil alone, and the blooming field testifies to the adaptability of wildflowers. "

I was impressed by the Main Field, but the part of the Wildflower Farm that I liked best was the Front Lawn, which offered a smorgasbord of purple cone­flowers, wild cosmos, Indian blanket. Most spectacular was plains coreopsis. with its contrast of a blood-red center spilling outward, abruptly changing to a golden yellow.

When I finally needed a break from the sun, I strolled into the Woodland, where I immediately felt deep in a forest, far from busy Route 7. Walking beneath birches, oaks, and maples, I listened to the crickets and birds, and marveled at the beauty of the cardinal flower, which likes shady, wet areas. Its four-foot spikes are topped with vibrant red splendor.

Though the self-guided tour of The Wildflower Farm is designed to take an average of thirty minutes, I found it quite easy to spend half a day there. By the time I'd finished my tour, I was hooked on wildflowers. I thought to myself, "Where have they been all my life?" They seemed all the more attractive when Ray Allen pointed out some of the advantages of wildflower gardening. "It costs a lot less than most other landscaping and you do much less work for more beauty," Allen says. "People just have to remember that wildflower gardening is low-maintenance, not no-maintenance."

I was assured of the low maintenance after watching the Farm's thirty-minute VHS video, "How to Create Your Own Wildflower Meadow" ($9.95). Even starting a wildflower garden is hardly labor-intensive. You begin by choosing a sunny area with good drainage and removing the existing growth by tilling. Then you scatter the seed over the freshly tilled soil and press it in. (In the Northeast, spring is the best time to plant, after the last frost.) At the end of each season, the garden is mowed just once, following the first frost and after the flowers have set seed. In subsequent years, weak spots can be retilled and reseeded.

Because what thrives in one part of the country may not do well in another. the gift shop and catalog offer seed mixtures for various regions. Each contains up to twenty-six species of native and naturalized wildflowers in a 50-50 blend of annuals and perennials. The annuals bloom in the first year and prevent weeds from taking over. Meanwhile, the perennials develop and will bloom during the second year and beyond. In addition to the regional blends, there are mixtures for butterfly and hummingbird gardens, dry areas and partial shade, as well as all-perennials and all-annuals.

If you'd like to be visit The Wildflower Farm this fall, try to aim for September to avoid what Rob Towne describes as the "capricious" first frost. For a free seed catalog, call (802) 425-3500, or write to: The Wildflower Farm, P.O. Box 5, Route 7, Charlotte, VT 05445-0005.

Charles Keenan is a freelance writer. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.