Hellebores
from
Pine Knot Farms
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About Pine Knot Farms Dick and Cole Burrell and I are very proud that our book on hellebores won the AHS Book of the Year. Click on the Amazon link below for information .The second link is to a great new book by our daughter Helen Kraus and Ann Spafford.
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What's New at Pine Knot
Farms
We began the winter at PKF with a freak snow the week before Christmas. Freak because it came down Friday as nice soft snow. Then Saturday we had what is known as "freezing drizzle" morning went by without too much happening. Shortly after lunch I went out to check on something in the shipping house and noticed that the Ilex 'Sky Pencil' plants had split down the middle and were making the symbol of the zodiac sign Aries  . Not at all what they are
supposed to look like. I gathered my gloves, ladder, spools of wire
and some tall bamboo poles and set to work staking them up. There
are 4 of these in the garden, two 6' tall plants and two shorter
plants. It took a while to get them all tied together and in an
upright position. Then I began on the other plants that were in
trouble. Already the Daphne odora plants were splayed open with
their limbs touching the ground covered with icy snow. I broke off
the icy chunks, shook off the pants and got them back into the
rounded shape they had previously. By this time it's almost dark so
the rest of the plants were just going to have to work it out for
themselves. I probably should have continued on out to the nursery,
maybe then I would have noticed that the shade cloths were sagging
over the area we call North West. The photos below show what
happens when icy builds up on shade cloth. Everything comes down.
Fortunately, no plants were hurt, but there is a big mess to clean
up! We got to the only one of the big houses which still had the
shade covering over it, the large sales house before it collapsed,
that would have been awful! Dick and I exercised our upper bodies
thoroughly poking the plastic from below making the snow slide off.
(IF you've never done this imagine holding a large size push broom
with both hands, arms straight up over you head, then lift the
plastic and shake it so the heavy snow slides off. Not too hard and
no sharp edges, can't tear that plastic! Only one of the big houses
lost it's plastic covering due to the ice, and that wone was
scheduled to be replaced this winter anyway.
Looking for a getaway? Check out the places you can
visit with either of these great plantsmen.
Both Barry
Yinger and Pat McCracken are friends, good guys as well as
knowledgable plantsmen. They will be able to give you an inside look
at some wonderful places.
One nice
thing here, after Ivy died in late February 2009 we were "dogless"
for the first time since we were married 45 years ago. Dick
and I realized that we were going to be tied up with plant sales and
lectures for the next several months and we thought it would be best
to wait to find a new dog. Much backing and forthing this fall while
I looked at shelter sites, so many homeless animals out there, they
just break your heart. We finally decided partially because our
daughter wanted to get a puppy for their kids for Christmas and we
thought it would be a good idea if we got siblings. So on Christmas
Eve two little butterballs came to the farm. The kids were totally
surprised Christmas Morning when they opened a large box containing
a leash, a collar and finally a large bag,of puppy chow. They named
their pup Buddy and we named ours Holly. Partially as a posthumous
salute to Ivy (As in The Holly and The Ivy) and partially as a
tribute to Greg's hometown Lubbock Texas' favorite son Buddy Holly
and partially in hopes that Hollys feet would golitely over my
plants.
   Pine Knot Farms 681 Rockchurch Road Clarksville Virginia, 23927 phone
434-252-1990 fax
434-252-0768
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