M E M B E 



PROFILE 



favorite is Spirea x. bumalda 'Gold- 

 flame,' a dwarf gold with red flow- 

 ers; the foliage turns copper in 

 the fall), weigelia, viburnum (eight 

 varieties, including Viburnum sargentii 

 'Onondaga, 'which has the unusual 

 combination of green-tinged ma- 

 roon foliage and purple flowers); 

 Another favorite is Potentilla 

 frutkosa 'McKay's White,' a sport of 

 Potentilla 'Katherine Dykes' — 

 Timm sees it as better — "more 

 compact, fuller flowering" — than 

 'Abbotswood.' 



Trays of cuttings in three-inch 

 containers go into the hoop house 

 and are kept under a mist line on 

 a timer until rooted. They remain 

 there for the winter — a propane 

 heater keeps the temperature 

 about at 30F. The following April, 

 they're brought outside and set 

 under the trees to harden off; in 

 |une, they're potted up into one- 

 gallon containers; they overwinter; 

 in the following |une, they're 

 repotted again into either two- or 

 three-gallon containers. They over- 

 winter a third year and are sold 

 the next. 



Timm built the hoop house, 

 bending 24-foot lengths of 3/4- 

 inch water pipe to create the 

 frame, then covering it with 

 double poly, when he started the 

 business. At first, it had no heat, 

 but it has always been used to 

 overwinter cuttings and some of 

 the more sensitive shrubs [Buddliea, 

 Campsis). 



THE DAYLILY stock block is the 

 front quarter acre. The fans of half 

 the block are divided each late 

 August. Divisions are potted up in 

 two-gallon containers, overwin- 

 tered, and sold the following year. 

 The undivided plants are next 

 year's stock. 



There are over 40,000 named 

 lilies (about a third of these are 

 yellows) and Timm's 1996 catalog 

 lists 65 of the best. There's a 

 wide range of colors (15 pinks, ten 



When we started out, 

 we were literally a 



back yard business — 

 we grew vegetables where 

 the daylilies are now . . . 



Containerized shrubs 



were slowly added to 



what was offered. 



Davis Brook Farm's 



specialty became 

 deciduous shrubs, 



shrub roses, & daylilies. 



reds, etc ) and award-winners — 

 'Luxury Lace' ("frilled lavender 

 pink with apple green throat"), 

 'Red Rum' ("diamond-dusted, deep 

 brick red with luminous yellow 

 green throat"), 'iVlary Todd' ("wide, 

 heavy textured, ruffled, lemon 

 yellow"). ..using a 35mm Pentac 

 and close-up lens, Timm's creating 

 photo albums of the blossoms of 

 the lilies he grows. "What's in 

 flower sells" and these will be 

 given to Timm's customers buying 

 a collection of lilies who want to 

 show their own customers the 

 blossom before the plant is in 

 bloom 



Timm recently converted from a 

 row system to a raised bed sys- 

 tem. Ten times the material can 

 be grown in the same area — a far 

 more efficient use of a limited 

 space. And in the last two years, 

 he's begun hybridizing. This is 

 more for his and Adam's own 

 pleasure — "I suppose we're look- 

 ing for that elusive blue." 



The two acres behind the 

 house is divided by a central 

 road. On each side are 10' x 100' 

 beds — four of them, then a road, 

 four more beds, etc... Since the 



land was cleared four years ago, 

 production has doubled each 

 year: the two acres are filled 



Davis Brook Farm had been a 

 family operation until last year, 

 when the first outside crews were 

 hired. Crews — made up mostly of 

 local high school students — come 

 in early spring to help with the 

 potting and again in August when 

 cuttings are taken. 



Represented by Chestnut Hill 

 Marketing out of Chichester, Davis 

 Brook Farm's strictly wholesale, 

 selling to retail garden centers in 

 Maine, New Hampshire, Massachu- 

 setts, and Vermont. Its one excep- 

 tion is a one-day "daylily extrava- 

 ganza" held in )uly for members 

 of the local community who want 

 to come in and pick out their 

 own. Timm sees it simply as a 

 goodwill gesture toward the com- 

 munity and to those who used to 

 buy from them at the farmers' 

 market. 



He leases (it's cheaper to 

 lease) a twenty-foot van and de- 

 livers all material — each individu- 

 ally picture tagged — himself. He 

 sees this as "the last step in the 

 process" and as a way to meet 

 customers and hear about their 

 wishes and needs and for them to 

 talk with the actual grower. 



By October, the farm's preparing 

 for winter, consolidating, putting 

 down mouse bait, covering with 

 Microfoam — "We like to be finished 

 by Thanksgiving, before the first 

 snow." 



Winter's a time to think and to 

 plan the new season. Currently, 

 plans include continuing to try out 

 new material, but there are none to 

 increase the size of the operation: 

 "There's always a place for a small 

 nursery offering quality fairly priced 

 that treats its customers well." 

 (BP) 



Davis Brook Farm is on Route I 37S, 

 Hancock, NH 03449; Ihe phoneXfax is 

 603-525-4728. 



AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 1997 



