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For a number of years, Daigle and his neighbors contended with the noise produced by the Hammond Cove Shooting Range across the river in Hartland. Indeed, one of the reasons that Daigle originally planted such extensive flower beds was to bring people to see them, who could then, he said, attest to the noise level.
But, eventually state officials and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife crafted a solution that both limited hours to 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from April 1 through Dec. 14 (it is closed from Dec. 15 through March 31) and stipulated that only people holding Vermont hunting or fishing licenses may use the range. The din has been greatly reduced. For this, Daigle is deeply grateful, he said.
It has also freed Daigle, 69, to concentrate much of his attention on one of his great passions, gardening.
He and his wife, Ireen, have lived on the 16-acre property for 33 years. Like many gardeners Daigle has taken what looks like a drawback — more shade than sun — and turned it to his advantage. Underneath the towering pines he has carved out long, curving flower beds that act as both nurseries and display gardens for his hostas.
On a recent hot afternoon Daigle showed off his garden and greenhouse, in which he grows succulents. He is readying both for a public sale and open house on Saturday. The heat wave in early July “was not good for anything,” he said, but his plants came through more or less unscathed.
Flies and mosquitoes were out and Daigle, who is balding, swatted them away. “I have to get a hat on; my head’s a beacon,” he said.
Daigle started buying hostas when he first moved in, but in the beginning bought only two or three each year. Decades later, Daigle now has 600 varieties in his gardens, which he has both bought and bred himself.
Native to Japan, Korea and China, the hosta is an herbaceous perennial grown for its shade tolerance. They are noted more for their lush, patterned foliage than for their flowers, although the bell-like white, lavender or purple flowers, which branch off long stalks, have a minimalist elegance.
It’s the variety of the leaves, their texture, and their array of swirls and stripes which appeal to Daigle. The same is true of the succulents he grows, he said.
There are, Daigle said, around 52 wild varieties of hosta but those 52 have produced thousands of cultivars. Most of his hostas are in dappled shade. It’s not true that hostas like only shade, he said; they need and thrive in some sun. He also has planted other shade-loving plants, such as astilbe, ligularia and ferns.
But the hostas dominate. They anchor a garden, they announce their presence. Call them charismatic mega-flora: at a July 4 open house, 150 people came to look at Daigle’s hostas.
While some varieties are miniatures or medium-sized, the hostas that attract the lion’s share of attention are massive, spreading as much as six feet across and four feet high, with leaves as big as a child’s umbrella. The coloring and patterning of the foliage can be anywhere from deep green to a blue-ish tint to white to a citron yellow.
The hostas have evocative names: Cathedral Windows, Blue Dolphin, Halcyon, Journey’s End, Choo Choo Train, Cutting Edge. Daigle is clever with how he displays them. While most are planted in flower beds, he has also rooted some in logs and driftwood, so it looks as though they have naturally sprung from any holes or fissures in the wood.
With so many hostas in the garden, it takes diligence to maintain both plant and garden beds.
“I used to get up very early to go right to work, and worked until 5:30 p.m. Then it got pushed back gradually to 4:30, then to 4,” Daigle said. Now he stops at 3 p.m.
He also planted a large vegetable garden, using plastic to heat the soil in early May, which means that his tomato plants already have fruit on them, in advance of most kitchen gardeners.
Growing up in Newport, Vt., Daigle began gardening at age 5. His family had a large vegetable garden. He has gardened ever since, through his years teaching computer and accounting classes at what was then Claremont Community College, now River Valley Community College. He and his wife have two adult children.
The key to healthy hostas is in the fertilizer and mulch. Daigle used to put down compost and fertilizer but now he mulches with leaves, and lets them decompose, which acts as a fertilizer.
At one edge of the gardens is a murky bog in which two goldfish can be seen, a present for Daigle’s birthday from his daughter, who stocked the bog with thousands of them. That brought the great blue heron, and now there aren’t as many goldfish, Daigle said.
In a small building that is a cross between a shed and a barn, Daigle stores his watercolors of both natural scenes and plants.
Asked why he likes gardening so much, Daigle’s answer is simple. Some people “like to plant the garden and then a lot of them forget about it. But I love weeding it and tending to it.”
Daigle will have open houses and sales this Saturday, and again on July 28, Aug. 4 and 11, and on Sept. 1. For information, email jim.hostas@gmail.com.
Nicola Smith can be reached at mail@nicolasmith.org.