Home and Garden March 2015

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Ripton builder makes efficiency beautiful - Page 3C

sustainable living workshops - Page 8C

Insulated concrete forms gaining favor - Page 4C

Late winter pruning - Page 9C

EPA Launches online tool - Page 7C

no winter lasts forever - Page 10

A hexagonal home - Page 13C

PAGE 2C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015

HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015 — PAGE 3C

Ripton builder makes efficiency beautiful

By EVAN JOHNSON MIDDLEBURY — Kate Schmitt was looking to build her first house and wanted a simple design. A cathedral ceiling would be nice, she decided, a well as a space for a small yoga studio where she could give classes. But most importantly she wanted to save money and reduce the environmental impact of the home. As someone who had always rented she wanted her bills to stay somewhat predictable.

“I never thought I would own or build a house,” she said. “But I think in the back of my mind I thought that if I ever do, I want it to be green. I wanted to support that movement.”

With the help of architect Jean Terwilliger at Vermont Integrated Architecture, the two created a vision of what that home would look like. And when the blueprints were finally finished this past fall, they handed those plans over to a builder to make those blueprints into a reality.

The job has fallen to Alex Carver, co-owner of Northern Timbers Construction, a builder with 25 years of experience in residential home building who approaches his work with the objective of helping clients fulfill their dreams of energy-efficient dwellings.

That focus has not gone unrecognized. This year, Carver was named Residential New Construction Partner of the Year by Efficiency Vermont, the nonprofit organization that helps Vermont homes, farms and businesses with technical advice and financial and design assistance to become more energy efficient.

On a sunny morning recently, Carver, Terwilliger and Schmitt gave a walking tour of the house located at the end of a cul-de-sac near downtown Middlebury.

At 1,400 square feet, the house has ample space and multiple windows with views of the Green Mountains to the east. The house sources materials from as close by as Bristol, where a number of oak trees have been harvested for the flooring, to as far away as Lithuania, where the windows are produced.

Standing in what will be Kate Schmitt’s living room, still wearing coats, hats and gloves, it is clear that there is still work to be done. The wall studs are still visible and the plumbing for the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom are exposed as well. But with the inner workings of the interior laid bare, Carver and Terwilliger are able to point out the features that will make Schmitt’s home a comfortable space to live.

Having built houses for more than two decades,

BUILDERS APPLY SHEETROCK to the interior walls and ceiling of Kate Schmitt’s new house in Middlebury last week. While the structure is designed to be energy-efficient, architect Jean Terwilliger included features like a cathedral ceiling, below left, that met the owner’s other requirements.

Independent photos/Trent Campbell

Carver has seen a major shift in focus on keeping air in keep the house properly airtight. the building as well as managing the moisture created Because the house will be so airtight, two pairs of by occupants. On older houses, the buildup of moisture ventilators have been installed to exchange air without inside the walls reduces the efficiency of the insulation the need for ducts. While one sucks air in, the other and can cause paint to peel and siding to fail. blows air out and can store heat in the vent’s honey“They were good houses but we didn’t combed core — eliminating the need know about proper air handling,” he to heat the air as it’s brought into the said. house.

“When you Carver and his crew have taken a “It’s not a living house,” Carver different approach with walls 14 inches have people in said, “but it’s breathing.” thick that use Roxul insulation, a foam a house and In addition to the insulation and air material made of stone dust that has a circulation systems, the windows are you’re cooking higher insulating value than conventriple-paned and lack PVC. The southtional fiberglass. Outside is 9.5 inches of and bathing, and east-facing windows are part of a cellulose insulation made entirely from you’re creating passive solar approach that provide the house with light and warmth from the recycled newspaper. Sheathing the insusun. lation is a semi-permeable house wrap a lot of moisture that allows moisture to escape through just by being here CHANGING TIMES the interior side but is highly waterproof It hasn’t always been this way. Many … what we’re on the exterior. houses still rely on fiberglass insulation “When you have people in a house and trying to do is get packed between wall studs, sealed in you’re cooking and bathing, you’re creatwith plastic, which is a hassle to install ing a lot of moisture just by being here,” that (moisture) and is less effective at retaining heat. he explained. “At some point there’s a as far towards In addition to the sophisticated insuladew point where warm meet cold and tion, heat for the house will come from the outside as what we’re trying to do is get that as far a heat pump water heater and a small towards the outside as possible.” possible.” wood stove.

The cellulose insulation at the exterior Terwilliger said architects and build— Alex Carver can absorb any moisture and then release ers now have some advanced help from it. sensitive computer modeling programs The ceiling and roof of a house are that can calculate the ideal levels as well as the financial common places for heat to escape, so Schmitt’s house has consequences of those models. nearly 18 inches of the Roxul and cellulose insulation to (See Efficiency, Page 7C)

HOMEOWNER KATE SCHMITT, left, architect Jean Terwilliger, Northern Timbers Construction co-owner Alex Carver, and builders Tyson Rotax and Travis Grant stand outside of what will be Schmitt’s house in Middlebury. The crew is collaborating to created an energy-efficient and very livable home.

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PAGE 4C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015

Rigid foam, concrete paired to aid builders and homeowners

By CHRISTY LYNN VERMONT — Wood has been the most viable building resource at hand in this part of the world since we began to develop homesteads in America, and we have continued to exploit it ever since, despite increased challenges and rising costs. It tends to be the go-to material for most small building projects and many homeowners as well as contractors and designers default to it for all projects.

However, while timber framing is still the most common for residential construction, synthetic alternatives are offering viable options for new construction.

Insulated concrete forms, or ICFs — as they are commonly referred to in the industry — are one of these alternatives. ICFs are akin to foam Legos that get stacked on top of each other and then filled with concrete.

Joel Baker is the owner and president of Vermont Insulated Concrete Forms, (VTICF), a Waterburybased distributor of ICFs and other rigid foam insulation products.

Baker transitioned into his current company after being a general contractor and owner “It doesn’t take of Big Time Building Company, which a super skilled he started in 1986. carpenter. You (Baker still owns just have to make and manages a small seasonal crew at Big sure the blocks Time and is also a are level, straight, property manager a few residential square and plum of buildings in Waterand you’ve practi- bury.) first used ICFs cally got yourself in His 1995 when he was a building.” hired for a large ho— Joel Baker tel construction project.

“The building spec was initially for concrete block construction with sheet foam to the outside of it,” he said. “But when we ran the price comparisons and accounted for labor, skill and materials, ICFs started to look really competitive.”

Baker said he was sold right away on ICFs, seeing the efficiency gained by a material that is lightweight, easy to install and robust.

“It was a real ‘ah-ha’ moment for me on that first project and I decided right then that I wanted to be a part of the expansion of this building material.”

One of the reasons Baker is so convinced by ICFs is that he believes it lends itself to a builder’s skillset.

“It doesn’t take a super skilled carpenter. You just have to make sure the blocks are level, straight, square and plum and you’ve practically got yourself a building.”

HISTORY OF THE MATERIAL The first versions of insulated concrete forms were developed during World War II as an inexpensive and resilient way to rebuild damaged structures during the war.

INSULATED CONCRETE FORMS, or ICFs, are foam blocks that builders stack together like giant Legos to create an open core that is filled with concrete. Advocates say they are lightweight, simple and quick to use.

The first patented form was in 1940 by Swiss inventors whose design was made up of wood blocks that were filled with concrete. The first polystyrene (foam) ICF was patented in 1966 by Canadian contractor Werner Gregori. The form had interlocking tongue-and-groove patterns, much like most ICFs are designed today, offering simple construction and little to no airflow through the wall.

Since the 1970s adoption of ICF construction has

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steadily increased, although less rapidly than some (expanded polystyrene) foam boards, which are tied (like Baker) would like. together by high-density poly-ethylene webs (plastic “It’s a little surprising to me how long it has taken pieces that are formed into the foam on either side to catch on,” Baker said. to keep them together. The “There are certainly pockets cement is the peanut butter, of the country where buildwhich is poured into the ers are using ICFs more form after the pieces are than others, but by and large stacked together to make it’s still pretty rare.” a wall. The concrete fills Vermont’s building landabout a six to eight inch scape is pretty traditional, core between the blocks.

Baker said, “we tend to think As with most cement conwe’re better builders than struction projects, rebar is anyone else out there — and used within the concrete while that may be true, what for reinforcement. it can also mean is that we’re Just as when building unwilling to change.” with Legos, openings can Baker says he too used to be left for framing in winbe a purist when it came to dows and doors within the building materials. wall. Siding, sheetrock “I used to only believe in and built-ins like cabinets wood, too, but as I worked and bookcases attach dilonger and harder and saw AN INSULATED CONCRETE form has notched rectly to the plastic webs things change, I started to edges that clip to surrounding blocks. Black on the ICFs. open my mind and eyes to plastic webs hold the foam blocks together and BENEFITS OF ICFS provide an attachment place for sheetrock and other materials.”

Aside from being relaother finish materials.

HOW ICFS WORK tively easy to construct, ICFs are made from more ICFs offer high building than 60 percent recycled materials and are 100 per- performance and an exceptional user experience incent synthetic. Think of a peanut butter sandwich: the side the space, says Baker. With an extremely heavy bread on either side are made of 2.5- to 3.5-inch EPS (See ICFs, next page)

Bring it to the A per-bulb nominal fee applies for more than 10 non-CFL bulbs.

The HazWaste Center is open to residents from any of the District’s 19 member towns.

Most items are accepted free of charge.

Not accepted: laboratory chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fireworks, flares, explosives, smoke detectors, ammunition, radioactive waste.

NOTE: Businesses must pay for disposal and must call 388-2333 for an appointment time.

HazWaste Center Hours of Operation: Mon.- Fri., 8 a.m. to noon and Sat. 9 a.m. to noon Closed major holidays.

DISTRICT TRANSFER STATION 1223 ROUTE 7 SOUTH, MIDDLEBURY District Transfer Station Regular Hours: M-F, 7am to 3pm & Sat 9am to 1pm Questions? Call us at 388-2333 or visit www.AddisonCountyRecycles.org

AS WITH MOST structural concrete, rebar is inserted in ICFs during the pour to help provide structure and strength within the walls.

HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015 — PAGE 5C

ICFs (Continued from previous page) mass (due to the concrete core), the interior space remains very consistent. There is practically no airflow from the inside to the outside and very little noise transfer.

“The mass of a building contributes considerably to how the space feels and performs,” Baker says.

“You won’t see extreme highs and lows because the mass is helping to equalize the climate in the building. In my opinion, mass is our most under-rated characteristic as a building material.”

With an airtight wall system, performance measures for heating and cooling systems within the structure are typically very good. According to ICF maker AMVIC, when the company’s ICFs are constructed properly users should see energy savings of 30-50 percent for heating and cooling systems simply because they aren’t cycling on and off as much, which causes the systems to work much harder and therefore use more energy.

R-Values (used to measure insulation performance) of between 22 and 50 can be seen from ICF construction.

In part because of their heavy mass and synthetic properties, ICFs have also been effective in areas exposed to natural disasters or extreme weather condi-

tions such as hurricanes, tornados, floods and high winds. They are also extremely fire resistant, which is appealing for those in areas susceptible to drought and wildfires.

“A house built with sticks is likely to be in a pretty vulnerable position when faced with the extreme weather we’re seeing around the world,” Baker says.

“ICFs offer more protection in these particularly sensitive zones and even when they are hit they’re a lot more resilient than a lot of other buildings.”

For Baker, ICFs make sense for all of these reasons and for their relative simplicity. Due to the advances we have made in building performance and demands we have for energy efficiency and design, we have burdened architects and builders with a laundry list of requests that usually land us in a very expensive jam.

“At the end of the day I’m a minimalist,” Baker says. “I like simplicity and working with things that just are what they are. ICFs are a simple material that doesn’t require a lot of skilled labor, expensive finishes or detailing. It’s a method that saves on labor at a time when we’re in a real labor crisis, without compromising strength, comfort or performance. Seems like a winning proposition to me.”

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PAGE 6C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015

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HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015 — PAGE 7C

EPA launches online tool to help consumers save energy, money ‘Home Advisor’ walks do-ityourselfers through planning WASHINGTON — In December of 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its Energy Star Home Advisor, an online tool designed to help Americans save money and energy by improving the energy efficiency of their homes through recommended, customized and prioritized home-improvement projects.

“As we enter the The average home winter months, spends $2,000 on homeowners can utility bills each use our new Enyear. Heating and ergy Star Home cooling costs account Advisor to increase energy effor nearly half of ficiency and save that amount. Energy money while Star estimates reducing greenthat homeowners house gas emiscan save up to 10 sions that fuel percent on heating climate change,” said EPA Adminand cooling costs by istrator Gina Mcsealing air leaks and Carthy. adding insulation.

“When homeowners take advantage of this important tool and increase the energy efficiency of their homes, many families will notice savings on energy bills and improvements in the comfort of their homes.”

The updated Energy Star Home Advisor guides the homeowner through a “do-it-yourself” energy assessment to create an Energy Star home profile. Based on the newly created profile, the Home Advisor provides customized, prioritized recommendations for improvements. From these recommendations, users can create their own to-do lists of projects such as adding insulation to the attic or replacing an HVAC air filter.

Over time, users can update their home profiles as they make improvements, see the positive environmental impacts of the changes they’ve made, get ad-

ditional recommendations, and update their “to-do” lists for future projects. The home profiles can also be printed and used at the time of sale.

Homeowners can also use the following Energy Star tips to save energy and money at home this winter.

GET A HOME ENERGY AUDIT Home energy auditors are trained and certified in how to find energy problems using specialized equipment to pinpoint key areas for improvement and provide customized recommended solutions. In select states, Home Performance with Energy Star offers an energy assessment that focuses on a systematic approach to improving energy efficiency and comfort.

SEAL AND INSULATE The average home spends $2,000 on utility bills each year. Heating and cooling costs account for nearly half of that amount. Energy Star estimates that homeowners can save up to 10 percent on heating and cooling costs by sealing air leaks and adding insulation.

Learn more through Energy Star’s “Rule Your Attic!” campaign, which encourages homeowners to measure their attic insulation levels as a first step toward making their homes more energy efficient and comfortable.

HEAT EFFICIENTLY Energy Star recommends that homeowners check their HVAC system air filters every month. A dirty filter will slow airflow and make the system work harder — wasting energy and possibly shortening the life of the system. A good rule to follow is change the filter every three months.

HOME ADVISOR WALKS you through the process Energy Star also recommends that homeowners creating your comprehensive home profile and have HVAC systems serviced annually by a licensed of stores your information at www.energystar.gov/ contractor to ensure they’re running at optimum ef- campaign/assessYourHome ficiency. If the heating system is over 15 years old, consider planning for its replacement with a high efficiency unit. Today’s Energy Star certified condens- to turn the temperature down eight degrees for seven ing furnaces operate at over 90 percent efficiency. hours each night and an additional seven hours each Depending on where one lives, replacing old heating weekday could result in a seasonal heating savings of and cooling equipment with newly certified Energy approximately 12 percent.

Make “Bright” Choices For Lighting. To get the enStar equipment can cut annual energy bills by more ergy efficiency and performance expected, look for than $115. the Energy Star label. LED bulbs that earn the label USE A PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTAT Avoid heating the house when not necessary, and are independently certified to ensure they deliver on save almost $200 a year. Programming the thermostat brightness and color and shine light where it’s needed.

Decorate for the Holidays with Energy Star Light Strings. Energy Star certified light strings use 50 percent less electricity than incandescent light strings and are available in a variety of colors, shapes and lengths. They are more durable, shock-resistant and cooler to the touch. Some models deliver features such as dimming or color shifting.

Choose Energy Star Certified Electronics. A home equipped with TVs, set-top boxes, a Blu-Ray player, and a home theatre in a box that have all earned the Energy Star can save more than $280 over the life of the products. If streaming movies or videos over the Internet, remember that laptops and tablets use less energy compared to streaming over desktop computers or game consoles.

Many Americans know about the importance of saving energy and water. But few know about the drops-to-watts connection – that it takes energy to pump, treat, heat, and deliver the water we use every day for showering, bathing, cooking and cleaning. In fact, homes with electric water heaters spend onefourth of their total electric bills just to heat water.

Save 2,900 Gallons of Water at Home. One of the easiest ways to save energy and water is to install water-efficient, high-performing WaterSense labeled products such as showerheads. By replacing just one showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model, EPA estimates the average family can save 2,900 gallons of water, or the amount of electricity needed to power an entire home for 13 days.

Install WaterSense Fixtures and Energy Star Appliances. If every home in the United States were equipped with WaterSense labeled fixtures and Energy Star certified appliances, water and wastewater utilities could save 12 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and save $775 million in electricity costs per year.

Shower Better and Save $5 Billion in Water and Energy. Simple changes made at home add up across the country. If every home in the United States replaced existing showerheads with WaterSense labeled models, the nation could save more than 260 billion gallons of water and more than $5 billion in water and energy costs annually.

Efficiency (Continued from Page 3C) “That’s just another element of design,” she said. “The actual appearance and design of the house and working with clients hasn’t changed but it’s another layer to add on top that’s very valuable.”

As more efficient designs and techniques of building houses are being employed, Carver says a common misconception is that there is a lot of increased cost. He said his Ripton-based company has conducted studies on the costs associated with using these newer and more efficient technologies and has observed an increase in cost of 5 to 8 percent; however, that extra cost is recovered in about 10 years by not heating with a fossil fuel heating system like natural gas or propane that can run up a heating bill of thousands of dollars every winter.

“For someone who is going to live here a long time like Kate, it’s worth it,” he said.

Using similar projects as a basis, Terwilliger estimated the heating bill in this new, energy-efficient house to run between $300 and $400 a year.

All these new ways of building houses requires a new set of skills, one that has a steep and sustained learning curve. Carver knows he’s not the only one building houses this way.

“I encourage this dialogue between builders,” he said.

“There are gatherings and groups that share their ideas because there’s no point in keeping it a secret.”

Terwilliger says it can take as long as 17 years to take a new technique of building to become widely accepted — a number she says is the same as new medical procedures. To that end, she said, builders have to constantly be willing to learn these new skills.

“Most people get into the habit of doing this one way and it’s hard to break out of it,” she said.

PART OF WHAT makes Schmitt’s house more energy efficient is use of a semi-permeable house wrap that allows moisture to escape through the interior side but is highly waterproof on the exterior.

Independent photo/Trent Campbell

Heat pumps gaining popularity in Vermont

THE ANGLED EXTERIOR of the house features multiple south- and east-facing windows for ample sunlight that provides passive solar heating and light.

Independent photo/Trent Campbell

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Innovative new technology over the last few years has enabled heat pumps to become an even more viable alternative to oil or traditional electric heating sources for Vermonters (and others living in cold climates like ours).

As the name suggests, heat pumps work by moving heat from outside to inside rather than by generating heat through a more energy-demanding process.

The underlying principle is relatively basic science: heat will move from warmer objects to cooler objects. Understanding this, heat pumps contain a refrigerant liquid that is made cooler than the outside air, even when temperatures are below freezing. The process can be explained through expansion and compression of liquid refrigerant inside the pump that absorbs heat from the outdoors and releases the heat inside.

According to Mitsubishi Electric’s website, “When the refrigerant is expanded it becomes sub-

stantially colder. If the temperature of the refrigerant drops below the outdoor temperature, heat from the outdoor air is transferred to the refrigerant. As the refrigerant is compressed it grows warmer than the inside room temperature, and this heat from the refrigerant is transferred to the air inside the room.

Through repetition of this cycle, the heat pump continuously brings heat in from outside to efficiently heat the building.”

Homes designed and constructed with a tight building envelope and high insulation value can often be heated exclusively by a heat pump. Many units are not only heating units but also are used for cooling spaces when temperatures indoors are too hot. This is done by simply switching the flow so that heat is moved in the opposite direction, removing excess heat from the inside and transferring it out of the house.

- Christy Lynn

PAGE 8C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015

THE SECOND ANNUAL Sustainable Living Expo, presented by the Addison County Relocalization Network, is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, at Middlebury Union High School. The Expo will feature workshops, presentations, demonstrations and information booths from area experts in topics ranging from local food systems, building design, renewable energy and integrative health, among others.

Expo to offer variety of workshops to promote sustainable living Workshops, events, food and more attractions offered

MIDDLEBURY – The Addison County Relocalization Network (ACORN) and the Acorn Renewable Energy Co-op will present the 2015 Sustainable Living Expo on Saturday, April 11 at Middlebury Union High School (MUHS), from 9 AM to 4 PM. The snow date is April 18.

The Expo will feature over 50 exhibits and 24 workshops, as well as music, children’s programs, and local foods. The attendance fee is $5 for adults, students, and children over 12, $2 for children under 12.

Here is a sampling of the variety of workshops offered in each of six areas: • Local Food – winter greenhouse growing, soil fertility, permaculture, fermentation, pastured poultry, the energy intensity of local agriculture.

• Renewable Energy – community solar, heat

pumps, electric vehicles, net-zero transportation, a panel on how our county should get the energy it needs.

• Green Housing – designing and constructing high performance homes and retrofits, weatherization.

• Integrative Health – apitherapy, natural law and consciousness, yoga, and preventing cancer through integrative medicine.

• Empowered Communities – socially responsible investing, complementary currency, investing in our local landscape, herbalism for community resilience.

• Healthy Ecosystems – forest gardens, commercial food forestry, landscape land management, green burial, managing our waste.

“We have some very interesting presenters like Gwen Hallsmith on using food as a complementary currency, a community update on the Eat Real campaign at the College and a community conversation on the energy future of Addison County, among others,” says Jonathan Corcoran, president of ACORN. Corcoran and the team at ACORN were encouraged

by the feedback from the first Sustainable Living Expo, held last year and are hoping for an even larger turnout this year. Corcoran says they expect between 600 and 700 people at this year’s expo.

Children’s Renewable Energy Activities will be offered throughout the day by the Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP), including hands-on generation stations where children can test solar panels, ride the energy bike to generate light; make pinwheels, and make circuits. There will be sailboat sail designing and wind racing, as well as building and testing “pet” solar cars. Children’s programs are included in the attendance fee, thanks to a sponsorship by SunCommon.

“We’ve learned a lot from the Expo last year and have put together a strong program of workshops across the six focus areas which we believe are the foundations of a more sustainable culture,” says Corcoran.

“We are grateful for the support of our presenters, exhibitors and sponsors for believing in the value of

the Expo and are now looking for volunteers from the community to help us make April 11 a great day — it truly takes a village to make this happen!”

For more information or to becom a sponsor or volunteer at this year’s expo, visit www.acornvt. org/sle2015 or contact Elizabeth Golden-Pidgeon at elizabeth@acornvt.org.

ACORN’s mission is to help revitalize the health of our land, our local economy and our local communities so they can provide sustainable sources of food, water, energy, employment, capital and other essential resources. For more information, go to http://acornvt.org.

The Acorn Renewable Energy Co-op is a consumer-owned energy cooperative, based in Middlebury, Vt. and serving the 23 towns of Addison County as well nearby towns in Rutland and Chittenden counties. Its consumer members democratically control the Co-op, which exists to meet the renewable energy needs of its members and the communities we live in.

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HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015 — PAGE 9C

Late winter pruning: the perfect antidote for cabin fever

By JUDITH IRVEN Late winter is cabin fever season; after months of indoor living we find ourselves yearning for spring, and we can surely be forgiven for grumbling about heavy wet snow in March.

Wikipedia describes cabin fever as “a claustrophobic reaction from being confined in a small space for an extended period of time, resulting in extreme irritability and restlessness, often accompanied by an urge to go outside, even in rain, snow, dark or hail.” I certainly understand the urge to get outdoors, but I prefer to skip the rain, dark and hail.

And, as a therapy, it cites a scientific study that shows simply getting outside and interacting with nature will improve both your cognitive abilities and your sense of wellbeing. But this is probably something we all intuitively know already!

In the garden

So, if you are a gardener beset by cabin fever, may I suggest the perfect antidote: unearth your pruning saw, sharpen your clippers, and get going on some late winter pruning.

Even though we humans are now eagerly anticipating spring, most of our trees and shrubs are still fully dormant, making late winter an excellent time for pruning. Pruning stimulates new growth which, the moment the plant breaks dormancy, will kick into high gear. And without its leaves, the structure of the plant is readily apparent, making pruning that much easier for the gardener.

Pruning is the removal of any part of a plant to promote plant health and a desirable growth form. And it certainly covers a host of specialized goals and techniques, from training young trees for long-term structure and pruning to enhance fruit production, to creating bonsai.

However the goal of my late winter pruning is simply to ensure my existing shrubs and small trees continue to

thrive and look great in the garden. And the techniques are not difficult.

Easy does it

I work with one plant at a time, and before making a single cut, I stand back and examine it carefully. I look for old or diseased wood, and analyze whether the interior looks cluttered.

With my first cuts I remove all the branches that are dead, diseased or really old, each time cutting all the way back to a strong live branch, or in the case of suckering shrubs, right to the ground. These are called thinning cuts. When making a thinning cut it is important not to leave a protruding stub; it will eventually die and in the meantime it creates an entryway for disease. Furthermore it looks ugly!

At the same time take care not to cut too close to the parent branch. Using your fingers, locate the ‘branch collar’, the ridge of bark at the junction between the side branch and the trunk, which is an active growth site. By making your cut just outside the branch collar, new bark will quickly grow over and heal the wound.

Next I look for branches that are rubbing their neighbors, or will become that way in another year or two. Rubbing branches also create entry points for disease, and their contrary directions spoil the aesthetics of the plant. So, for the good of the whole, I will sacrifice one.

I now stand back again, and contemplate whether, by removing a few healthy branches I could achieve a less cluttered interior. However I am careful not to overplay my hand. To ensure the plant continues to manufacture sufficient food in the coming season, two-thirds of the leaf-bearing surfaces need to remain after pruning. You can always plan to remove additional branches next year.

If I am pruning a crab apple I also remove all the long wispy vertical shoots known as water sprouts that sap the

EACH MARCH JUDITH prunes these two smaller crab apple trees herself. Standing on a sturdy step ladder she can remove the clutter from the interior of the tree as well as last season’s water sprouts.

Photo by Richard Conrad

tree’s energy and clutter the canopy.

Finally I look to see whether the plant would look better if it were slightly more compact. If the answer is ‘yes’ I trim back the outermost branches, using what are known as heading cuts, made across the twig just above robust outward-growing buds. These buds will become new growth points in the coming season. So, before cutting, I pause to visualize how the plant will look, a year or two from now, when the buds have grown into new twigs or even complete branches.

What not to do

Pruning large trees is always best left for an expert. However, even when you call in somebody else, it is extremely helpful if you can visualize the desired results — after all, it’s your garden!

A case in point: I have been working over several seasons with Fred Schroeder of Bristol, who specializes in apple tree pruning. With careful pruning he has gradually rejuvenated the wild apple tree you see pictured here. But he involves me in all the major decisions of how much to remove and what to trim.

And some pruning jobs are best postponed till later.

In late winter and early spring the sap is running full bore in our maple and birch trees, and any pruning will cause excessive bleeding. Prune them during the summer or in early winter.

Spring flowering shrubs, like azaleas and lilacs, set their flower buds the previous summer. To avoid sacrificing any blooms, plan to prune them in early summer, within a month after they have flowered.

Conifers are best pruned after the first flush of new spring growth.

Roses should be pruned when the first green buds emerge in spring, when you can easily see and remove any winter die-back.

A visit to a nursery I love pruning and am always eager to learn more. So, back in March 2012, I joined a group of professionals for a pruning workshop at the South Forty nursery in Shelburne, where they raise field-grown ornamental trees and flowering shrubs. While South Forty is a wholesale operation, you can find high quality locally grown plants, including theirs, at local garden centers. Look for the white label with green lettering telling you this is a ‘Vermont Grown’ plant.

Since the beginning of January South Forty’s arborist, VJ Comai, had been out every single day pruning his neat rows of young plants, and by the time of our visit he had nearly completed his entire stock.

He demonstrated for us his technique for pruning a five-year-old crab apple. Using thinning cuts, he quickly skimmed the entire upper surface of each main branch, removing all the small internal branches at the precise spot where they joined the parent.

He then turned his attention to the tree’s outer branches.

Young trees make extensive annual growth at the branch ends which, left unchecked, will result in an ungainly tree.

So, using heading cuts, VJ removed half or more of the previous season’s growth, making his cuts at outward facing buds.

The result was a beautifully shaped tree destined for a lucky gardener. We all then repaired to VJ’s sugaring operation, to warm up and watch as he recycled pruning wood into fuel.

JUDITH LEAVES THE pruning of this large wild apple tree to an expert who uses a long ladder to reach all the upper branches. Over the years, with careful pruning, he has gradually create the open structure you see here.

Photo by Richard Conrad

To learn more This classic book on pruning, by a well-known Vermonter, has clear instructions and great illustrations: ‘Pruning Made Easy’ by Lewis Hill.

Judith Irven and Dick Conrad live in Goshen where together they nurture a large garden. Judith is a Vermont Certified Horticulturist and teaches Sustainable Home Landscaping for the Vermont Master Gardener program. You can subscribe to her blog about her Vermont gardening life at www.northcountryreflections.com. Dick is a landscape and garden photographer; you can see more of his photographs at www.northcountryimpressions.com.

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PAGE 10C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015

Take hope: no winter lasts forever

By JUDITH IRVEN After a long erratic winter, every Vermonter I know is impatiently anticipating spring. It is mid-March as I write this, and a deep mantle of snow still blankets my garden.

But in a few short weeks the snow will recede, and I will be anxiously watching for those telltale signs of green that signal the land is starting to awaken from its extended winter sleep.

And, along with the little green shoots, I will also be eagerly awaiting the first flowers of spring, both in the hedgerows and in the garden. Of course the daffodils are by far the most exuberant spring flowers, their cheery yellow faces greeting the season with a smile.

But there are other harbingers of spring that are a tad more modest than the daffodils, but no less lovely. Here are five favorites that over the years have grown and multiplied in my Goshen garden, returning every April to tell me winter has finally gone.

SNOWDROPS The first to emerge will be the pure white snowdrops that now fill wide swaths of the slope up toward our barn. One autumn about seven years ago I nestled approximately 50 bulbs all across the area. Now each small bulb has become a small colony, and sometimes in early April, as I glance up towards the barn, for a moment I imagine that winter’s snow has returned.

Snowdrops originate in Europe and, while Wikipedia will tell you they typically flower before the vernal equinox, here in Vermont, they postpone their flowering until the earth is free from snow and has begun to warm in the spring sun. Once flowering is done their green leaves remain for about a month as the plant makes food for the coming year. Then almost overnight the leaves vanish and everything is hidden from view until the following spring.

Find a partial shady spot in your garden where the soil does not readily dry out and plant a few bulbs, either in late spring or next fall and, for years to come, their dainty white flowers will herald the arrival of spring.

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Hellebores are another early spring flower from Europe. However, unlike snowdrops, the palmate hellebore leaves remain above ground to gradually form a handsome clump that contributes to the shady garden throughout the summer.

The hellebore genus consists of over a dozen species, some with English names such as Christmas rose, Lenten rose, and even stinking hellebore. Many species have also been hybridized to provide a wide range of colors from a parchment white all the way to dark red (sometimes described as black).

At first I was dubious about trying a plant with the name of Lenten rose in my Vermont garden, thinking that most years my garden is under snow throughout all of Lent.

So for a while I grew a couple of hellebore plants in my cool greenhouse and enjoyed their flowers in early March. I finally decided to experiment with some outdoors and I am delighted to report that, like snowdrops, they conveniently postpone their flowering until the snow has receded and the soil has warmed a little. Since they also take a late frost in their stride, they have made the perfect addition to my early spring garden.

BLOODROOT About a decade ago I decided to clear our “barn slope” and plant a garden. There was little of interest to save, apart from a tiny patch of the wild bloodroot. Every year I had marveled as the clear white flowers, like miniature anemones, emerged between the thick grasses and ferns that at that time completely dominated the slope, amazed that such a delicate plant could survive under such adverse conditions.

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dug the single rootstock that easily broke into smaller pieces that indeed exuded a reddish liquid reminiscent of blood. I tucked the pieces into various shady corners of the garden, and now I am rewarded each year with dense patches of delicate white flowers, followed by the scalloped leaves which, like the Hellebores, last all summer long.

Bloodroot, or Sanguinaria canadensis, is native to the eastern half of the United States and Canada, and in my garden usually blooms around mid-April.

ENGLISH PRIMROSES

Each time I see yellow English primroses, Primula vulgaris, I am transported back to my childhood in the countryside of Kent (England). Not far from where we lived there were some “primrose woods” where each April yellow primroses stretched as far as the eye could see, truly a sight to behold. Primula vulgaris are native to much of Europe but, sadly, today they are relatively rare in the wild, and in many countries picking or digging them is now illegal.

So 20 years ago, when I saw the small pot of the double ‘Hose-in-Hose’ English primrose for sale at Rocky Dale Nurseries, I knew I “had” to have it. My garden has proven a good match for these sometimes finicky plants.

Again, by placing them in shady corners and carefully dividing the clumps every few years, from that one original plant I have created many clusters around the garden.

The complete primula clan or genus is quite large and it hails from across the globe. Many gardeners are familiar with the Drumstick primrose with a spherical whorl of flowers atop an 18-inch stem, as well as the similar size Japanese primrose that enjoys a boggy spot.

And, as with the hellebores, c r o s s breeding of primula has produced a wealth of cultivated varieties, or cultivars, for the discriminating gardener. They come in an array of bright colors, including oranges and pinks, as well as deep purple to pale mauve, and specialized nurseries like Rocky Dale Nursery in Bristol and Cady’s Falls Nursery in Morrisville carry many types to please all tastes. Indeed I have quite a number of different ones here in my garden that spread their flowering times out all the way to early June.

But, when all is said and done, my heart belongs to the diminutive Primula vulgaris which, when they flower in late April in my Goshen garden, will transport me back across the years and across the miles.

VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS And finally, let me briefly mention our lovely native Virginia bluebells or Mertensia virginica. They make perfect companions for some yellow English primroses since they thrive in similar conditions and flower at the same time, and the contrast of their true-blue nodding flowers above a carpet of the yellow is completely captivating.

So as I wait for this seemingly long winter to run its course, I reflect on these words of wisdom by American writer and journalist Hal Borland, while I look forward to welcoming the delicate flowers of spring: “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”

Judith Irven and Dick Conrad live in Goshen where together they nurture a large garden. Judith is a Vermont Certified Horticulturist and teaches Sustainable Home Landscaping for the Vermont Master Gardener program. You can subscribe to her blog about her Vermont gardening life at www.northcountryreflections.com. Dick is a landscape and garden photographer; you can see more of his photographs at www. northcountryimpressions.com.

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Independent photo/Christy Lynn

HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015 — PAGE 11C

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PAGE 12C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015

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HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015 — PAGE 13C

Traditional and modern designs

meet in this hexagonal home

FRANCES AND PAUL Stone moved into their hexagonal home in Orwell in April of 2014. The home is unique in many ways, from its obviously distinctive shape to swings and other playful features inside. It was built to Efficiency Vermont’s highest energy standard and given a top rating of “five stars plus.”

Independent photo/Christy Lynn

By CHRISTY LYNN ORWELL — The approach to Stonewood Farms is from the south, along a ridgeline road off of Route 73 in Orwell. It is a stunning landscape, overlooking wide rolling farmland with the Green Mountains notched out

by Brandon Gap almost directly to the east.

There are several classic dairy barns and structures grouped toward the end of the road, as well as a classic

farmhouse, built originally in the mid-1800s.

The scene looks very quintessential of Vermont; that it is, until you spot an unusually shaped green metal roof at the very end of the road. Revealed below is a sage green hexagonal house, with an angled roof stretching up to a proportional six-sided cupola at the top. A weathervane with a rooster is perched at the very top.

The house and the 800-acre farm belong to Frances

A HEXAGONAL TOWER inside the Stones’ home lets in light through six windows, illuminating a wide, open space below. The couple built the house with an eye on their elder years and designed the space for easy access and convenience.

Independent photo/Christy Lynn

and Paul Stone. The Stones bought the farm in 1976. In 1989 they transitioned from the dairy business to turkeys and now keep over 30,000 turkeys on the farm.

Frances and Paul Stone are mostly retired from farm-

ing, which has been taken over by their son Peter, who lives with his family in the farmhouse on the property.

(See Hexagon, Page 14C)

PAGE 14C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015

Hexagon (Continued from Page 13C) Enabled in part by this generational transition on the farm, Frances and Paul developed the idea to build their

unique home, largely using very local resources.

“All of the wood we used to build the house [primarily white pine] was cut from the property and milled locally at Gagnon Lumber in Pittsford,” Paul Stone said proudly.

Each of their three sons and a few local construction experts with experience operating machinery such as the cranes that were needed all pitched their help and the Stones were able to design, build and finish the house themselves.

“Everyone had a hand in the building of this house,” said Frances Stone, “from our littlest grandkid — who was three at the time but still wanted to pound the nails in — to our sons who helped tremendously with design and all the details.”

It took four years to complete, but the couple moved in to their new home in April of 2014.

On the inside, the house has a cozy charm. It features many modern design qualities with an open format and few obvious doors or dividers between spaces, as well as exposed industrial finishes like heavy black steel plates holding the wide beams together, black electrical cords, polished concrete flooring and conduit pipes used for the vertical slats in the railings on the stairway and the loft. But it is quite the opposite of modern spaces you may think of that mimic an uncluttered design with a minimal amount of objects that fill that space.

In the Stone’s case, their home is filled with collections of things, organized cleverly into custom-built cabinets, closets, and shelves built by their son Matthew. These collections range from dried insects, butterflies, coral, seaweed, and animals to children’s books, to photographs of ancestors that Frances has organized along with an artifact or piece of art made or collected by that person. “This idea came to me one day and I said, ‘Hey, what a fun idea! It places a face with an object and helps us share these stories with our grandkids in a way that they enjoy.”

The Stones also have a gang of animals around the house, ranging from dogs and cats to birds that chirp gaily in a corner to guinea pigs and rabbits kept in the garage, a goat and Banty hens outside. Frances also has a ball python named Leopold, who currently lives at the farmhouse is known around area schools and libraries where Peter and Frances have brought him for “snake shows,” where they try to educate locals on snakes and advocate for their respect and protection.

Many of the explanations that the Stones give for the decisions they have made about their home come back to their three children and eight grandchildren — and perhaps the inner child within themselves too.

For example, hanging in the center of the house, from the tallest point of the tower (over 30 feet up) is a rope swing.

“The kids will take it and climb up to the rafters to jump off from there, swinging across to the other side of the room where they can grab hold of the rafters on the other side” Frances said with a smile, “they can play all day in this house.”

PAUL AND FRANCES Stone sit on a bench swing A thick rope ladder, looped in knots spread a couple facing the kitchen in their home. “This is our breakfast of feet apart is slung from the roof to the floor on one swing on most days,” Frances said.

Independent photo/Christy Lynn side of the room.

A ROPE LADDER dangles from the rafters, inviting grandchildren (or other visitors) to climb up to the catwalk loft in the Stones’ home. The house was built almost exclusively using white pine cut from the 800acre Orwell farm; 120 steel washers — cut in the shape of pigs — secure bolts and wide structural plates that hold the beams in place.

Independent photo/Christy Lynn

“The older grandkids can make it all the way up to the loft,” Frances says, “the younger ones can only get a couple of knots up the rope, but it certainly gives them something to work for.”

What’s the reward for making it all the way up? A small trap door that opens onto the loft, accessible only from the rope.

Closets aren’t just closets in the Stone’s house. Instead, they often expose a small square hole in the back of them, covered with thin curtains — the perfect invitation for a small child to crawl into. These carpeted tunnels lead through the unfinished angular attic spaces and out into other rooms or closets, offering perfect opportunities for hide-and-go-seek and other house games.

Just plain fun.

Well, maybe not just fun. The house is also extremely functional. It was built to very high energy-efficiency standards and has been rated Efficiency Vermont’s Top Energy Rating of “Five Starts Plus,” says Paul.

It boasts R-42 walls, constructed using standard 2x4 timber framing and insulated with four inches of rigid foam insulation on the exterior and spray foam blown into the wall cavity.

The roof is insulated with eight inches of rigid foam boards, which gives it an R-value of 54.

The home is heated using a small and efficient hot water heater that is about the size of a suitcase and is mounted to the wall of their garage.

Due to the tight building envelope and good insulation, there is very little air exchange or heat loss. The Stones also run an air exchanger to help filter clean, fresh air into the house (an important detail when building homes with a very tight thermal envelope).

“One of the things I’ve noticed most about living here versus living at the farmhouse is the evenness of the heat,” Frances Stone said, “there are no cold corners.”

There are lots of things to love about the house, though, according to the Stones.

Build for the purpose of housing them as they approach a later stage of their lives, the Stones considered accessibility and openness with their home.

“Everything that’s necessary is on the lower level and there are no lips or steps required to get around,” Frances says. Most of the doors are cubby doors built on tracks that slide into the wall. “We’re trying to make sure there are as few things as possible to run in to if you were navigating a walker or a wheelchair around here.”

One of the very best parts of all? For a couple of hours when lying in bed at night, you can see the moon framed in the windows of the tower through the open hole in the ceiling of the bedroom.

“In the original design, it was going to be a closed ceiling, but when our son discovered the moon from our bed one night, we knew we couldn’t cover that up,” Frances said with a casual shrug and a smile.

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HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015 — PAGE 15C

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PAGE 16C — HOME Energy Saving Living a special section of the Addison Independent, Thursday, March 12, 2015

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Middlebury Agway Coupon

NURSERY CUSTOMER BUCKS

❏ $5 off

any $150 Nursery Purchase any $100 Nursery Purchase any $50 Nursery Purchase Combined nursery purchases include Trees, Shrubs, Annuals, Herbs, Perennials, Bird Baths and Statuary.

One coupon per visit. Valid at Middlebury Agway only. Expires April 15, 2015

If you’re building or renovating, work with the #1 plumbing and heating professionals. We put our hearts into every project.

It’s been a long, cold winter. Is your heating system tired and in need of a tune-up? Keep it healthy for the rest of this season and ready forthe next. Call Champlain Valley Plumbing and Heating.

We’ve earned the trust of 4,500+ loyal customers by being dedicated project partners.

Middlebury Agway Coupon

Spring Carhartt is here!

20

%

off

CLOTHING PURCHASE

Carhartt makes great clothing for all seasons!

Pants, Jeans, shorts, T’s, overalls, hats and much more!

Voted #1 Plumbing & Heating Co. in the Region!

Expanded Kids’ & Infants’ line!

Coupon good through 4/15/15

WEBER GRILLS ARE HERE!

PET SERVICES Our beautiful

SELF-SERVICE

gas, charcoal & gas/charcoal combinations.

PLUS: Free assembly & free propane fill-up with any Weber gas grill purchase makes Agway your best deal!

Dog Wash is With 7 fuel delivery trucks and 8 service vans you can count on us for prompt and reliable service.

OPEN EVERYDAY! Washing your pet has never been easier! Enjoy the pleasant atmosphere in our beautiful spa-like space.

We also make

PLUMBING • HEATING 453-2325 125 Monkton Road, Bristol, VT

PLUMBING•HEATING•AIR CONDITIONING•WATER SYSTEMS

FUEL DELIVERY 388-4975

185 Exchange St., Middlebury

BIO DIESEL • K1 KEROSENE FUEL OIL •GASOLINE • DIESEL

Call us for spring cleaning and maintenance.

We’ll clean and service your heating system and fix your leaky faucets!

❏ $25 off

Photo by Shawna Ploof

HOME IS WHERE THE HEAT IS!

❏ $15 off

The more you buy, the more you save!

PET I.D. TAGS Custom engraved while you wait.

Choose from a variety of styles.

Beautiful brass Equine & Stable Plates, too.

HUGE N! SELECTIO

• Concrete Pavers • Edging • Step Stones • Wall Stones • Natural Field Stones • Slate for patios, edging and stone walls!

MIDDLEBURY AGWAY FARM & GARDEN

Open 7 days a week

338 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT • 388-4937 Monday - Friday 8-6, Sat. 8-5, Sun. 9-4

YOUR YARD, GARDEN and PET PLACE™

www.MiddleburyAgway.com