New England winters are long, with gray skies, sub-freezing temperatures, and snow-draped landscapes. It’s a picturesque wonderland to be sure, but it leaves Vermonters yearning for even a hint of the glorious spring to come. To the delight of her Waitsfield neighbors, Emily von Trapp found a way to make March come early.
Emily is the great-granddaughter of Maria and Georg von Trapp, whose story was told in the beloved film The Sound of Music. In 1980, herparents founded the von Trapp Greenhouse, a former retail nursery. “As the daughter of a horticulturist and self-trained masterful gardener, I grew up surrounded by the beauty and wonder of their gorgeous gardens,” says Emily. “I took an interest in growing flowers as a small child and helped in the cut-flower fields during…