Developing a garden requires lots of careful planning, planting, and patience. I am so happy with how well the plants are doing around my pond.
After restoring the old pond here at the farm, I wanted to create a garden of beautiful shady trees and bright, colorful azaleas. I planned a variety of unique specimens in yellow and orange hues to mix with the bold glossy green foliage of ferns and birch trees. I planted more than 100 azaleas last year. Yesterday, my gardeners planted another 100 from Summer Hill Nursery - a wholesale-only company in Madison, Connecticut. Of all the shrubs that flower in spring, azaleas provide some of the most brilliant displays. These plants are sure to look stunning every time they bloom.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Summer Hill Nursery is a mid-sized wholesale-ONLY establishment growing beautiful landscape specimens since 1957. It offers more than 1000 varieties of flowering trees, shrubs, evergreens, and grasses.
I ordered 130 azaleas to add to my gardens at the farm. And they all fit into my covered truck!
Once they arrived, the plants were placed right away around the pond. Here’s Andres positioning them where they will be planted. When planning a garden, it is important to consider size of inventory, light needs and growth habits of the plants, and the location of any necessary footpaths.
Always buy plants that are sturdy, well-branched, and free of insect damage or diseases. And, avoid plants with weak, spindling growth and poor root systems.
I planted about 80 azaleas here one year ago and they are all thriving in this location. After the first batch is planted, one can see where more are needed. Filling in the bare areas takes time.
The next day, planting begins.
When planting, dig a hole at least twice the size of the plant. Azaleas thrive in moist, well-drained soils high in organic matter.
Phurba sprinkles a generous handful of good, water-soluble fertilizer to the existing soil.
I feed with Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Flowering Trees & Shrubs plant food – a dependable fertilizer that feeds for up to three months.
Phurba carefully removes the plant from its pot – it’s completely intact and in excellent condition.
Then he scarifies. Scarifying stimulates root growth. Essentially, one makes small cuts along the root ball to loosen the roots and create some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
Phurba has been working with me for almost 19 years. He’s planted many specimens around the farm and has seen so many of the gardens grow, develop, and change over the years.
The plant is placed into the hole and then checked to be sure it is at the right depth. Planting too deep could eventually cause bark deterioration at the soil line and kill the plant.
The azalea is backfilled and the soil is lightly tamped for good contact with the root ball. Azaleas have short root systems, so they can easily be transplanted in early spring or early fall.
Here he plants another azalea – this one in bloom. Azaleas are generally healthy, easy to grow plants. Some azaleas bloom as early as March, but most bloom in April and May with blossoms lasting several weeks.
This one is also in bloom. Some of the varieties include ‘Lemon Drop,’ ‘Sea Breeze’ ‘Golden Oriole’ Exbury, ‘Tangelo,’ ‘George Reynolds’ Exbury, and ‘Gibraltar’ Exbury,
Most of these are still waiting to open. I can’t wait to see the area in a couple of weeks.
By the end of the day all the azaleas are planted. Here’s Phurba giving each newly planted azalea a good drink.
All the plants are checked. Any plant ID and care tags still hanging are removed.
This pond garden is coming together so nicely. Keep checking – this area should burst with color in another couple of weeks. I’ll be sure to share photos.
Located in southwest England's Dorset countryside just outside the historic village of Milton Abbas is Milton Abbey, a stunning mansion and church - and a beautiful setting for a wedding.
I hope you saw some of my images on my Instagram page @marthastewart48. I traveled abroad over the weekend for the wedding of my godson, Laurence Booth Clibborn. My niece Sophie Herbert Slater joined me. I was asked to help assemble and decorate the cake made by the groom's mother, Julia. It turned out so beautifully. And although it was such a brief trip, I also toured the Dorset county town of Dorchester, walked around Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, and visited the Mute Swans at Abbotsbury Swannery.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Dorset, England is largely rural with low-lying valleys, beautiful landscapes, and charming villages.
Upon arriving, the first thing we did was tour the quaint market town of Dorchester, the county town of Dorset situated on the River Frome.
This is the Roman Town House discovered in the 1930s. It is a Roman ruin and monument. It was built around 307 AD and then expanded in 341 AD. It has flint and stone walls and sits on a grass covered site.
Part of it had mosaic floors.
This is Came House, the reception venue. It is a 1754 country house and estate near the village of Winterborne Came in Dorset.
The estate, which is now exclusively used for weddings and other events, includes formal gardens, a cast iron domed conservatory, and room for 32 guests.
My task was to help assemble and decorate the cake.
Here is the silver stand for the multi-tiered cake.
Julia Booth Clibborn, the groom’s mother, baked a traditional English fruitcake, which was covered in white frosting.
Here is the cake before I added the decorations – it looks so wonderful.
And here is Milton Abbey, set in the rolling hills of Dorset. It is a former Benedictine monastery founded in 934 and features a 15th century tower.
This is a view of a large stained glass window from the inside. The church was extensively restored and remodeled in the late 18th century.
The walls of the church are made from a mixture of Ham stone, Chillmark stone, and flint. The structure is an example of Decorated Gothic architecture.
After the wedding ceremony, my niece Sophie and I decorated the cake with cheerful yellow Banksia roses, Rosa banksiae, a species of nearly thornless climbing rose.
Here I am with Julia. I am wearing a three piece ensemble by Libertine.
And here I am with my godson and groom, Laurence.
Laurence and his wife, Alice, cut the cake with Alice’s grandfather’s sword.
After the wedding, we drove by this cottage on the countryside. Notice, it has a thatched roof – meaning its roofing system is made from natural materials such as straw, reeds, or palm leaves, providing insulation, waterproofing, and a rustic aesthetic.
Sophie and I also went to the Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, a 30-acre property featuring more than 6,000 species of rare and exotic plants. Sophie is standing in front of one of my favorites – Gunnera, large and striking perennials native to regions including Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Papuasia, Hawaii, Southeast Asia, eastern Africa, and Madagascar.
Gunnera thrives in damp, boggy soil and likes full sun to light shade.
And then it was off to Abbotsbury Swannery, home to a colony of more than 600 Mute Swans on the Dorset Coast. Here is the house at the entrance pointing guests to the swans and the living Willow Swan Maze.
This is a statue of a Mute Swan. Perhaps some of you remember the wounded Mute Swan that landed on my farm five years ago – it is now happy and living at a New York sanctuary.
One of the Swannery’s main attractions is the Willow Swan Maze planted in the shape of a swan. Here is the entrance.
The maze was planted in 2008 and has only one entrance and one destination. The maze grows and changes with the seasons. At the center is a 10-foot wide woven willow egg.
And here is one of the swans. The Swannery is the only one of its kind in the world. Established by Benedictine monks in the 1040s, it now serves as a sanctuary for these swans.
Here is one in its nest. Mute swans mate for life and are very dedicated and strong parents. Here at Abbotsbury Swannery, more than 100 to 150 pairs of swans nest here.
Heading back to the airport after a wonderful weekend and a most beautiful wedding, we saw a flock of sheep resting in a field. Dorset is a beautiful area, steeped in history and charm – visit if you can.
Here at my farm, I always try to impress upon my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew to "use the right tool for the right job" - for efficiency and for safety. Among our favorites are the durable, easy-to-use items from STIHL.
I've been using STIHL products for a long time. STIHL is recognized as a worldwide leader in outdoor power equipment and offers an extensive lineup of different pieces including professional-grade chainsaws, blowers, trimmers, pressure washers, and so much more. Last week, I received several of STIHL's new mowers - both gas powered and battery operated. They're great for using in large lawn spaces as well as any flat, narrow, tight areas around my home. They're easy to maneuver and provide good, precise cuts.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
It was so nice to have STIHL Territory Manager Michael Calyer and STIHL Regional Sales Manager Robert Pulver come by the farm to teach me and my crew all about the newest mower models.
Here are three STIHL zero-turn mowers – the RZA 748 and the RZA 760, which are both run on batteries, and the RZ 560 K gas powered mower.
The zero-turn mowers are excellent for my large lawn spaces, such as this one between my long pergola and my orchard. This gas-powered unit is built for durability.
The rear has a space for supplies, a trailer hitch for towing additional accessories, and safety bars around the rear base and above the unit. The safety bar above protects the operator during a rollover.
The controls are easy to access and use…
Adjustments to cutting can be done easily while seated.
Padded handles offer comfort while operating. And a flexible side rubber discharge chute for grass clippings is within good view from the seat.
In addition, a majority of STIHL products sold in America are made in America.
These specific units are from a local distributer, Ossining Lawn Mower.
For tight places, such as between my raised garden beds, we use push mowers. A push mower is a walk behind unit that an operator pushes forward or backward to mow the lawn. Here are STIHL’s RM 756 gas mower and two RMA 453 PV battery mowers.
All these mowers are built with professional grade use in mind – powerful, efficient, and long lasting.
This mower is lightweight, making it easy to maneuver. And the controls are built to be ergonomic in design, so it is comfortable to use all day.
This 22-inch gas powered push mower provides really sharp, accurate cutting and easy bagging.
It’s also easy to fill from the top of the unit.
Adan Morales is my resident mower. He knows exactly which mowers are best for every area of the farm. Here he is mowing the strips of grass on one side of my pergola. Another benefit of this mower is that it is equipped with a blade brake clutch system that allows one to stop the blade without restarting the engine to remove obstacles in the path.
There is a mono-comfort handlebar, which is sturdy and secure. It also has a large capacity foldable fabric grass bag that is easy to empty.
This machine has a cutting height range from .98 to 3.54 inches to accommodate a variety of different grass types, terrains, and weather conditions.
Here is Adan on the gas powered zero-turn. This day was a good one for mowing. Try to always mow when the grass is dry. We only mow dry grass at the farm. Mowing a wet lawn doesn’t harm the grass, but it can fill and clog a mower, and make the cut look uneven. Mid-morning mowing is the healthiest for your grass – it’s cooler, drier and allows time for the grass to recover after cutting.
Also remember to avoid scalping the grass, which means cutting it too short. A scalped lawn is vulnerable to grass burn, diseases, and weed infestation. Scalped turf also tends to be more weak and sparse.
And adjust the mower height throughout the growing season. Shift higher in summer and allow the grass to grow longer. Taller grass helps shade the soil, which prevents weed growth and slows water evaporation. Taller grass also develops deeper roots, which help the lawn to withstand drought. In late autumn lower the cutting deck for the last mowing of the season to help prevent snow mold from forming on the grass.
And always be ready to mow with the proper safety gear. Luna and I took some photos before I tested the zero-turn myself. I’ve used STIHL equipment for years. I’m looking forward to using the right tool, the right mower, for the right lawn space at the farm.
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