Are the hydrangeas blooming where you are? Here at my farm, the hydrangeas are starting to put on quite a show with more blooms showing up every day.
My hydrangea border is located down the carriage road from my hoop houses and across from my chicken coops. It is home to a selection of colorful hydrangeas including mature mopheads transplanted from my former Lily Pond home in East Hampton. I added more hydrangeas in this area last year, planting both white and dark pink varieties. I also have hydrangeas growing around my tennis court, outside my goose and peafowl pens, behind my main greenhouse, and beneath the London plane and Cotinus trees in my middle field. Many of the newer plants are from the First Editions and Endless Summer Collections by Bailey Nurseries.
Here are some photos, enjoy. And have a wonderful July 4th holiday weekend!
I have long grown hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are one of the most popular ornamental garden plants because of their large spherical bloom heads that come in varying shades of pink, purple, blue, and white.
When I redesigned my East Hampton gardens, I transferred about 30-plants to my farm and have added many more ever since.
Hydrangea is a genus of at least 70-species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Mopheads are the most popular flower style of hydrangea.
In addition to the mopheads, there are also hydrangeas that bloom in lovely lacecaps.
The lacecap is very similar to the mophead, but instead of growing round clusters of showy blossoms, this hydrangea grows flowers that resemble flat caps with frilly edges.
They produce florets, surrounded by small flowers that look like closed buds.
This is Hydrangea ‘Eclipse®,’ a dark bigleaf hydrangea from First Editions. Its blooms are bold cranberry or amethyst depending on the soil ph. In extending the hydrangea border, I planted these along the carriage road heading toward my Japanese Maple Woodland.
On the other side outside my tropical hoop house, I planted FlowerFull hydrangeas also from First Editions.
These stand out with bold white blooms and sturdy upright stems.
FlowerFull can bloom from summer to first frost. The abundant white panicle balls turn green as the season progresses.
In general, mophead and lacecap leaves are relatively thick and crisp, shiny, and often heart-shaped. They range in size from four to six inches long by three to five inches wide.
And look who’s admiring the flowers here – one of my handsome “blue boy” peacocks. I planted a selection of hydrangeas around the bird enclosures. It’s always important to do research before planting. Make sure to consider the plant’s mature size and light needs when selecting a space. And remember, perennials grow slowly the first year, faster the second year, and then usually reach full size in the third year.
All of these are BloomStruck® Bigleaf Hydrangeas around two sides of my peafowl and goose pens, where they could be seen from the carriage road. When mature, these hydrangeas will reach two to four feet tall and three to five feet wide.
The name hydrangea originates from two Greek words – “hydro” meaning “water” and “angeion” meaning “vessel” or “container.” Together, the rough translation is “water vessel” which refers to their exceptional thirst for water.
Most hydrangeas are shrubs, but some are small trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.
Hydrangeas are long-lived, and extremely vigorous specimens that offer lavish and varied blooms. The most common garden hydrangea shrub is the Bigleaf mophead variety, Hydrangea macrophylla.
Mophead blooms measure 3.5 to 5 inches across. They bloom in rose-pink or violet blue, depending on pH of the soil.
Here’s a flower still waiting to bloom. Blooms appear all summer long on both old wood and new growth.
This beautiful white panicle hydrangea is growing outside my tennis court.
Last year, I added to my collection in this area. Surrounding the court itself are Little Hottie® Panicle Hydrangeas from First Editions. They are just starting to bloom. They are compact, mid-sized white hydrangeas with large, full flower heads that bloom from the bottom to the top of the plant. The flowers start out lime green, then turn white in the summer and eventually to an antique white in the fall.
The blooms on this compact Summer Crush® hydrangea are intense, deep raspberry pink. These hydrangeas are from the Endless Summer Collection by Bailey Nurseries. These are growing beautifully in my middle field under the allée of London planes and smoke bushes.
These hydrangeas will reach 36-inches tall with a spread that’s 18 to 36-inches wide. They add such a nice bold color to this long allée.
I hope you can enjoy the gorgeous colors of the hydrangeas where you are. And I hope you all have a very joyful and safe July 4th holiday weekend!
Bright, beautiful, and colorful dahlias are starting to bloom here at my farm.
Dahlias begin to flower with great profusion just as many summer plants pass their prime, and they last right up until the first frost. My dahlia garden is tucked behind my vegetable greenhouse in an area exposed to full sun and protected from strong winds; however, as they grow it's important to provide tall, hollow, dahlia stems with good support to prevent them from flopping. My crew stakes each plant every year using wood and jute twine.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Well-maintained plants will never disappoint -here is one of the first dahlias to bloom this season. Dahlias grow more blooms when they get at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day.
Dahlias are named after 18th-century Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. He actually categorized dahlias as a vegetable because of their edible tubers. The tubers are said to taste like a mix between potatoes and radishes.
Dahlia plant leaves grow segments that are ovate to oblong to lanceolate in shape. The leaf margins may be lobed or dentate. Leaves may be green, reddish-purple, or purple-black depending on the variety.
Most of these dahlia plants are about waist high already – some even taller. It’s important to make sure they are properly supported as they grow, especially those that produce larger, heavier blooms.
Pete starts by making the stake holes along the outside of the bed.
Then he pounds in strong stakes about a foot deep to anchor the outer edge. The twine here is used to ensure the stakes are straight.
Pete does this around the entire perimeter to support any stems on the outer edge.
Here, one can see how tall some of the flowers have grown.
Next, Pete stretches the twine from one end to the other…
… tying it securely to the wooden uprights. Jute twine is available in different thicknesses and its tensile strength can reach about 140-pounds, but because it is a natural material, it can degrade over time. Pulling the twine tightly will help it keep its form through the season.
Fernando works from the inside of the bed, making holes and securing stakes.
He stakes the larger plants individually, and the smaller ones in groups, supporting them on all four sides.
Here is one section staked nicely. As plants grow, twine will be added to support more stems.
Pete and Fernando also make sure the aisles are clear, so it’s easy to access and cut flowers during the season.
Dahlias are classified according to flower shape and petal arrangement. This is a single dahlia with just one row of petals surrounding the center disc.
They range from a charming single, daisy-like flower to the popular double varieties which can be two-inch-pompons to 12-inch dinner plate size. They are divided into 10 groups: single, anemone, collarette, waterlily, decorative, fall, pompon, cactus, semi-cactus, and miscellaneous.
This cactus variety is called ‘Park Princess’ with tightly rolled rich, vibrant pink petals. It is a prolific re-bloomer and an excellent cut flower.
Currently, there are more than 40 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. A member of the Asteraceae family of dicotyledonous plants, some of its relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia.
The majority of dahlia species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars, but they are brightly colored to attract pollinating insects.
The genus Dahlia is native to the high plains of Mexico. Some species can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador & Costa Rica as well as parts of South America where it was introduced.
This area was once used for growing grapes. Now, it’s proven excellent for growing dahlias. I am looking forward to seeing more and more of the gorgeous blooms in the weeks ahead.
As a passionate gardener, I am always very interested in learning how I can improve my gardens.
This past spring, I travelled to Marysville, Ohio, to visit the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. The Scotts Company was founded in 1868 by O.M. Scott as a premium seed company for the United States agricultural industry. In 1995, the company celebrated a significant milestone when Scotts, the leading lawn care brand, merged with Miracle-Gro, the leading gardening brand, creating the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. During my day-long visit, I was happy to meet the Research and Development and Brand teams, and to hear about and provide insights on key strategies and new innovations they are developing.
Here are some photos.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company headquarters is still located in Marysville, Ohio where O.M. Scott began selling seed. He sold weed-free seed to local farmers and then expanded to selling seed to homeowners after the turn of the century.
All administrative departments have been located on this campus along Scottslawn Road since 1982.
The day’s visit included several presentations. The Miracle-Gro team discussed ways that would make better use of the benefits of organic raw materials like earthworm castings, biochar, bone meal, and poultry litter. One of their goals is to help refresh old depleted soil leftover in raised bed gardens.
These Miracle-Gro samples show a variety of the different raw materials. Many of them act as natural fertilizers and soil amendments which improve soil structure, enhance nutrient availability, and boost plant health and productivity.
Miracle-Gro already adds quality base ingredients to their soil mixes.
Here, Bonnie Plants shares trial work they are conducting on compact plant varieties to help shape the future of fruit and vegetable specimens so that consumers can grow even more successfully in small spaces.
The Lawns team shares their new brand, O.M. Scott & Sons, which features a product line-up of natural grass food and grass seeds, including alternatives seeds like clover. All of the products are safe for use around people and pets, contain no added official ingredients or pesticides, and are packaged in a curbside recyclable paper bag.
These products begin feeding the lawn as soon as it is applied and then continue to feed for up to 10-weeks.
It was nice to see up close how passionate the Scotts Miracle-Gro teams are to creating more innovative and user-friendly products for the home gardener.
Next, I showed photos of my farm and gardens – and how beautiful they have grown because of my nutrient-rich soil and use of Miracle-Gro Plant Food. This is a photo of my Stewartia garden. It is a perennial bed located behind the house where my daughter and grandchildren stay when they visit.
The space used to be planted with rows and rows of ferns and lilies. Now the garden is filled with beautiful Stewartia trees and lush, green shade-loving specimens including Epimediums, Syneilesis, Polygonatum, Astilboides and so much more.
I also have a variety of Japanese maples in this garden that add superlative color and texture.
This slide is of my Summer House Garden, a formal sunken garden I designed and created shortly after moving to the property.
It is a kind of “room” walled by a tall hedge of boxwood. The focal point is the great old ginkgo tree at the back of the space that is original to the farm. Over time, I’ve planted American and English boxwood, smaller ginkgo trees, smoke bushes, Siberian weeping pea shrubs, peonies, hostas, lilies, Leucojum, and others.
And of course, I showed my half-acre vegetable garden where I’ve used lots of wonderful Scotts Miracle-Gro Organic soil. This garden, which is now in its third growing season, is already planted with many wonderful crops – tomatoes, brassicas, artichokes, fava beans, celery, carrots, sweet and hot peppers, peas, all sorts of herbs, etc.
Here is this year’s kale bed – so lush and green.
And here is the long center bed where I grow lots of peas – one section for shelling peas, which need to be removed from their pods before eating, and another for edible pods, which can be eaten whole, such as our snap peas.
We all enjoyed the informative day with the scientists and brand managers at Scotts Miracle-Gro learning about their organic solutions to everyone’s gardening problems. I’m looking forward to implementing what I learned back at my farm. For more information, fo to the Scotts Miracle-Gro web site.
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