Developing any garden, big or small, takes time, planning, and lots of patience.
Four years ago, I decided to create a giant azalea border along both sides of the carriage road between my Summer House and my stable. I wanted to plant lots of colorful azaleas - a variety of unique specimens in shades of pink, orange, crimson, and white. I already have many mature azaleas flourishing in this area, but I wanted to expand the collection. That first year I started with about 200 plants on each side. Hundreds more have been added since. I watch how the plants grow, assess which varieties do best, and every spring I add a few more wherever they're needed. I am looking forward to seeing this garden bloom.
Enjoy these photos.
This time of year, I often visit local nurseries to select new plants for the gardens. I pay close attention to what gardens need filling and do it a little at a time. It’s important to also understand the growth cycles of each plant in order to predict how long it will take a garden to flourish. This collection of new plants includes some azaleas for my border.
My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, places the azaleas strategically -keeping like colors together and with the plant’s mature size in mind. When buying azaleas, always select plants that are sturdy, well-branched, and free of insect damage or diseases. And, avoid plants with weak, spindling growth and poor root systems. 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.
If the planting area has already been mulched for the season, carefully move the mulch out of the way first, so it is not mixed with the planting soil. It will be easy to move the mulch back around the plant later, so it looks neat and tidy.
Matt starts by digging the hole at least twice the size of the plant. Azaleas thrive in moist, well-drained soils high in organic matter.
Then he removes the plant from its pot and 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.
Matt also scarifies the bottom.
My gardeners love using the Japanese hori hori knife. It’s durable, comfortable, and very versatile. It has a serrated edge on one side and a sharpened edge on the other. Aside from cutting, it can also be used for troweling and digging out weeds.
Next, Matt sprinkles a generous handful of good, water-soluble fertilizer to the existing soil.
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.
Matt also returns the beautiful mulch that had been recently spread around the area. Among these new azalea plants are ‘Girard’s Kathy,’ ‘Blaauw’s Pink,’ and ‘Firestar.’ Azaleas prefer morning sun and afternoon shade, or filtered light. These plants will fit in so nicely with the others.
On the other side of the carriage road, Alex drops another wheelbarrow of mulch. Unloading mulch in manageable amounts makes it easier to spread.
Here is one section where the crew is working. I am very proud to be able to make this mulch right here at the farm.
Chhiring carefully spreads a two to three inch layer of mulch around all the plants. I removed all the surrounding grass, so there would be less to mow and maintain.
These azaleas do so well here. Some azaleas, including native types, can reach towering heights of 20 feet or more. Dwarf azaleas grow two to three feet tall, and many garden azaleas stay four to six feet in height with as wide a spread. Read the labels, so they can be placed appropriately in the garden.
It’s also important to keep azaleas where they can be protected from midday and winter sun to prevent leaves from drying out and burning.
Azaleas are native to several continents including Asia, Europe, and North America. These plants can live for many years, and they continue to grow their entire lives.
I am excited to see both sides of this carriage road burst with colorful azaleas in another four or five weeks.
Online cooking experiences are a great way to learn everything from mis en place to plating - all from the comforts of one's own home.
This week, I conducted a LIVE cooking demo for 50 executive clients of Calix, Inc., a leading software platform, cloud, systems and services provider. During the 90-minute Zoom session hosted and moderated by Calix CEO Michael Weening, I showed the group how to make Meyer Lemon Drop cocktails, Kale Caesar Salad, Linguine with Clams, and Pasta Limone - all recipes from my 100th and New York Times Best Selling Book, MARTHA, THE COOKBOOK: Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen. I also shared lots of cooking tips and answered a variety of interesting questions from participants.
Enjoy these photos.
I hope you’re all cooking the delicious dishes in my 100th book, MARTHA, THE COOKBOOK! This book has received such a great response – I know you will want to read it cover to cover and cook every single recipe.
Before the virtual session began, I greeted everyone online through Zoom. The demo was conducted from the kitchen of my farm’s guest house. This kitchen is roomy, filled with light, and has a large counter for prepping and showcasing all our finished dishes.
It was so nice to meet such enthusiastic participants.
I start by making a refreshing Meyer Lemon Drop cocktail from my book. This is called a champagne coupe or a champagne saucer. It is a stemmed glass featuring a broad, shallow bowl. For the drink, the rim is dipped in sugar.
First it is dipped into a shallow plate of lemon juice and then into a plate of sugar.
The cocktail includes vodka, Cointreau, Meyer lemon juice, and Meyer lemon syrup shaken in a cocktail shaker with ice until it is cold and then poured. I also added a strip of lemon zest into each glass with ice.
Next, I prepare the Kale Caesar Salad – also from my book. Here I removed the crusts from a loaf of brioche and cut it into cubes to make croutons. It’s so easy to make one’s own – just toss the bread with olive oil, butter, salt and pepper and then bake until crisp.
And here’s helpful tip – to remove the Tuscan kale ribs I just pull the leaves through the hole of a cooking tool, such as this measuring cup.
It really comes out so easily, give it a try. All the participants loved the idea.
Then I chiffonade it, meaning I cut the kale into the thinnest crosswise strips.
The kale is placed into a bowl and tossed with the traditional Caesar dressing, given in my book, and finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
It’s all topped with a generous amount of the homemade croutons.
To make the Linguine with Clams, I start by cutting the garlic into very thin slices and heat it in a straight sided skillet with butter until golden brown.
I add the tomatoes and other ingredients to the skillet and let soften for a few minutes. Wine is added along with clam juice – all according to the recipe.
And then the clams are added and cooked until just opened. One of the participants asked what kind of pans i use… I said, “Martha Stewart pans, of course.”
The clams are removed and plated over a bowl of pasta cooked slightly less than al dente.
For those with seafood allergies, one can also prepare my Pasta Limone – one of my favorite pasta dishes. It is great with any pasta. I like bucatini or angel hair.
And that’s it – the entire meal was cooked in about an hour, including lots of questions and story sharing.
The nutritious Tuscan kale Caesar Salad…
The Linguine with Clams…
The Pasta Limone…
And for dessert, I made my rendition of the Atlantic Beach Pie.
Here I am with Molly Wenk, who has helped me with many television and video cooking shoots over the years. It was a fun demo and a great way for participants to cook along with me from the comforts of their own homes. Thanks for having me join you, Calix. And don’t forget to pick up a copy of my book, MARTHA, THE COOKBOOK.
And just like clockwork, this time every year my outdoor grounds crew begins the process of removing all the burlap around the farm exposing the lush green boxwood that has been covered all winter long.
Every autumn for as long as I’ve been gardening I’ve covered my boxwood shrubs and outdoor ornamental urns to protect them from the season’s heavy snowfall, freezing temperatures, and damaging winds. Then, every spring when the ground begins to thaw, it’s all removed and stored away. The entire process is a big undertaking; however, knowing my plants are protected in the cold is a great comfort. And seeing all the healthy, intact shrubbery and foliage at the start of a new season is an even greater delight.
For about four months of the year, all the boxwood shrubs and hedges are covered in this natural colored fabric. We remove the burlap once the temperatures are consistently above freezing and before Easter. All of the coverings are custom wrapped and sewn to fit each individual shrub, hedge, or bush. This is the biggest stretch of burlap-covered boxwood at the farm, the Boxwood Allée, which runs from outside my stable all the way down to the intersection leading into the woodland.
One of the first steps is to remove the wooden strips that help sandwich and secure the burlap.
The strips and screws are collected and stored for next year. We keep all the pieces grouped separately and neatly.
When all the small strips are removed the burlap is ready to be pulled off.
Phurba peeks underneath to check the condition of the boxwood – everything looks very green.
We use industrial burlap that’s available in giant rolls of 40-inches or 60-inches wide. Some pieces are sewn together to accommodate the large and growing boxwood.
Here, Phurba, Chhiring, and Alex pull a long section and begin to fold the burlap.
Once the length of the burlap is folded to a manageable size, they fold the sides in to make it more narrow.
And then they roll it neatly. Team work is necessary to complete this task quickly and efficiently. The burlap covers can be used for two seasons. Once they are no longer useable as covers, they are repurposed in the gardens to prevent weeds.
Phurba and Alex tie the large, heavy rolls of burlap with jute twine – we use this natural twine for many projects at the farm.
Phurba labels each roll of burlap indicating what it covers and where. The label will make it easy to identify next fall when the boxwood is covered again.
The rolls are ready to be loaded onto the truck and taken to the Stable Barn for storage. Taking down the burlap is a much faster process than putting the burlap up, but still time-consuming. All the rolls of burlap must be kept dry when not in use. One of the few downsides to this fabric is that it will start to fray and disintegrate after time, especially if exposed to moisture.
It’s always so nice to see the boxwood once the burlap is removed. For the frames we use the same metal used to make hoop houses – strong industrial steel ground uprights and purlin pipes. These materials not only provide the necessary support frames for the burlap but also accommodate any plant growth. These frames will be removed next.
The boxwood looks so beautiful and green. Under heavy snow, these shrubs could suffer branch damage and splaying. Thankfully we did not have too bad a cold season this year.
On my terrace parterre, more burlap is removed and ready to roll up and store.
All the greenery was well-preserved under the protective winter coverings.
Removing the burlap changes the entire appearance of the area and reveals what we hope for every year – green, healthy boxwood.
The lighter hedge is golden barberry. It looks so pretty in contrast to the bold green boxwood.
This is an outside view of a section of my herbaceous peony bed and the exposed green boxwood. And notice how much room there is between the shrub and the metal – these metal frames can be used for many more years.
Burlap is also removed from the boxwood hedges and shrubs in my Summer House garden. My sunken Summer House Garden is a more formal garden with both English and American boxwood. In just a few more weeks, this garden will once again look different. All the ginkgo trees will be filled with gorgeous green leaves.
Some question whether covering plantings each winter really helps, but look how lush and intact the plantings are when uncovered – I definitely feel it is worth the time and effort.
And here is part of my long and winding pergola. The boxwood is all uncovered here also. I can’t wait to share photos of the gardens in bloom.
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