As the owner of many gardens, groves, and allées, I am constantly looking at all the trees, making sure they are in good condition.
Pruning is one of the biggest and most important gardening chores. Not only does pruning improve the overall health of the plants, it also prevents disease, and encourages better growth. When assessing my trees, I also think about general appearance as well as safety. Last week, I noticed the allée of lindens that grows in two horse pastures needed some attention. The lower branches had grown so much, my horses could not walk under them for shade. I asked Pete Sherpa from my outdoor grounds crew to "limb up" the trees, meaning remove all the lowest branches to allow for more clearance and air circulation.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Lindens, Tilia, are medium to large sized shade trees that are easy to maintain and attractive in any landscape. I have two linden tree allées. One outside my stable and this one which runs from the old corn crib all the way down to the chicken coops.
Notice the lowest branches. They are very low to the ground and need trimming to control its shape and to allow for better air circulation through the center of the specimen. I also like to prune the branches so anyone on foot, on horseback, or my horses themselves, could pass through easily. This low branch work is called limbing up or crown raising.
I extended this allée in 2017 all the way down to the chicken coops. These trees are developing so nicely and are pruned every couple of years. Pete focuses on the lower branches only, but cuts off any dead, damaged, diseased, or crisscrossing branches.
Pete uses his hand tree saw carefully cutting from the bottom most branches up.
It is important to always use sharp tools whenever pruning so that the cuts are clean. Dull tools are difficult to use and could even damage the tree. A straight, clean-cut promotes quick healing of the wound and reduces stress on the specimen.
And new cuts are always made outside the branch collar at a 45 to 60 degree angle to the branch bark ridge.
I instructed Pete to make sure there was about 13 and a half feet of clearance under the trees. He uses the back of the Polaris off-road vehicle to safely cut what he cannot reach from the ground.
For small branches, Pete is able to use his sharp bypass Okatsune pruners.
As branches are taken down, they’re gathered and placed into tidy piles, so they can be cleaned up easily and quickly. After the job is done the crew will chip the branches and use the wood chips as top dressing in another area of the farm. Everything is always reused, repurposed or recycled when possible.
Once cut, there is still lots of shade, but the area is more accessible for my tall Friesians. There is light and air circulating through the allée, and one can see more clearly underneath the trees.
Pasang, my resident tree expert, comes by to help gather all the branches. My crew always works in teams, so there is always help for every project.
The branches are manually picked up and placed into the tractor’s loader bucket.
The branches are then carefully dropped into the back of my dump truck and taken to the back compost yard where they will await chipping.
Regular and thorough pruning will also give the branches more room to grow. When mature, lindens reach 50 to 80 feet in height with a spread of 35 to 50 feet. Its growth rate is about 13 to 24 inches a year.
This entire process takes a couple of days to do properly by hand, but it is all worth the efforts to have well-manicured, healthy trees.
And here are two of my handsome boys. I am sure they will appreciate the job well done.
I also like the branch cutoff areas to be colored, so they are not visible. Notice, the cut in this photo. A little dark spray paint disguises the new cut until it ages and turns gray on its own.
Remember, this is what it looked like before – overcrowded branches too low for my horses.
And this is how they look after – much better.
Linden trees typically live 50 to 150 years – maybe even longer with good, consistent care.
If you live anywhere near Maman, the American French-inspired chain of bakery-cafés open in several states, Washington, D.C., and Canada, please stop in and try one of the five newest menu items! Maman and I have teamed up for a year-long collaboration that now includes some of my own favorite savory and sweet treats at all their shops!
I'm very excited to partner with Maman. Right now, the limited-edition summer menu includes my red iced tea with citrus & berries, my tomato tart from my 100th book, MARTHA: THE COOKBOOK, my turkey cobb sandwich, my ultimate kitchen sink cookie, and my crème brûlée sugar bun. We recently released the menu items at a launch party at Maman's newest flagship location in New York City. More than 75 influencers, colleagues, friends, and members of the media attended the event, trying every item - sometimes more than once! It was a fun gathering and a great way to introduce my menu items at Maman. Be sure to visit!
Enjoy these photos. (All photos by Arianna Tettamanzi)
Here I am with Maman co-founders, Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte, in front of their newest flagship café in downtown New York City.
This weekend, please stop by any Maman and try the new summer menu items. There are more than 37 Maman shops in the United States and Canada.
At the launch party, invited influencers, friends, colleagues and members of the media were directed to visit each of five stations to try my menu additions.
My red iced tea with citrus & berries is made with red zinger iced tea and lots of fresh fruits to bring out the tea flavors. Each glass is garnished with a sprig of mint.
This station features my rich, savory, vegetarian tomato tart. I often serve this to guests at my home and everyone loves it.
The recipe is from my 100th book, MARTHA: THE COOKBOOK. It’s made using juicy, ripe slices of tomato arranged in concentric circles with grated fontina cheese in my pâte brisée pastry crust.
Look how beautiful this is up close. It is a wonderful alternative to traditional quiche.
Everyone got a slice to try. It’s great for lunch or as a first course at dinner.
Personal size versions are made for the shop.
Another station was dedicated to my turkey cobb sandwich – it has everything one loves about the classic cobb salad, but in a sandwich, including oven-roasted turkey, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, sliced avocado, lettuce, fresh basil, and Dijonnaise served on country bread.
Every station was also very interactive. Guests were able to gather their own herbs to bring home.
Of course, I had to include a cookie. And for Maman, I selected my delicious ultimate kitchen sink cookies. These cookies are so delicious and so easy to make – one doesn’t even need a mixer. The recipe is from my book, Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection. The recipe calls for dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, rolled oats, coconut. It’s all in there – everything but the kitchen sink.
Guests at the launch event enjoyed mini versions served on shot glasses of cold milk.
Can’t have cookies without a little milk…
And this is my crème brûlée sugar bun – a sugar-crusted croissant filled with homemade vanilla pastry cream and a caramelized top.
There was enough for everyone to taste and enjoy.
It was so nice to see such an enthusiastic crowd. Here’s Elisa mingling with guests. Everyone had such a good time.
Elisa and I also exchanged books. I signed a copy MARTHA: THE COOKBOOK and gave her some of my farm fresh eggs. She gifted me with a signed copy of Maman: The Cookbook, All-Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart.
Each guest was able to bring home a copy of MARTHA: THE COOKBOOK. If you don’t already have it, order one today. I know you’ll want to read it cover to cover and make every recipe.
The menu will be refreshed in the fall. Be sure visit a Maman Bakery and Café near you.
Business gatherings are always so much more enjoyable when accompanied by a delicious homemade meal.
Yesterday, I hosted a small luncheon at my home for a group of partners. I, along with food editor and chef Sarah Carey, planned a wonderful early summer menu for nine guests that started with chilled corn soup - so refreshing and delicious. It was followed by an endive and radicchio salad, roasted carrots just picked from my garden, pasta salad with peas and fava beans also from my garden, and tomato tart. For dessert, everyone enjoyed homemade Meyer lemon cookies, brown butter shortbread cookies, and grapefruit granitas with berries and crème fraîche. It was an excellent lunch and a most productive and interesting meeting.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
My housekeepers and I always work on the table settings together. We try to make each one different and beautiful.
And if we can, we always try to incorporate some freshly cut flowers from my gardens.
All the flowers coordinate nicely with the table settings. And small glasses of cut flowers are quick and easy to prepare and add just the perfect touch.
Look who it is – do you recognize him? This is my driver, Andres. He often helps with my lunches and dinners – serving and tending bar.
My kitchen counter is also decorated with flowers. These are some of the season’s first tiger lilies that are blooming under my long pergola.
Sarah plated the chilled corn soup and added just a touch of crème fraîche.
Every bowl was so beautifully prepared.
Guests loved this first course – every one wanted more.
The rest of the dishes were served buffet style in my kitchen. This platter is filled with a variety of different carrots roasted to perfection and then dressed with herbs, capers, and slices of blood orange.
This is such a great and easy-to-make side dish for any meal.
I also served a healthy, fresh salad with radicchio and endives, avocado, homemade croutons and a light vinaigrette dressing.
And, look at the wonderful green colors of this pasta salad – filled with peas and fava beans from my garden – just picked hours before. The pasta salad is mixed with a light dressing of buttermilk, herbs, lemon, a bit of mayonnaise and crème fraîche, salt, and pepper.
This salad was also such a big hit. I am always so happy to serve dishes made with the fresh vegetables I grow in the gardens. If you’re unfamiliar with them, fava beans, also called broad beans, are legumes with a buttery and nutty tase. I grow them every year.
This vegetarian entrée is a rich and savory tomato tart.
Sarah made two – both using juicy slices of tomato layered with grated cheese in a pâte brisée pastry crust. Tomato tart is easier to make than quiche, and some say, even more delicious.
Each guest filled their plates – this one is mine. Many went back for seconds!
Dessert included two different cookies – served on cake stands and brought to the table – free for the taking.
These are Meyer Lemon Meltaways – light and tender, sweet and citrusy.
And these are a big favorite – my Brown Butter Shortbread cookies. Brown butter enhances the texture and flavor of these cookies. Topping them with sanding sugar gives them a nice finish.
And just perfect for summer – grapefruit granita, made with just the fruit juice, and served with grapefruit segments, berries, and a dollop of crème fraîche. A wonderful lunch gathering and “meeting of the minds” – it’s a good thing.
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