A Tour Through My Gardens
The gardens at my Bedford, New York farm are changing every single day, and they look amazing.
Trees are leafing out and flowers are bursting with color and energy. Last week, the herbaceous peonies began to unfold, and we saw the first bright orange poppy open in the long, winding clematis pergola. It always amazes me how quickly plants grow from day to day. I took another early morning stroll through the gardens this weekend and took photos of various views and plantings to share with you.
Enjoy.
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- I took this photo before 6am – a beautiful image of my old corn crib just as the sun was rising.
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- Outside the side door of my Winter House is the The White Garden. Behind it are two weeping katsura trees. Several weeping katsuras were planted near the Winter House when I started landscaping the area. They have grown large and are very graceful.
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- These are ‘Miss Kim’ lilacs, which bloom in May. They are some of the most fragrant of all the lilac bushes. The light lavender blooms stand out nicely against their dark green leaves. These lilacs prefer full sun to thrive, but will also live in partial shade. It will grow to about seven feet with a mature spread of five to six feet.
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- I love this dark red beech tree growing across the carriage road from my Winter House.
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- Here on the Terrace Parterre – the boxwood and barberry. The colors add a dramatic touch to the terrace. Also in the formal garden outside my kitchen – a glorious culinary herb patch that includes chives, sage, oregano and thyme.
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- Here is a lovely view looking down the southeast paddock. The ancient apple trees continue to do well – I can’t wait for this autumn’s apple harvest.
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- Every morning, as I return to my main house from my gym building, I always love seeing the trees in the distance – full of color and life.
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- The herbaceous peony bed is also growing beautifully. Peonies are perennial plants with compound, deeply lobed leaves and large, fragrant flowers. My peony garden includes stunning shades of pink and white and contains 11-double rows of peonies. Each double row is planted with two different peony varieties and there are 22-plants in each row.
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- Here are my tree peonies. I recently planted several more specimens in this garden bed. Tree peonies are actually woody shrubs, and can reach about four or five feet tall. There are few plants that can compete with a tree peony’s flowers in full bloom – look at the beautiful blossoms!
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- Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron. They bloom vibrantly in spring with their flowers lasting several weeks.
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- Here is a view from the front of my stable looking toward my home in the distance. Everything is so lush and green.
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- Here is my Linden Tree Allee. I love this allee, and only wish it could be longer. The Linden is one of three English names for the tree genus Tilia – it’s also known as lime and basswood.
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- The boxwood look so gorgeous. We put so much time into caring for the boxwood so they remain healthy. I feel it always pays off, don’t you?
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- This is my Pin Oak Allee, Quercus palustris, with its distinguishable lower, middle and upper branches. It is one of the most popular trees for landscaping because it’s so easy to transplant and is very hardy. These trees continue to thrive here at the farm.
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- In my flower garden are several tall, round arbors that will soon be covered with flowering morning glory vines. This garden is looking so wonderful this season.
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- Here is the party lawn. On the left is my undulating clematis pergola. And on the right – a row of weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus ‘Pendula’ – the branches of these trees gracefully weep creating an umbrella of foliage that reaches the ground.
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- I love this meandering clematis pergola. I could look at it for hours – it has never looked better – so full of color and beauty.
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- The beautiful Allium – I have so many in bloom along the pergola. Allium species are herbaceous perennials with flowers produced on scapes. They grow from solitary or clustered bulbs. At each end of the pergola, are two wisterias. Wisteria gives a spectacular show of fragrant rose-pink flower clusters hanging from vigorous vines.
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- This is old Canadian white spruce fencing I imported. It surrounds all the paddocks where the horses, donkeys and pony graze. I love this view looking down between the fenced enclosures.
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- Aesculus hippocastanum is a large deciduous tree commonly known as the horse chestnut or conker tree. The flowers provide a rich source of nectar and pollen to insects, particularly the bees.
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- The individual flowers have four to five fringed petals, which are white with a pink flush at the base.
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- These blossoms appear on erect, eight-inch long panicles at each branch tip – they’re very attractive, and always draw lots of attention whenever guests see them in bloom. What is growing in your gardens right now? Let me know in the comments section below.
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