Two Garden Tours at My Farm

June 17, 2017

There is so much growing and blooming at the farm - it's a perfect time for a garden tour.

As many of you know, every now and then, I agree to small, guided walks around my property. The most recent group included members from the Briarcliff Manor Garden Club and winners from an Alisa Brides auction. We also included a group of visitors from one of my favorite gardening sources, Johnny's Selected Seeds. Unfortunately, because of my busy travel and work schedule, I am not always able to lead these tours myself, but all the guests had a very thorough and enjoyable visit with my head gardener, Ryan McCallister.

Here are some photos of what they saw - enjoy.

: When two tours are scheduled, we usually conduct one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Our morning tour began with a walk through my cutting garden. Every group experiences a different tour when they visit the farm depending on what is blooming at the time.

: The group came on a perfect weather day, when it wasn’t too warm or too humid. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, oversees these guided walks when I am in our New York office or away traveling. This week, I have been shooting the next season of “Martha Bakes” which is on PBS.

: The group saw the Pin Oak Allee, Quercus palustris, which looks fuller every week with its distinguishable lower, middle and upper branches forming a most interesting growth habit.

: Along the way, my executive assistant, Shqipe Berisha, and my property manager, Fred Jacobsen, stopped to say hello to our guests – it was my dear Chow Chow, Peluche, however, that won all the attention.

: Another stop was the Party Lawn. It is looking so lush and green. On the left is my long clematis pergola, and on the right, the weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus Pendula. During summer parties, this lawn is great for playing croquet.

: Visitors always ask about the fences that surround all the paddocks. These attractive fences are made of antique wood I purchased during a trip to Canada. It looks so natural here at the farm – as if it has always been part of the landscape.

: At one end of the Boxwood Allee is this beautiful weeping copper beech, Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea Pendular’, an irregular spreading tree with long, weeping branches that reach the ground.

: This is my American beech grove. The American beech, or Fagus grandifolia, is the species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and Canada.

: Every group touring the farm loves the winding road into the woodlands. During this time of year, it is shaded by a lovely canopy of foliage.

: The Boxwood Allee on the way to the stable always grabs everyone’s attention.

: The group walked past the great white pine trees. Pinus Strobus is a large pine native to eastern North America. Some white pines can live more than 400-years.

: This is a newer allee of linden trees, Tilia. Linden can grow from about 65 to 130 feet in height. It develops dense, pyramidal or round-shaped crowns and can live several hundred years.

: During the warmer months, I love to display tropical plants around the farm. These palms look so pretty in the stable courtyard.

: In the nearby vegetable garden, Chhewang places salt hay in the footpaths of the garden beds.

: Here is our long bed of zucchini – these will be so tasty come harvest time.

: The garden behind my Summer House is always a favorite stop on the tour. The boxwood and growing lilies look very lush and green. This garden will soon be blooming with color.

: And, the large ginkgo tree looked as majestic as ever in all its foliage.

: Throughout the walking tour, Ryan answered questions and explained the care and maintenance of all the gardens.

: Unfortunately, peonies only bloom for about seven to 10 days, but their shining green foliage lasts the season before dying back to the ground in winter. These peonies were just deadheaded, but there are still a few flowers for guests to see.

: Here is a lovely view looking down the length of the southeast paddock to the chicken coops in the distance.

: This is the view outside my terrace parterre. Since I moved to the farm, I’ve planted thousands of trees – looking at them all never gets tiring.

: My longtime housekeeper, Laura, set up some refreshments on the lower terrace parterre outside my kitchen. Here she is pouring some cool pomegranate juice made using concentrate from our friends at http://www.pomwonderful.com/

: More old fencing in front of two ancient apple trees. This antique Canadian white spruce fencing has held up wonderfully over the years.

: Here is a quick photo of our auction winners from Alisa Brides.

: And here is the group from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They traveled all the way from Maine.

: Our second tour group started down closer to my chicken coops, where I house more than 200-chickens – we keep all the coops very clean.

: Here, Wilmer is also spreading salt hay and checking on all the growing vegetables. I am glad our crops are thriving despite the erratic weather here in the Northeast.

: The next stop was my stable to visit my five Friesian horses, Fell pony and three Sicilian donkeys.

: My stable manager, Sarah Levins, stood by my Fell pony, Banchunch, and answered lots of questions about the care of horses here at the farm.

: Here is the Pin Oak Allee from the other side – such a lovely stand of trees. Pin oak typically grows to between 50 and 75 feet in height, with a trunk diameter of one to three feet.

: Ryan explained how we wrap all the boxwood in winter under a cover of burlap to protect the shrubs from the elements.

: I love these weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus ‘Pendula’ – the branches of these trees gracefully weep creating an umbrella of foliage that reaches the ground.

: As our guests continued their tour, Ryan showed them these gorgeous Bald cypress trees, or Taxodium distichum. These trees are deciduous conifers that shed their needle-like leaves in the fall. In fact, they got their name “bald” cypress because they lose their leaves so early in the winter season.

: I am very fond of climbing hydrangeas growing on trees – I have a lot of them on various trunks around the farm – they all look so pretty.

: All the guests love my meandering clematis pergola.

: Clematis is a genus of about 300-species. They are mostly vigorous, woody, climbing vines. They need at least six hours of sun a day, and should be planted in well-drained soil. They have deep roots, so they should also be watered thoroughly.

: Here is another clematis. These plants are valued for their ability to climb, and to scramble up walls, fences and other structures. They grow in any good garden soil and their roots usually do well in moist cool areas where they can get full sun.

: The tour also took the group past the beautiful Malus ‘Gravenstein’ espalier apple trees. There were lots of small fruits for everyone to see. I love these crisp and juicy apples, which are great for eating, cooking and baking.

: These attractive apples were first introduced to western North America in the early 19th century with the Russian fur traders that settled in California’s Sonoma Valley. I can’t wait for apple picking season.

: Here is my housekeeper, Sanu, pouring delicious pomegranate punch for everyone.

: We also offered a selection of delicious homemade cookies to both groups.

: Here are some beautifully colored peonies from my garden – Laura never forgets to add beautiful blooms to the table.

: Here’s Blackie coming by to get some attention from the guests. These are the gardens right outside my Winter House on my terrace parterre, where I also plant herbs, so they are easily accessible from my kitchen.

: Here, on the upper terrace parterre – vibrant barberry and boxwood, with purple Alliums. Allium species are herbaceous perennials with flowers produced on scapes. They grow from solitary or clustered bulbs.