My Tropical Plants Around the Farm
I love large urns filled with tropical plants.
As many of you know, I have a rather sizable collection of tropical specimens at my Bedford, New York farm. During the winter, they are all stored in a special greenhouse. Once warm weather arrives, they are brought out for display - some go to my home in Maine, some go to my home in East Hampton, and the remaining plants are placed in various locations here at Cantitoe Corners.
It is a big undertaking to move all these plants at the beginning and end of each season. Thankfully, I have the help of a strong outdoor grounds crew and some heavy duty farm equipment to get the job done - enjoy these photos.
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- Every year, all my tropical plants are taken out of storage and moved to their warm weather locations.
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- This is the plastic hoop house where many of my tropical plants are stored during the cold weather. They actually spend about seven-months of the year in this heated shelter.
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- My outdoor grounds crew uses this John Deere tractor to move many of them.
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- Moving these tropical specimens is a tedious task – some of the larger potted plants weigh hundreds of pounds.
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- I love displaying a group of tropical plants in my courtyard just behind my Winter House.
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- The sago palm, Cycas revoluta, is a popular houseplant known for its feathery foliage and ease of care. Sago palms prefer to be situated in well-drained soil, and like other cycad plants, do not respond well to overwatering.
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- The plants surround one of two huge cast iron sugar kettles I keep as fire pits at the farm. They add such a nice accent to the landscape and have always been fun conversation pieces during gatherings. Originally, these kettles were essential to sugar production and came in different sizes depending on the stage and type of operation.
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- I also have smaller sago palms on this stone ledge – they look so pretty all lined up together.
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- Next to my carport, several potted bird’s nest ferns are positioned on another ledge under a catalpa tree. Bird’s-nest fern is a common name for several related species of epiphytic ferns in the genus Asplenium.
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- I am so happy these tropical plants do so well here at the farm.
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- More tropical specimens sit on the stone ledge at the front entrance.
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- These potted agaves are so beautiful, but be sure to keep them in low traffic areas, as their spikes can be very painful. And always wear gloves and eye protection when dividing because the sap can burn.
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- This is one of two agaves we placed by the front gate. The urn is antique, and made of lead – it weighs several hundred pounds.
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- I have a large variety of special planters – antiques and reproductions, planters made of stone, lead, fiberglass and resin, and in a wide array of shapes and sizes.
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- This collection of tropicals is located in front of my Summer House.
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- The plants are all arranged with enough space in between them, so they don’t touch each other.
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- This is the courtyard in front of my stable. We decorated it with Phoenix roebelenii, also known as pygmy date palm, a popular ornamental plant.
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- Pygmy date palms are small to medium-sized, slow-growing slender trees that grow up to 10-feet tall.
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- In front of our stable offices are Bismarkia palms, Bismarckia nobilis, which grow from solitary trunks, gray to tan in color, and slightly bulging at the base.
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- This year, we placed more potted agaves on the back side of my stable. Agaves are exotic, deer-resistant, drought-tolerant plants that can live happily in containers.
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- Blue agave plants lend themselves well to container growing since their roots do not mind being crowded.
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- The hoop house is empty – every plant is thriving outdoors in the fresh air until it’s time to put them all back in for winter storage once again.
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