Late Summer Garden Tours at Skylands
As many of you know, every now and then I enjoy opening my gardens for private walking tours at both my Bedford, New York farm and at my beloved home in Seal Harbor, Maine.
Not long ago, I agreed to two late summer walks at Skylands - one for a group from the Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and the other for volunteers from the Beth Wright Cancer Resource Center in Ellsworth, Maine. Unfortunately, because of my busy work schedule back in New York, I was not able to join the tours, but my gardeners, Mike Harding and Wendy Norling, guided the walks through the wooded paths, sunny terraces and gardens. Cheryl Dulong keeps me updated by sending photographs from time to time, and she just sent me this selection of images showing some of the beautiful flowers that were blooming during the tours. This season, there are many dahlias, zinnias and rudbeckias - so much color and beauty.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Here is a late summer view of Seal Harbor from my terrace at Skylands. These untreated natural teak chaises longues are some of the most popular seats at my home – the views are breathtaking.
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- And just up these steps from the main terrace is my West Terrace, where I often enjoy summer brunches under the kiwi vine covered pergola. The planters on the ledge are filled with silver-blue agave and ‘Silver Falls’ dichondra.
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- Although it is not well seen in this photo, this planter is one of a pair made sometime in the 18th to 19th century. This year, we planted it with Lady’s palm, Rhapis excelsa, and Parrot’s Beak lotus, Lotus berthelotii.
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- Lotus berthelotii is a perennial plant endemic to the Canary Islands, in the genus Lotus. Among its common names are lotus vine flower, parrot beak, pelican beak, and coral gem. During spring seasons with cool nights, the plants show interesting curved blooms in beautiful crimson red.
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- I planted this Soderholtz pot with Bird of Paradise. The Bird of Paradise is best known for its banana shaped leaves and bird shaped tropical flowers. It is underplanted with Lysimachia.
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- And here is my long stone trough planted with succulents. We planted it in color blocks with pink gravel – the same pink gravel that covers the carriage roads at Skylands. These are some of the succulents that were rooted over the winter from cuttings and pups.
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- Cheryl took this beautiful photo soon after the succulents were watered – the beads of water are so crystal-like.
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- The echeveria succulent grows beautiful bell-shaped yellow to orange flowers with red tips.
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- These pathways lead to my guest house, play house and main house. Each season, the outdoor grounds crew covers the meandering footpaths with pine needles – they add such charm to the woodland.
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- The group walks up the steps from the pine needle path to my main house. The rocks on the outside of the stone steps are called “Rockefeller’s Teeth” – large blocks that serve as guardrails. These coping stones are cut roughly and spaced irregularly to create a rustic appearance.
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- So many of the dahlias are just bursting with color at Skylands. Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family along with daisies and sunflowers. They are generally most hardy in USDA zones 7 through 11.
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- Dahlias originated as wildflowers in the high mountain regions of Mexico and Guatemala – that’s why they naturally work well and bloom happily in cooler temperatures. This is Dahlia “Ben Huston” – a clean clear bronze color with excellent substance, depth and form.
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- This is Dahlia ‘Kaiser Wilhelm’, first introduced in 1892. Its three-inch flowers have neatly curled petals of soft custard-yellow brushed with burgundy, and a green button eye just like that of an old rose.
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- In the cold climates of North America, dahlias are known as tuberous-rooted tender perennials, grown from small, brown, biennial tubers planted in the spring.
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- Dahlias thrive in rich, well-drained soil. The pH level of should be 6.5 to 7.0 and slightly acidic.
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- The majority of dahlia species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars, but they are brightly colored to attract pollinating insects. Dahlias come in a rainbow of colors and even range in size, from the giant 10-inch “dinnerplate” blooms to the two-inch lollipop-style pompons. Most varieties grow four to five feet tall.
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- Dahlias are colorful spiky flowers which generally bloom from midsummer to first frost, when many other plants are past their best.
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- Here is a group photo of those from the Berkshire Botanical Garden, a 15-acre garden, which includes more than three-thousand species and varieties of plants that thrive in the Berkshires.
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- Rudbeckias are easy-to-grow perennials featuring golden, daisylike flowers with black or purple centers, and include the popular black-eyed Susan.
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- So many of the zinnias are also blooming in the cutting garden. Zinnias are native to Mexico and Central America. The Aztecs originally called them “plants that are hard on the eyes” because of their colorful flowers. Zinnia is named after Johann Gottfried Zinn, a German botany professor who discovered the plants and brought them to Europe in the 1700s.
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- Zinnia plants range from six-inches tall to about four-feet tall. There are varieties with single or double petaled flowers in almost all the colors of the rainbow.
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- Zinnias flower mid to late in the season and are great for attracting hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. The large-flowered varieties provide pollen and nectar in late summer when native sources run low.
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- When cutting zinnias for flower arrangements, pick the flowers in the morning when they’re fully open. Unlike other cut flowers, zinnias do not continue to open once cut and brought indoors.
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- All my garden tours conclude with refreshments. Here on the West Terrace, guests are served refreshing iced-tea, homemade cookies and a brief overview of the property along with various photos and information on the work of landscape architect, Jens Jensen.
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- Here is another view of the West Terrace. These ferns, Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’, are among the most popular varieties with its frilly leaves and long, hanging fronds.
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- Cheryl took this photo looking up at the kiwi vines – can you see any kiwi up there?
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- And here’s another group shot – this one of some of the members from the Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center. In the back row, fourth from the left is Amy Kurman, who worked for me as a gardener at Skylands some years ago. I am glad everyone enjoyed their visit.
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