Maintaining My Pergola Garden
The gardens at my Bedford, New York farm continue to flourish.
This time of year can be very hectic - my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are busy keeping up with all the rapid growth in the garden beds. Many days are spent weeding, pruning and maintaining the many plants and shrubs. This week, the crew tackled the back of my long and winding pergola. The other day, I shared photos of one side filled with hundreds of bright orange tiger lilies. On the other side, I grow Rose of Sharon, underplanted with catnip, Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’, and hundreds of spring-blooming bulbs - all bordered by a long row of boxwood.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This side of my long pergola is one of the first areas I see when I drive into my property. My guests particularly love the display of lilies that bloom here every summer.
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- On the other side, I planted the entire length of the pergola with Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus – upright deciduous shrubs that produce colorful, cup-shaped flowers in summer and fall.
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- Rose of Sharon is valued for its tight form and large blossoms in shades of blue, lavender, pink, and white – providing a lovely show of color when few other plants are in bloom.
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- I have some pink Rose of Sharon, but most of them are blue in this area.
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- Like other types of hibiscus, its flowers bear a striking stamen – these flowers get many bee visitors.
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- I also have a white Rose of Sharon.
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- Last year, we removed some of the shrubs to give others more light and more air circulation. This year, they’re doing so well and are filled with many, many blooms.
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- Here’s Ryan cutting out the catnip that is growing below. Nepeta cataria, commonly known as catnip, catswort, catwort, and catmint, is a species of the genus Nepeta in the family Lamiaceae, and native to southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of China. It’s a perennial herb, and cats love the smell of the essential oils, which are in the plant stems and leaves.
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- I have grown catnip for many years, specifically for my cats, but it is also good in tea. Catnip herb grows best in well-draining soil in the full sun but will tolerate part sun and a wide variety of soil types.
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- Once catnip plants are established, they need very little in the way of care, and they grow very fast.
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- Ryan continues down the entire length of the pergola cutting and gathering the catnip as he goes. Ryan is also wearing my Non-Slip Garden Gloves from my collection at QVC – these gloves are so useful and comfortable to wear, even in the heat of summer.
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- Blackie is never far when the catnip is harvested – here he is in a shady spot.
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- The best time to harvest catnip is mid-morning or early afternoon to minimize any mold.
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- Once the catnip is all cut, it will be spread out to dry completely for several weeks.
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- On the edge of the pergola on both sides, the boxwood shrubs have grown very well. These shrubs were grown from small seedlings right here on my farm.
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- In between the boxwood shrubs, we planted Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’ – a unique perennial in the mint family Lamiaceae, with most species native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and southeastern Australia.
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- Ajuga has lush dark burgundy-black foliage that blankets the ground when mature. We planted three in each spot – two in the back and one in front.
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- It isn’t long before Blackie finds a patch of catnip all to himself.
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- Some of the catnip will dry here inside the nearby corn crib, which is original to the farm. More catnip will dry in an empty hoop house where I store tropical plants during winter.
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- Phurba spreads it out, so each plant can get adequate air circulation.
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- This garden faces the soccer field, where my grandson, Truman, loves to play when he visits – it’s one of my favorite areas of the farm. The bed is now weeded, and clear of catnip. It looks great.
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