Photos of My Farm
It's always so interesting to see photos taken by others at my farm.
This week, my friend Ruth Oratz, M.D. came by for a brief visit to take some pictures of the gardens - they are all blooming so beautifully this time of year. She walked through the perennial flower cutting garden, the herbaceous peony bed, and the sunken garden behind my Summer House. Dr. Oratz shares my passion for photography. We both take lots of nature photos, especially in the early mornings when the sun is low in the sky.
Here are some of the images Dr. Oratz captured along with a few I took as the sun rose over my beloved Cantitoe Corners, enjoy.
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- I took this photo very early in the morning before 6am. I love seeing the early morning fog over the paddocks. During this time when the temperature is lower near the ground, if there is enough humidity in the air, haze and fog will form.
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- I captured this photo from my large terrace parterre with the sun rising over the treeline.
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- Here is another image. One can see the fog lifting on the left as it gets brighter and brighter.
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- One of the first things I do in the morning is to let my cats outside. They both stay very close to the house. Here is Empress Tang watching something very intently from the stone wall.
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- This is one of my favorite views – the old apple trees surrounded by the antique white spruce fence and the stable in the distance.
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- I took this one just a couple of minutes before six – the sun is a bit higher and the skies are gorgeous blue.
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- And here’s a photo looking at the row of ‘Miss Kim’ Korean lilac standards behind my dwarf apple espalier and carport. Passing by, one can smell the fragrant blooms.
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- Dr. Oratz came by around 8am. This is one of the first photos she took – the flower garden filled with gorgeous blooms and bright green foliage with the greenhouse in the background.
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- The addition of the sawtooth styled black granite bricks and gravel made such a change in this garden. In this photo – an iris bloom and its bold green strappy leaves.
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- She admired all the lupines. Lupines come in lovely shades of pink, purple, red, white, yellow, and even red.
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- Their flowers are produced in dense or open whorls on erect spikes.
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- Lupine flowers may be annual and last only for a season or perennial, returning for a few years in the same spot in which they were planted. There are so many of them in my garden this season.
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- Outside the fence, Dr. Oratz took this panoramic view looking at the front of the flower garden.
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- She walked along the carriage road toward my home and stopped to take this picture of my Tenant House behind the Stewartia Garden. The Tenant House is where my daughter, Alexis, and her children, Jude and Truman, stay when they visit.
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- Dr. Oratz also took this photo of my Malus ‘Gravenstein’ espalier apple trees. I love the crisp and juicy apples which are wonderful to eat and great for cooking and baking. I bought these trees in 2010, and I am happy they’ve done so well in this location in front of my home.
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- Here is a photo looking up at my Winter House and my newly enclosed porch where my cheerful Red Factor canaries reside. The boxwood and golden barberry are always so eye-catching.
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- Turning in the opposite direction, Dr, Oratz took this photo of the large horse paddock with the four chicken coops in the distance.
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- And of course, she visited the peony garden. Every spring, this garden is one of the most anticipated sights on the farm. Everyone loves the gorgeous peonies. When I first planted my peony garden, I focused on pink varieties and planted 11-double rows of 22-peony types. This one is very light pink.
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- The peonies are coming up so beautifully – more and more blossoms open up every day.
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- Here is a semi-double peony with fragrant, coral-pink petals and a golden center. The foliage is dark green and attractive, and it blooms early. I will share more photos when all the flowers are open.
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- In the Summer House garden, Dr. Oratz took photos of the growing hostas with their big leaves. Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies, and occasionally by the Japanese name, giboshi. They are native to northeast Asia and include hundreds of different cultivars.
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- Cotinus, also known as smoke bush or smoke tree, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. They are a great choice for massing or for hedges. The stunning dark red-purple foliage turns scarlet in autumn and has plume-like seed clusters, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.
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- Here, she took a photo of one of the white alliums growing just in front of this bright green hosta.
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- Here’s a black and white photo she captured of alliums. The lilies will soon be blooming here also.
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- Dr. Oratz also took this black and white photo – one of seven faux bois planters I acquired a few years ago, soon to be planted.
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- I designed this formal garden several years ago and have been adding more and more plants here every year. One of the focal points is a large ginkgo tree at the end of this stone footpath. This garden is just behind my Summer House, where I often entertain. Thanks for sharing your photos, Dr. Oratz. It is always a pleasure to see what others choose to photograph.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
