My Terrace Gardens
We're making lots of progress with our long list of spring chores here at my farm.
This time of year can be very hectic - my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are busy keeping up with all the rapid growth. Many days are spent mowing the pastures, trimming and pruning the trees and shrubs, mulching the beds, prepping the vegetable and flower gardens - and of course, weeding. This week, the crew tackled the formal terrace parterres outside my Winter House, clipping and grooming the bright golden barberry hedges.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Along the side of my Winter House overlooking the farm, I have a large stone terrace with formal hedged gardens. For the upper terrace, I have contrasting evergreen shrubs – boxwood, and golden barberry.
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- To provide interest, these hedges are sheared to different heights, creating a layered or step effect. During the year, we prune them to maintain their shape.
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- We needed to do the golden barberry first. This is how it looks before it is trimmed.
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- Golden barberry, Berberis thunbergii, is a deciduous shrub that is compact, adaptable, very hardy and shows off striking small, golden yellow oblong leaves.
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- Both barbery and boxwood are known for being robust when grown under lots of sun. Golden barberry also takes on its brightest coloring if it gets at least six hours of direct sun a day. The bright orange landscape twine is placed at the corners to provide a guide for trimming.
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- Trimming is mostly done with hand shears to give them a more clean and manicured appearance. Phurba starts from the top of the shrub and works his way down. He is using Okatsune 30-inch long Hedge Shears. Okatsune shears are light and precise, and come in a range of sizes.
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- Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The leaves are arranged opposite from each other, making pairs.
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- This is a variegated boxwood shrub, meaning its leaves are edged or patterned in a second color – white.
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- This chore is time-consuming and takes a couple of days to complete.
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- There are lots of clippings to clear away, but I am pleased these hedges are doing so well.
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- Once the barberry is trimmed, the terrace looks so much better – the golden barberry hedges are all level and they will get more gold in the weeks ahead. Next, Phurba will groom the boxwood.
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- This in my antique sugar pot in the center walkway. Sugar kettles were used on 19th century Louisiana plantations for the production of sugar. In the winter, I use it as a fire pit when entertaining.
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- Also showing beautiful spring growth is this large weeping katsura tree outside my window. The katsura tree, native to Japan, makes an excellent specimen or shade tree. The weeping katsura, Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. pendulum, has pendulous branches that fan out from the crown and sweep the ground.
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- The leaves are heart-shaped blue-green.
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- This is one of two weeping camperdown elms, Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii.’ Camperdown elms slowly develop broad, flat heads and wide crowns with weeping branch habits that grow down towards the ground. This is how it looks in spring.
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- It is full of seed pods in a light silvery green. In summer, it will be covered in dark, bold green leaves.
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- Here, under my servery windows – a lovely collection of ferns.
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- There is also spring-blooming fritillaria. Commonly known as Guinea Hen Flower, Checkered Lily or Snake’s Head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris is an heirloom species dating back to 1575. It has pendant, bell-shaped, checkered and veined flowers that are either maroon or ivory-white with grass-like foliage on slender stems.
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- Here is a bright creamy light yellow tulip just about to open.
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- And here is one of two hand-casted antique fountains I purchased many year ago. It is turned on with the smallest dome of water possible – I wanted to be sure it was an attractive spot for visiting birds.
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- The fountain is surrounded with smaller boxwood shrubs and a sculpted boxwood hedge. I love this view looking over the peaceful fountains and out onto the pretty spring landscape – everything is looking so strong, healthy, and beautiful.
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