Summer Gardens at Skylands
The gardens and plants around my beloved home in Maine continue to thrive.
So many of you have expressed how much you enjoy my updates and photos of Skylands, my home in Seal Harbor, Maine. As you know, I like to spend as much time there as possible, especially when I’m joined by my family and friends. When I am not there, Cheryl DuLong, who works at Skylands, keeps me updated with photos. Right now, there are so many beautiful flowers blooming in the cutting garden, and so much lush, green foliage in the woodlands.
Here are some of Cheryl's latest images, enjoy.
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- Every year, we always hang a series of fern-filled planters under the pergola on the Western Terrace – it adds such a lovely touch of greenery to the space. These ferns, Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’, are among the most popular varieties with its frilly leaves and long, hanging fronds.
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- On the ledge, all the specimens we planted over Memorial Day Weekend are looking so beautiful. This is a ponytail palm, Beaucarnea recurvata – a species of plant in the family Asparagaceae. It has a sleek bulb-like trunk with lush, long leaves.
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- This part of the woodland is filled with beautiful moss. Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations.
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- This rhododendron near one of my natural pools begins to bloom in July with gorgeous pale pink and white flowers. Rhododendrons are prized for these big, showy flower clusters and the glossy green foliage.
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- Cheryl also took photos of all the many mushrooms that are growing around my home. A mushroom is the fleshy spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. Fungus thrives in moist areas and loves growing on decaying wood. They are also an important part of the forest ecosystem. Because they live off of decaying plant matter, fungus breaks down and disposes of fallen tree branches, leaves, and even animals.
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- All the moisture in recent weeks has allowed the fungi that produce mushrooms to proliferate. There are all kinds of mushrooms growing.
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- And in all different shapes and sizes.
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- Also growing now are the raspberries – lots and lots of raspberries. Cheryl has already picked and frozen more than three quarts of these delicious fruits. My family will surely enjoy them this summer.
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- And look at all the beautiful snapdragons growing in my flower cutting garden. There are so many different colors. Antirrhinum is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers or snapdragons because of the flowers’ fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when squeezed. They are native to rocky areas of Europe, the United States, and North Africa.
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- This variety is ‘Apple Blossom’ with its lavish, full-sized snapdragons reaching up to 36 inches. Heavy trusses of large, velvety-textured blooms in true apple-blossom pink, contrast with pale gold to white.
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- Snapdragons come in pastels and bright shades and are available in a variety of colors, including white, yellow, pink, red, orange, peach, purple and violet. Some varieties are bicolor, featuring two colors. All the tall flowers in the garden are supported by four inch netting.
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- Rudbeckias are easy-to-grow perennials featuring golden, daisy-like flowers with black or purple centers, and include the popular black-eyed Susan. Rudbeckia’s bright, summer-blooming flowers give the best effect when planted in masses in a border or wildflower meadow.
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- And here is a row of zinnias. Zinnias are native to the dry grasslands from the Southwestern United States to South America, and in Mexico.
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- Zinnia flowers come in a variety of colors including pink, red, purple, orange, yellow, lavender, white and even green. The only color Zinnia flowers are not available in is blue. Zinnias also come in a wide variety of flower shapes with stars, daisies, dahlias, spiders, buttons, domes, and quill-leaf cactus forms.
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- Here is another zinnia in a creamy peach color. Zinnias do best in full sun, and although they are adaptable to most soil conditions, the ideal soil is rich in organic matter and well-drained.
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- We also have phlox. Phlox has superb heat and mildew resistance. They thrive in Skylands and at my farm. Phlox is a tall and upright grower that’s great for the back of the border, or even planted at the edge of the garden among the shrubs. Phlox also comes in a range of colors from pure white to lavender to even red and grows happily in most parts of the country. If properly planted and sited, phlox is largely pest and disease free too – a perfect perennial.
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- Growing at the end of our row of artichokes is our Astilbes. Astilbes are wonderful shade perennials, known for their dark green foliage and plume-like blossoms. Flowers bloom mid-summer and make charming fresh or dried cut flowers.
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- Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine. Clematis, pronounced KLEH-muh-tis, are native to China and Japan and known to be vigorous growers. This one is a deep pink color.
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- My vegetable garden and flower cutting garden are together in one large space completely surrounded by a tall fence. Growing along this trellis are the cucumber plants. We have a few cucumbers already growing at my Bedford farm, but at Skylands, it will be a few more weeks before the fruits are ready to harvest.
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- And here are the artichoke plants – planted in an area outside the vegetable garden fence because deer don’t care for them. Because we’ve had so many warm days, this is a great year for artichokes – there will be many to enjoy this season.
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- My gardener, Mike Harding, made this woodland moss arrangement for inside my home. Moss is a very slow growing wild plant so it should never be harvested in large amounts – in fact, it is illegal to take any moss from national forests without permission. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish.
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- And here is another miniature woodland arrangement in the living room. I love to fill several of my planters with natural elements. Various mosses, lichens, seedlings, pine needles, stones, and old pieces of wood are brought in to create miniature forests that last all season long. Skylands is such a magical place for me and my family – I can’t wait to return. Thanks for the photos, Cheryl.
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