Planting the Skylands Terrace 2022
My large “iced terrace” at Skylands, my home overlooking Seal Harbor, is brimming with beautiful, green plant life once again.
Every year, I like to spend the Memorial Day weekend up in Maine planting all the large outdoor urns, pots, and planters. It is quite an undertaking, but it's become a fun tradition especially with the group that accompanies me. Many of the tropical and exotic specimens are stored in a hoop house at my Bedford, New York farm during winter, and then carefully loaded onto a trailer and delivered to Skylands for the summer months. As soon as I arrive there, I design the layout of where things will go, and we all get to work.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- This trip to Maine is one that I look forward to every spring. Here I am on my faux bois bench with the dense fog over Seal Harbor behind me.
-
- Out front on the driveway are some of the plants taken out of the trailer after being transported from my greenhouses in Bedford. I decide where each plant will go before they are moved – staying organized saves lots of time and energy.
-
- Here are some of the smaller specimens we use as under plantings in the big pots. Everything is put out first, so we know exactly what we have to work with.
-
- We always have a varied selection of plant material for all of the urns. Some of these plants were grown in my greenhouse here in Maine. Propagating this way saves a lot of cost.
-
- These are called Birds of Paradise, Strelitzia reginae – a species of evergreen tropical herbaceous plant native to South Africa. Looking closely one can see the split leaves that are believed to be purposeful leaf tearing or lobing of leaves to reduce drag in the wind. They have evolved to create splits along their lateral leaf seams to allow the wind to pass by and not get snapped in half.
-
- Here are Peter Grub and Moises Fuentes moistening the soil in the wheelbarrow. Everyone takes turns doing everything – from moving and preparing the plants to moistening the potting mix, to filling the pots, to planting.
-
- One by one everything gets nicely planted in their designated urn. This is one of two giant Soderholtz pots – Eric Ellis Soderholtz was a pioneer in American garden pottery at the turn of the last century, turning concrete into these gorgeous vessels. I planted it with one of the Birds of Paradise.
-
- Here’s Wendy Norling, one of my gardeners at Skylands. She planted the stone trough I bought at Trade Secrets several years ago. It has worked perfectly here at Skylands, and looks beautiful planted up with succulents.
-
- Behind this planted urn are the lush green kiwi vines growing on my home. Kiwi vines can tolerate a lot of different light conditions, but more exposure to sun brings out better colors in the leaves, some of which can be variegated.
-
- More kiwi vines grow on above the Western Terrace – one of my favorite summer meal spots. The faux bois pots are planted with agaves that were also transported to Skylands from my Bedford farm. Caring for agaves is easy when planted in the right location. Agaves need full sun – my large terrace here at Skylands is the perfect place.
-
- Here is one side of the terrace after a hard day’s work. It is looking excellent – I can’t wait to see it all filled out – bold and lush later in the season.
-
- Skylands gardener, Mike Harding, cleans up after our long afternoon of planting. This day was cloudy with lots of fog, but still very nice conditions for a successful gardening day.
-
- Early the next morning, we all went to Asticou Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor, Maine. Asticou Azalea Garden was created in 1956 by lifelong Maine resident, Charles Kenneth Savage, who was inspired by his love of native plants and his study of Japanese garden design. The Garden and its pond are open to the public from May to October each year.
-
- Quaint stone steps allow visitors to cross the stream.
-
- This “sand garden” built along the eastern edge of the stream, uses rocks and raked sand to suggest islands surrounded by flowing water. The sandy area is offered to visitors as places for quiet contemplation. Gardens of raked sand and stone are referred to as karesansui, which means dry landscape gardens in Japanese.
-
- Another favorite stop whenever I go to Maine is Triple Chick Farm, a certified organic farm dedicated to producing healthy, organic food. Here I am with Kevin Sharkey, Hannah Milman, and Douglas Friedman – three “regulars” that join me at Skylands every spring.
-
- Back at the house, Kevin always creates the most gorgeous flower arrangements. Here he is with Douglas and all the lilacs cut and ready for Kevin to arrange – the fragrance of all these blooms is intoxicating.
-
- Did you see this on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48? It is my tree peony on my terrace. I counted 61 blooms. It is so beautiful.
-
- Here’s one of the lilac arrangements completed by Kevin in my Living Room. The lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae. Syringa is a genus of up to 30-cultivated species with more than one-thousand varieties.
-
- Another one sits on the faux bois table in my Living Hall. Lilacs come in seven colors: pink, violet, blue, lilac, red, purple, and white. The purple lilacs have the strongest scent compared to other colors.
-
- And these lilacs are in my large Dining Room. When cutting lilacs, cut them right at their peak, when color and scent are strongest, and place them in a vase as soon as possible. Every arrangement is stunning. Thanks, Kevin.
-
- The nights were chilly up in Maine. We had a fire going every evening in the Living Hall fireplace. In my next blog, I’ll share photos from all the great foods we ate during this fun trip to Maine. Stay tuned.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
