Sometimes a garden needs a complete redesign — a fresh start that revitalizes the space and makes room for new, young plants.
This week, I decided to transform the large garden bed behind my farm’s vegetable greenhouse. The space had previously been used for growing dahlias, but I thought it would be the perfect location for a beautiful collection of roses, including my own Martha Stewart Hybrid Tea Rose. The bed receives full sun and is protected from strong winds, making it an ideal location. My gardeners and outdoor grounds crew removed the old plants, tilled and amended the soil, and then started planting.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This bed was once filled with dahlias. They had all served me well over the years, producing many beautiful and colorful blooms, but they were aging and the garden needed a good overhaul. Here it is cleared of plants and sprinkled with a generous amount of fertilizer.
Fertilizer replaces lost nutrients, so levels are acceptable for healthy growth. I use Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed All Purpose Plant Food, a slow-release fertilizer formulated to nourish a wide variety of plants for up to three months.
Rototilling is one method of turning up the soil before planting. It also helps to loosen any other root balls that may have been left deep in the bed. I always rototill the earth before planting a new garden.
As Phurba moves, he makes sure to overlap his passes slightly, so every bit of soil is covered. Tilling also helps to level the ground as it turns over the soil.
The machine is set to till the soil at about six to eight inches deep. It is not a heavy piece of equipment, but does need to be pushed slowly through the soil to work it well.
Here, one can see the tilled dark, rich soil. In the foreground is nutrient-rich soil that has been tilled. In the back is soil that Phurba still has to go over.
Phurba goes over the entire space with a long hard rake to level the bed.
The soil is amended with compost. I am so proud of my compost that is made right here at my farm. Quality compost provides nutrients, improves soil structure, and supports beneficial microorganisms.
Phurba uses a garden pitchfork to lift and drop the compost across the garden.
Then he uses a hard rake, or bow rake, to break up any soil clumps and spread it evenly.
Industrial weed cloth is placed around the perimeter of the bed to keep pesky weeds from growing. I like to use strong landscape staples in the center and edges to keep it in place.
The roses are selected and brought to the garden. And then under Ryan’s direction, Phurba places the potted roses where they need to be.
I wanted the plants in perfectly straight rows.
Every row is checked multiple times from every angle before any plant is removed from its pot.
These roses are from Star Roses and Plants, a company of brands that focuses on breeding and introducing specimens offering longer-lasting, disease resistant blooms. They came to me as bare-roots and have developed nicely over the last year. Some of the varieties choses for this garden are ‘Raspberry Cupcake,’ ‘Bolero,’ ‘Apricot Candy,’ ‘Ball Gown Romantica,’ ‘Beverly,’ ‘Coco Loco,’
‘Top Cream,’ ‘Sunbelt Savannah,’ ‘Princesse Charlene de Monaco,’
‘Francis Meilland,’ and
‘Liv Tyler.’ Around the garden, I wanted my rose, the Martha Stewart Hybrid Tea Rose, which when in bloom shows off more than 100 lush pink to apricot petals and a citrus-honeysuckle scent.
Rose leaves are borne alternately on the stem. In most species, they are about two to five inches long, pinnate, with at least three leaflets and basal stipules. The leaflets also usually have a serrated margin. and remember, rose stems are often armed with sharp prickles, not thorns. A prickle can be easily broken off the plant because it is really a feature of the outer layers rather than part of the wood, like a thorn.
Nearly 100 roses will be planted here when complete. Matthew begins digging the holes under each pot.
All the holes are dug first and then rechecked for proper positioning. When planting, make sure the hole is slightly wider but equal in depth to the rose’s root ball. This will generally be about 15 to 18 inches deep by 18 to 24 inches wide.
Phurba carefully removes a rose from its pot. Do this slowly, especially if the root ball is moist and crumbling.
And then he teases the roots slightly to stimulate growth.
The roses are placed in their designated holes before backfilling – just in case more adjustments are needed.
Phurba is sure to bury each rose to the same depth it was in the pot. The bud union should be at or slightly below the soil surface.
Once the area is planted, the surrounding soil is raked evenly and neatly with a hard rake and then everything is given a good watering.
And by day’s end, the garden is planted. A layer of good, nutrient-rich compost will top dress these plants next. Plan a new garden properly using the best soil, food, and lighting needs to give young plants the best start possible. This garden will grow beautifully.
Big Ocean, the world’s first deaf K-pop boy band, is on tour — if you get the chance, go see them!
PJ, Chanyeon, and Jiseok opened their fall U.S. tour over the weekend with a full house at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, an 81-acre historic estate in Katonah, New York, not far from my farm. Caramoor is known for its live music, cultural events, and immersive art experiences. Big Ocean first visited Caramoor last year and promised to return - this time to perform their celebrated new single, “Love Sign,” in Caramoor’s Rosen House Music Room. Blending Korean Sign Language ( KSL), American Sign Language (ASL), and visual storytelling, Big Ocean's goal is to build a world where music is accessible to everyone. The group’s busy schedule also included a New York Fashion Week presentation, where they debuted a collection and merchandise collaboration with designer, Andy Yu.
Enjoy these photos.
Big Ocean scheduled the first stop on their tour during New York’s renowned Fashion Week – a semi-annual series of events when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general public. Here are PJ, Chanyeon, and Jiseok at New York Men’s Day.
Working alongside visionary fashion designer, Andy Yu, the team released their Big Whale denim-focused collection which sold out before the weekend was over. The collection combines American denim with K-pop influences and includes 10 men’s looks plus unisex designs and the use of ecologically friendly pineapple-leaf fiber.
Then it was on to Caramoor, the acclaimed music and arts center known for its year‑round concerts and Summer Music Festival. Pictured here – Big Ocean, Andy, and Gillian Fox, President & CEO of Caramoor.
This is the Music Room at Caramoor. This room seats 170 guests and is known for its Renaissance furniture, Gothic tapestries, and beautifully maintained stained glass elements.
The room was sold out for weeks – everyone wanted to see Big Ocean, the world’s first K-pop group composed of artists who are hard of hearing.
Big Ocean delivered an excellent performance integrating sign language interpretation in both KSL and ASL. (Photo courtesy Caramoor)
Many guests took videos to share on their own social media platforms.
The trio also incorporated visual storytelling elements with their music. (Photo courtesy Caramoor)
The well-choreographed presentation and performance was done on the Music Room stage typically reserved for recitals, opera and lectures – this was a first Kpop event. (Photo courtesy Caramoor)
And the audience loved it.
Big Ocean is South Korea’s first hard-of-hearing boy group, which debuted in 2024 and was formerly known as S-Boyz and Big O!cean. (Photo courtesy Caramoor)
The group aims to create a new genre called S-Pop, or Sign Language Pop, which adds sign language to all their performances.
Their music style emphasizes comfort, self-acceptance, and emotional connection rather than relying solely on sound. (Photo courtesy Caramoor)
Big Ocean has already been named K-pop Rookie of the Month by Billboard in September 2024.(Photo courtesy Caramoor)
Their enthusiasm and creativity was so captivating.
Their current tour takes them to several states including Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, California, Arizona, and Texas. (Photo courtesy Caramoor)
Following the performance, the group celebrated at a party, inviting friends, business associates, and other influencers for a casual meet and greet. Here’s PJ enjoying mini Pistachio Raspberry Tarts.
Pastry Chef Elvira Sandoval made the dessert earlier in the day, Here she is with Andy.
These flavorful tarts are made with frangipane raspberry jam, pistachio pastry cream and vanilla crémeux.
If Big Ocean visits your city, please see them – you’ll have a great time.
And please go to Caramoor’s web site to see their list of other performances scheduled this year.
Once hay is cut, dried, and raked into windrows, it’s ready to be baled.
Here on my farm, my outdoor grounds crew has just finished harvesting and stacking more than 550 bales of hay for my horses. While the first cutting was harvested in June, this second cutting is finer, leafier, and richer in protein and energy, making it especially nutritious. I am fortunate to have both the dedicated team and the equipment needed to produce high-quality hay for my herd.
Enjoy these photos.
The hay is ready to bale when hay pulled from the bottom of the windrow makes a crunching sound when snapped. Chhiring drives the tractor and starts the process midday when there is the least amount of moisture.
A baler is a piece of farm machinery that compresses the cut and raked crop into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. The baler is attached to the tractor, and then the hay wagon is attached to the baler.
The bales get thrown into this wagon, which holds about 150 bales. Two outdoor grounds crew members ride in here and work together to grab the bales and stack them. Everyone is ready to go!
The tractor rides to one side of the windrow while the baler passes directly over it to collect the hay.
The baler picks up windrowed hay using a rotating pickup reel designed to lift the crop cleanly from the ground and feed it into the baling chamber.
The motor helps to move and propel the bales into the wagon. A measuring device – the spiked wheel – is turned by the emerging bales. It measures the amount of material that is being compressed and then the knotters wrap the twine around the bale and tie it off.
Large rolls of twine are positioned and tied to each other, so they can feed into the baler and secure the hay just before it shoots out into the wagon.
Once it is tied, it moves up this conveyor belt…
Here is a bale of hay as it is lifted in the baler’s reel, moved, and finally propelled into the wagon by a mechanical arm called a thrower or a kicker.
Here’s a view from the front. The crew is ready to kick the bale to stop, so it can be picked up and stacked.
The bales are manageable for one person to handle, about 45 to 60 pounds each. The crew must work quickly with someone always on the lookout for the next shooting bale.
The best moisture range for hay bales is generally between 12 and 18-percent. This range is crucial for maintaining the hay’s nutritional value and preventing spoilage. Chhiring tests several bales to make sure they are within the desired range.
As one makes windrows, the other pulls the baler up and down the field.
Once a wagon is full enough to unload, it is brought to my stable hayloft.
To get the bales up into the hayloft of my stable, a long motorized bale conveyor, or hay elevator, is set up from the wagon to the window of the loft.
A hay elevator is an open skeletal frame, with a chain that has dull three-inch spikes every few feet to grab bales and drag them along.
The apparatus works as a pulley system on a track that moves the bales up to the loft.
As bales ride up, Pete stands by to accept them.
One by one, Pete pulls the bale off the elevator and passes it to someone else for stacking.
Neat, tight stacks of hay are made in the loft – there are a lot of bales to store here.
These bales will stay here until needed. With a full stable, this does not take long. It makes me so happy to know I can grow good, nutritious hay for my horses right here at my farm.
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