Late summer remains one of the busiest times on my farm. My gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are hard at work keeping up with the season's abundant growth.
I’m especially fond of boxwood, Buxus, and have hundreds of these handsome evergreen shrubs across the property. I take great care in maintaining them year-round. They are fed and mulched regularly. In winter, they are wrapped in protective burlap, and by late summer many are ready for careful pruning and grooming. Most recently, Phurba Sherpa meticulously trimmed the boxwood bordering both sides of my clematis pergola.
Enjoy these photos.
These boxwood shrubs along both sides of my winding pergola were grown from small seedlings and nurtured right here at the farm. There are more than 300 boxwood shrubs planted here.
Phurba Sherpa is my resident boxwood pruning expert. He has been with me for many years – in fact, he helped plant these boxwood shrubs nine years ago.
Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. They 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 on boxwood branches are arranged opposite from each other, making pairs.
In September 2017, this pergola went through a big transformation. I decided this area would be great if planted with a row of boxwood on both sides. Every boxwood was positioned perfectly, two and a half-feet apart from the next.
At the time, these shrubs were only about a foot tall, but every one in excellent condition. Boxwood can grow in full sun and partial shade.
Today, they’re thriving. Here, one can see the newest growth. The growth rate depends on the variety; however, for most varieties the growth rate is three to six inches per year. These needed a thorough grooming.
Phurba uses Japanese shears to groom the boxwood shrubs. I prefer hand held tools – it’s a slower process, but they make cleaner, neater, more detailed cuts compared to powered versions.
In order to do the jobs best, it is important to keep the shears as sharp as can be. Phurba carries a sharpener with him, so it’s easy to maintain the blades while working. He holds the shear blade firmly and places an even and gentle pressure drawing the sharpener along the blade from hilt to tip.
He also removes any debris that may have gotten stuck on the blades. Doing this is important to ensure the cuts are clean.
He does the same to both sides of each blade.
And then continues trimming, knowing well that the shears will cut quickly and efficiently.
Everyone on my crew uses Japanese Okatsune shears specially made for trimming hedges. These shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes.
Every so often, Phurba stops to assess his work. I instructed him to shape the shrubs as round as possible.
Here, one sees what he has done and what he has left to do!
To groom the sides, Phurba holds the shears with his hands midway down the handles. This allows for the best control.
Here, close to the top, he changes his grip and holds the shears pointed down, using different muscles to cut.
Once a large section is done, the entire space looks markedly different. Here are a few shrubs after trimming. The cuttings on the ground show how much was removed.
In the back bed, I also have Russian sage, growing, Perovskia atriplicifolia. This plant shows tall, airy, spike-like clusters that create a lavender-blue cloud of color above the finely textured, aromatic foliage. It is vigorous, hardy, heat-loving, drought-tolerant, and deer resistant.
There are even a few clematis still showing off their blooms.
Here’s one side of the pergola, pruned, groomed and raked – the boxwood looks so much better.
And each one is shaped beautifully.
By late afternoon, it’s all done. The entire border is just so beautiful – in spring when it blooms with gorgeous purple and blue; in summer when it features all the bright orange lilies; and, in autumn, with all its bold greenery.
Every visit to Skylands, my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, is filled with memorable activities and quality time spent with family and friends.
This summer, in addition to enjoying countless delicious meals, I spent my days sailing, swimming, entertaining, enjoying local fairs, walking along local beaches, visiting with friends, exploring nearby gardens, shopping, and simply savoring time at my beloved home. The weather was beautiful, and the flowers in my gardens were especially vibrant this year. I hope you saw my photos on my Instagram page @marthastewart48.
Here are more images, enjoy.
Whenever I arrive at Skylands, one of the first things I do is tour the gardens and terraces to see all the wonderful growth since my last visit. Here is a view looking at the house from my large “cracked ice” terrace. So much has grown – the container plants and the kiwi vines, which are original to the home, just thrive here.
I always have agaves up at Skylands. Agaves are exotic, deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, and make wonderful container plants. Here are two on the ledge. I planted them last spring, when I came up to Maine for my traditional terrace planting weekend. In the trough below – young sago palms.
The lilies bloomed everywhere at Skylands this summer. The tall, colorful flowers filled my large terrace. this corner is just outside my living room window.
This philodendron is just under the deck off of one of my bedrooms and outside the door to my living room below. Split leaf philodendron plants are loved for their striking, large, glossy foliage and unique splits or holes, which give them a bold, exotic look.
Below the ledge and lying beneath the Western Terrace is the lady – La Riviere by Aristide Maillol. The original terms of the commission were intended to honor Henri Barbusse, noted author and pacifist. Maillol initially conceived the figure as a woman who had been stabbed in the back, falling at the viewer’s feet. However, when funds proved to be insufficient to complete the memorial, Maillol re-conceived the figure as a more timeless theme, the personification of a river. Here, she is surrounded by ferns, tree peonies, Japanese maples, blueberry bushes, and Lady’s Mantle.
We planted so many different kinds of lilies in my cutting garden. Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs and all with large, prominent flowers. The flowers are often fragrant, and come in a wide range of colors.
If you love lilies, don’t forget, they have heavily pollinated stamens, which stain, so before bringing them indoors, it’s important to gently pull the anthers with a tissue, or pinch them off with your fingers.
These lily arrangements are the first one sees upon entering Skylands. They’re on this long table in the foyer – so bright and inviting.
Here is a lovely lily arrangement in my Living Room – all flowers are grown right in my garden. On the wall behind it are bird prints by artist and avid ornithologist, Carrol Sargent Tyson, Jr. Tyson was best known for his coastal landscapes, portraits and natural history paintings of birds. He summered on Mount Desert Island in Maine and was an expert on the island’s bird species. I have a complete set of his famous bird lithographs.
Wildlife love to walk through the woods at Skylands. This wild turkey was seen strolling between the trees on a warm, but quiet afternoon.
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.
I planted moss along the pine needle footpaths in this area of the woodland.
Here is another beautiful image of the woodland filled with moss. Sometimes, I use moss in my potted plants, but after the season os over, my gardeners return it to the woods, so it can continue to thrive in nature.
On one day, I visited the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden. The garden was designed by the legendary landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand, for John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in the 1920s.
The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden is rare and blends English garden tradition with Asian-inspired art and design.
This is a Nemesia hybrid, ‘Sunsatia Blood Orange.’ It shows fiery red-orange flowers all season and can grow more than a foot tall and wide at maturity.
These frogs did not seem to mind me getting up close to capture their photo.
If you’re in the area, you can still make it – The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden will be open through September 13th.
I visited the exhibit of the late Emilie Benes Brzezinski in a new personal museum. Emilie is the mother of talk show host, Mika Brzezinski Scarborough. Emilie is best known for her towering sculptures of twisted chainsaw carved tree trunks. Here i am with Mika inside one of these beautiful creations.
Here I am with business executive Doug Newhouse aboard his boat, the Spirit 52 “Yonder.”
He took us on a wonderful ride – did you see my Instagram post @Marthastewart48? Here I am as the boat “heels to the ‘DCK’ edge” at 10 knots! The deck edge is the outermost point of the hull’s edge.
Back home, this is my front circle driveway in front of Skylands. The pink gravel lights up the carriage road.
And here is my handsome Emperor Han – always “on watch.”
On this day, my grandchildren and their friends enjoyed a guided sea kayak tour to the Bar Harbor Oyster Farm. Here are the kayaks ready to go out. The experience was made possible through an auction hosted by Friends of Acadia Annual Benefit and hosted by The Bar Harbor Oyster Company.
The group paddled through Acadia’s coastal waters and learned about sustainable farming, local ecology, and shellfish.
And of course, a trip to Maine is not complete without a ride see the seals that congregate and rest between feedings here at Bunker Ledge – a small island in the mouth of Seal Harbor.
Whenever family, friends, and colleagues travel to interesting places, I encourage them to take plenty of photos and share them when they return.
Ryan Mesina, our VP of Creative Services at Marquee Brands, enjoys traveling as much as I do. One of his latest trips took him to Kenya, the East African nation renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, abundant wildlife, and rich cultural heritage. While there with friends, Ryan embarked on safari, where he spotted Africa's famed "Big Five" - the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo - the continent's most iconic species. Ryan also visited Lamu Town, the historic port city and island off Kenya's coast. There, he sampled local cuisine, explored charming shops, relaxed on the beach, and sailed aboard a traditional dhow on the Indian Ocean.
Here are some photos from his memorable two-week adventure, enjoy.
A safari day in Africa is structured around the natural activities and movements of wildlife. Early mornings and late afternoons are the prime times for sightings. Ryan and his friends spent more than six to eight hours in a vehicle looking for animals.
Ryan’s group was small – just enough to fill the jeep. They had a knowledgeable guide and a spotter who would sit in the back on “lookout.”
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is an organization that cares for orphaned African elephants and rhinos – sometimes orphaned zebras too. The caretakers wear similar striped coats so young zebras can recognize them without feeling threatened.
This orphaned zebra, Notty, and the orphaned rhinoceros, Tytan, were rescued one week apart and became fast friends in the nursery. Now they are inseparable and always look out for each other.
Here is another young elephant cared for by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth, with males reaching up to 13 feet tall and weighing as much as 24,000 pounds. This one has a lot of growing to do.
Ryan road through the Masai Mara Reserve. When entering, he saw these zebras in a formation, where they stand in groups facing different directions. It is part of a cooperative survival strategy that helps protect a herd from predators – “I’ll watch your back, you watch mine.”
Ryan also saw this giraffe walking along one of the dirt roads. Animals are not scared of the safari vehicles because they know they won’t be hurt by them, so they typically allow visitors to get pretty close.
Here is another elephant. On safari, one never knows what animals will be seen – some days, one can spot many; other days, only a few. Ryan was lucky – he saw lots of animals roaming the area.
This is a leopard. Do you know the difference between the cheetah, the leopard, and the jaguar? Cheetahs have solid spots and tear marks, leopards have rosettes without inner dots, and jaguars have larger rosettes with central spots and the strongest build.
Black rhinos are the only species found in Masai Mara. They are slightly smaller but more aggressive compared to white rhino.
African buffalo are abundant in the Masai Mara. They are often seen in large herds near rivers, swamps, and open plains. This large animal is also one of the Big Five and among the most powerful and dangerous animals in the Masai Mara.
The majestic lion is also one of the Big Five. This one is a younger male noted by his still developing mane.
More zebras are spotted. As beautiful as they are, these wild animals are not friendly. In fact, they are often unpredictable, defensive, and aggressive – characteristics shaped by the predatory pressure of their environment.
The gray crowned crane is a large crane species native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Its body plumage is mainly grey and it has white cheeks, a red throat patch, and a stiff golden crown. It is omnivorous and forages for plants, seeds, grain, insects, frogs, worms, snakes, small fish and the eggs of aquatic animals.
Here is a spotted hyena – a very skilled hunter, known to take down prey like wildebeest, zebra, and even large mammals like Cape buffalo.
Ryan and his group were lucky to see this Nile Crocodile. It was massive in size, more than 15 feet long.
And here is a pair of young African hippopotamuses. These animals are semi-aquatic giants, spending most of the day submerged in rivers, lakes, or pools to stay cool and out of the sun.
Another good sighting – this black backed jakhal, one of the most agile, intelligent, and adaptable carnivores in the Masai Mara.
At the end of the day, Ryan and his group enjoyed what’s called a sundowner – a traditional ritual where travelers pause at sunset to enjoy a refreshing drinks and snacks before setting out again in search of wildlife.
Leaving the Masai Mara en route to Lamu, Ryan took this snapshot of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world. I climbed Kilimanjaro years ago.
In Lamu Town, Ryan and his friends rented this house called the “Fishbone” House. It was built to pay tribute to the beautiful Swahili architecture and is decorated with natural elements like found whale bones and drift wood.
A dhow is a traditional sailing vessel with a lateen, or triangular sail. Most dhows used in Lamu are made from mango or mahogany wood and can be small like this one, or longer and more ornate. They are built entirely by hand, using methods passed down through generations.
Walking through Lamu Town, Ryan stopped in several quaint shops, which are popular with tourists.
This is a Goldenn Palm Weaver with its mostly orange to red head.
This is The Majlis Hotel on Manda Island in the Lamu Archipelago. Ryan caught beautiful views from this vantage point.
And a beautiful sunset. I’ve been to Africa several times, but I always learn something new when I see photos from others who travel there. Thanks for sharing your images, Ryan.
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