Here at my farm, all the roses are showing so beautifully!
Last month I created a new formal rose garden. The bed was previously planted with lilacs as well as roses, but it was in need of an overhaul. I planted more than 140 new rose bushes from Star Roses and Plants in Pennsylvania to add to the existing roses transplanted years ago from the gardens at Lily Pond, my former home in East Hampton, New York. I surrounded them all with a border of young boxwood. And just weeks later, many of the flowers are in bloom - so colorful and so fragrant.
Here is an update. Enjoy these photos.
You may have seen photos of this new garden a few weeks ago. It was once my allée of lilac, Syringa vulgaris. The garden was filled with sweet-smelling lilacs in white, lavender, and purple – with some shrubs reaching 15 to 20 feet tall. After 20 years, the garden needed to be refreshed, so I replanted it with young roses and a border of boxwood.
The roses were planted in two rows – each variety in groups of four from one end to the other.
Every row is perfectly lined up. The boxwood that surrounds the garden will grow into a nice formal hedge.
Among the varieties recently planted here – Parfuma® Earth Angel™ ‘KORgeowim,’ Bolero™ ‘Meidelweis,’ Raspberry Cupcake™ ‘KORcarmsis,’ Parfuma® Bliss ‘KORmarzau,’ Michelangelo™ ‘Meitelov,’ Sunbelt® Savannah,™ Romantica® Moonlight ‘Meikaquinz,’ Princesse Charlene de Monaco® ‘Meidysouk,’ Dee-Lish® ‘Meiclusif,’ and Top Cream™ ‘Meiroguste.’
Now, many of the bushes are flowering.
A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae. There are more than a hundred species and thousands of named cultivars.
The flowers of most rose species have at least five petals. Each petal is divided into two distinct lobes.
I always knew I wanted many different roses in all sorts of petal formations. Double blooms consist of 16 to 25 overlapping petals in three or more rows.
Some blooms are very full – this one in bold orange.
The flat bloom is just as it sounds, with petals generally flaring out.
Roses vary widely in size, from tiny miniature blooms of one inch to giant exhibition flowers more than inches across.
Roses come in many different colors, such as pink, peach, white, red, magenta, yellow, copper, vermilion, purple, and apricot.
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.
Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses to climbers that can reach several feet in height.
Small, white and pink clusters grow on this Multiflora rose.
Many roses are loved by bees, depending on the variety, bloom structure, and how much nectar and pollen they produce. Open, single or semi-double blooms that expose the pollen-rich stamens are some of their favorites.
Roses need six to eight hours of sunlight daily. In hot climates, roses do best when they are protected from the hot afternoon sun. In cold climates, planting a rose bush next to a south or west-facing fence or wall can help minimize winter freeze damage.
Among the older roses that I’ve nurtured for many years include Rosa ‘Mme Zoetmans,’ ‘Variegata di Bologna,’ ‘Charles de Mills,’ ‘Ispahan,’ Rosa ‘Therese Bugnet,’ ‘Constance Spry,’ ‘Juno,’ and others.
When watering, give roses the equivalent of one-inch of rainfall per week during the growing season. Water at the soil level to avoid getting the foliage wet. Wet leaves encourage diseases such as black spot and powdery mildew.
To produce an impressive show of flowers, always use nutrient-rich compost, composted manure, and other organic and natural fertilizers, such as fish emulsion. Organic amendments also help to encourage beneficial soil microbes and a well-balanced soil pH. We amend the soil here at my farm every season.
If properly cared for, a rose bush should live for about 30-years or more.
The Martha Stewart hybrid tea rose is absolutely stunning and growing so beautifully at my farm - I hope you saw the recent photos on my Instagram page @marthastewart48.
My rose has large pink blooms, dark green foliage, and a most wonderful and sweet fragrance. It was bred by Meilland, a six-generation family-owned rose-growing business, and was launched in North America through Star Roses and Plants. I planted a collection of them in a flower cutting garden and another in the more formal beds outside my main greenhouse. All of them are blooming excellently. I hope you decide to plant some in your garden - you'll love them too!
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Look at this gorgeous rose. When in peak bloom, it shows off more than 100 lush pink to apricot petals and a citrus-honeysuckle scent.
Each one is so beautiful and well shaped.
And its leaves are glossy and dark green. The leaves of a rose are described as “pinnate” – meaning there is a central rib and then leaflets off to each side, with one terminal leaflet. Rose leaves can have anywhere from two to 13 leaflets.
Last year, I decided to plant some Martha Stewart hybrid tea roses along both sides of a footpath in a flower cutting garden.
Hybrid tea roses should be planted two to three feet apart, as the growth habit is upright and vase-shaped.
This year, they all bloomed so excellently.
My rose is long lasting and heat tolerant. Each bush is sturdy, reliable, and thrives where others seem to fade.
Walking into my cutting garden, one can smell the sweet scent of these gorgeous blooms right away.
Last year, I also decided to plant Martha Stewart hybrid tea roses in the beds outside my greenhouse. I wanted them to be planted in a grid pattern alternating each rose with boxwood.
These plants are also spaced appropriately, so there is ample room for them to grow.
Some of them were already blooming – many flowers on each plant. The Martha Stewart rose matures to three feet tall and about three feet wide making it ideal for borders, small gardens, and containers.
I knew the roses and boxwood shrubs would grow beautifully together.
Here is a wider view of one of the beds after planting was complete.
And one year later, they’re flourishing. In fact, it’s a wonderful year for all the roses growing in my gardens.
Every bud is healthy and large.
The bloom size is typically four to five inches across. It’s definitely a showy flower in the garden and in the vase.
And because it is so deeply petaled, my rose stands out with a full and layered appearance.
The Martha Stewart rose is a repeat bloomer, meaning can produce flowers from spring through autumn under ideal growing conditions.
Remember, this rose like others, needs full sun for best performance. And in spring, always take time to prune – remove dead or weak stems and shape the plant to help maintain and encourages repeat blooms.
Now, one can find my rose at select garden retailers and visit it in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden. The Martha Stewart hybrid tea rose… such a beautiful and very good thing.
When looking for interesting, low maintenance trees for small spaces, there are some very unique and attractive tree types that have narrow, upright habits, such as the Parkland Pillar Birch tree. It's dense, heat and drought tolerant, and makes a great privacy screen when planted in multiples.
Here at my farm, planting has started once again in my living maze. Much of the three-acre area is now complete and all the plants are growing excellently. Last week, my crew planted several Parkland Pillar Birch, Betula platyphylla 'Jetpark,' from First Editions Shrubs and Trees.
Enjoy these photos.
The Parkland Pillar Birch has dense dark green foliage that turns a beautiful golden yellow in fall. It’s known for its fast growth, narrow, upright habit, and interesting white colored bark.
Here’s Ryan loading several of the trees onto our trusted Polaris so they can be taken to the maze.
At the maze, Arnold starts by digging the appropriate sized holes.
He uses both a shovel and a spade depending on what he is doing. I always say, use the right tool for the job.
Do you know the difference? A shovel is best for digging and moving loose material, such as soil, mulch, gravel, or debris. Shovels have broader, curved, or bowl-shaped blades to make this easy.
The spade is designed for cutting, edging, and doing precise soil work. Here it is used to shape the hole.
Next, the hole and the surrounding soil are sprinkled with a generous amount of fertilizer.
For this project, I use Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Flowering Trees and Shrubs plant food. It contains natural ingredients such as kelp, earthworm castings, bone meal, and feather meal, which will feed the plant and maintain its deep, lush green foliage throughout the season.
The tree is carefully removed from its existing pot.
And then placed into the hole to make sure it will sit at the right height. The top of the root ball should be level with the top of the hole.
The tree is removed from the hole and a hori hori knife is used to carefully scratch the root ball and stimulate growth. Essentially, small portions of the root ball are cut to loosen the roots and encourage new development.
When the soil is very dry, I instruct my team to fill the hole with water first before planting. This technique is designed to improve root establishment, reduce transplant shock, and increase survival chances.
The tree is then placed into the water filled hole.
And finally the hole is backfilled.
One holds it straight as the soil is shoveled around the root ball. It is only buried up to the flare, where the tree meets the root system. Burying the tree too deep will kill it.
Arnold looks at the tree from all sides and from various distances to make sure it is in perfect line with the others.
The last of the soil is placed around the tree and tamped down to ensure good contact.
Here they are all done and looking very good. At full maturity, these trees will be 30 to 40 feet tall with a slender spread of six to seven feet.
And with consistent and proper care, these trees will live 30 to 50 years.
The maze is almost done, and all the trees and shrubs and other plants are all thriving. I am so proud of all the work I’ve done to create this fun and interesting network of paths and passages.
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