Planting evergreens is a great way to bring year-round color, texture, and structure to the garden.
Here at my farm, I have a special area I call my pinetum, an arboretum devoted to pines and other conifers that I began developing soon after moving to the property. Over the years, the trees and shrubs have thrived and I continue to expand the collection with new additions each season. Recently, I purchased a group of junipers that I knew would be perfect for the space. Once they arrived, markers were placed where they would be planted and the crew got to work.
Enjoy these photos.
I started my pinetum about 20 years ago. Now it extends to the carriage road under the partial shade of my pin oaks and weeping willow trees.
This is a very healthy juniper, Juniperus virginiana. Its upright growth habit and beautiful color make it a great addition to any garden. For my pinetum, I got six from nearby Hardscrabble Farms in Westchester County, New York.
Leaves on the tree are soft, scale-like blueish-green or green sprays, growing compactly on their stems. Female trees produce berry-like cones.
I decide where the trees will be placed and then markers or flags are put in the approximate planting positions. My gardeners also check each individual plant’s space and light needs and adjust accordingly.
First, all the holes are dug at least twice the size of the plant.
Each specimen is placed by its designated hole.
I use Miracle-Gro Shake’n Feed Flowering Trees & Shrubs plant food which has done so well for my plants. 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.
A generous amount is sprinkled into the hole and mixed with the existing wet soil. Remember what I always say, “if you are eating and drinking today, so should your plants.”
Arnold removes the protective wire or rope from the root ball. If left untouched, these wrapping materials could reduce the ability of a tree’s roots to grow out into the surrounding soil.
And then he removes the bottom of the burlap covering.
The tree is rotated on its root ball closer to the hole and then into it. When moving heavy trees, only hold it by the root ball and the base of the trunk – never by its branches, which could easily break.
Once the tree is positioned where it should be – with its best side facing the carriage road – the rest of the wire cage is removed.
And the rest of the burlap is also pulled. Some leave wire and burlap in place; however, I prefer to remove everything, so there is nothing preventing root development.
Here is the pile of wrapping from just one tree.
Arnold backfills the tree and tamps down to establish good contact between the root ball and the soil.
The area is then raked, so it is neat and tidy.
Finally, it is given a good drink. The soil is already wet from recent storms, but it is always a good idea to give newly transplanted specimens water once in the ground.
All of them are planted and watered before lunch.
Other interesting plants in this pinetum include this Burke’s Variegated Red Japanese Pine, Pinus densiflora, a multi-stemmed evergreen with a distinctive and refined pyramidal form. It features striking wide, horizontal, creamy yellow bands on each needle, which are visible year-round on rough branches.
The dawn redwood has feathery, fine-textured needles that are opposite each other and approximately a half-inch long. Don’t confuse them with the bald cypress needles, which grow alternately. These dawn redwood needles will turn shades of red and brown before falling – it is one of the few deciduous conifers.
This is a variegated false holly, a tree-form version of the Goshiki Osmanthus. It is a well-loved specimen for its radiant, variegated, holly-like leaves of creamy white, yellow, and dark mint green.
This is a dwarf pine tree. If you’re not sure how to tell some of these popular trees apart, here are some key tips: pines have needles that are arranged and attached to the branches in clusters. Spruce and fir trees have needles attached individually to the branches.
I add more specimens to this collection every year – some are very rare and slow growing, but I love the variety of plantings I’ve amassed. I’m looking forward to watching this garden mature. I hope this inspires you to try planting more unusual plants that can add both texture and color to your garden.
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.
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