Outdoor summer chores continue at my farm with a good pruning of the shrubs around my pool.
Along the outside of the pool fence, I have a growing hedge of two striking, dark-leaved shrubs: Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple.’ I always enjoy incorporating unusual and interesting plants in my gardens, and these two varieties are especially beautiful, with their rich burgundy-black foliage and graceful forms. I first planted them in 2018, and they have thrived in this location ever since. This week, my resident tree expert, Pasang Sherpa, is giving them a substantial pruning to keep the plants healthy, well-shaped, and under control. Some of the shrubs had grown more two feet since spring, so they were certainly ready for a trim.
Here are a few photos, enjoy!
I wanted my pool area to look as natural as possible, where I could enjoy the gardens and panoramic views of the landscape with my family and friends.
A couple of years ago, I planted six Ginkgo biloba Goldspire™ Obelisk trees around the pool.
Mixed in are some potted plants. I always take out many of my tropical plants and display them in beautiful ornamental urns around the farm during summer.
At one end of the pool, I have these five antique staddle stones. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders.
And looking north, I kept the views clear, so I could see all the beautiful greenery in the distance.
All of it is surrounded by the necessary pool fence disguised by these tall hedges. The fence is between the hedges. The taller hedge in the back is planted columnar beech trees.
Here, one can see the four foot tall fence between the plantings.
The outer hedge is a combination of alternating Physocarpus and Cotinus shrubs. Here, Pasang shows the growth since these hedges were last pruned just a couple months ago.
Physocarpus and Cotinus are medium‑to‑fast‑growing shrubs that can easily add more than 24 inches in height per year once established.
Physocarpus is commonly called ninebark, and is an upright, spreading, somewhat coarse, deciduous, Missouri-native shrub which is closely related to the genus Spiraea. It boasts a deep green to burgundy foliage with ovate to rounded usually three to five lobed leaves that are dull green in summer changing to an undistinguished yellow in fall. Then its color veers toward bronzy red by the time the leaves fall in late November.
After the white flowers of the physocarpus bloom, what follows are these seed pods – a favorite food of small birds.
Also known as smoketree or smoke bush, Cotinus is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. It’s a great choice for massing or for hedges. This variety has stunning dark red-purple foliage that turns scarlet in autumn.
Some leaves are already showing off their pretty color changes. The leaves are uniquely smooth and rounded.
In fact, the name “smoke bush” comes from this – the billowy hairs attached to the flower clusters which remain in place through the summer, turning a smoky pink to purplish-pink.
For this hedge, Pasang uses his Okatsune hand pruners. Pruning shears, hand pruners, or secateurs are a type of scissors used on plants. They are strong enough to prune hard branches of trees and shrubs, sometimes up to an inch thick. Everyone on the crew has a pair.
Pasang cuts off any dead or crisscrossing branches first. The rule of thumb when pruning is to cut the dead, diseased, damaged, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted plant material.
Pruning means to lop or cut off any superfluous branches or shoots for better-shape and better growth. These look fuller every year – in part because of the regular pruning.
Pasang also cuts it to the height I requested, which for this hedge, is the same height as the fence itself.
Pasang prunes everything by hand, so it takes a while to trim all the way around the pool. area.
Here’s a look at one section of the newly pruned hedge – so straight all the way down. Pruning this side also allows more light to get to the growing beech hedge.
It doesn’t take long for the ground to fill with clippings. Always work on a tarp to collect the cuttings. This makes cleaning up fast and efficient. thanks Pasang.
Growing behind my vegetable greenhouse are rows of beautiful, colorful dahlias.
Dahlias begin blooming in abundance just as many other summer flowers are beginning to pass their peak, making them one of the garden’s great late-season performers. They continue to bloom right up until the first frost. I grow a variety of dahlias, ranging from petite blooms to enormous dinner-plate sized flowers, in an array of colors, shapes, and forms.
Here are some of the flowers blooming in the garden right now. Enjoy!
Dahlias grow more blooms when they get at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. My dahlia garden gets great sun behind my vegetable greenhouse. And because this spot is behind this large structure, it is also protected from strong winds.
There are about 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. A member of the Asteraceae family of dicotyledonous plants, some of its relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia.
Dahlias are named after 18th-century Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. He actually categorized dahlias as a vegetable because of their edible tubers. The tubers are said to taste like a mix between potatoes and radishes.
The genus Dahlia is native to the high plains of Mexico. Some species can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica as well as parts of South America where it was introduced.
The array of flower colors, sizes, and shapes is astounding. Dahlias come in shades of pink, red, yellow, orange, white, shades of purple, and various combinations of these colors – every color but true blue.
Dahlia plant leaves grow opposite each other and are simple to pinnately compound with segments that are ovate to oblong to lanceolate in shape. The leaf margins may be lobed or dentate. Leaves may be green, reddish-purple, or purple-black depending on the variety.
Dahlias can also vary in height, leaf color, form, and shape. This is because dahlias are octoploids, meaning they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two.
Dahlias are classified according to flower shape and petal arrangement.
The stems of a dahlia plant are also unique. They are hollow, which is why the Aztecs originally called them “water canes.” These stems are green and quite thick.
There are other varieties bred for striking stem color which range from deep burgundy and mahogany to almost black.
As dahlias grow it’s important to provide tall, hollow, dahlia stems with good support to prevent them from flopping. My gardeners use support stakes and twine to keep my flowers upright.
The twine is tied to the stake making a gap in between two strands for the plants.
The majority of dahlia species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars, but they are brightly colored to attract pollinating insects.
They range from a charming single, daisy-like flower to the popular double varieties which can be two-inch-pompons to 12-inch dinner plate size.
This bloom is the size of one’s palm.
Dahlias are divided into 10 groups: single, anemone, collarette, waterlily, decorative, fall, pompon, cactus, semi-cactus, and miscellaneous.
This cactus variety is called ‘Park Princess’ with tightly rolled rich, vibrant pink petals. It is a prolific re-bloomer and an excellent cut flower.
Experiment with the blooms – dahlias look great arranged in different colors or as a bunch of the same variety. Harvesting flowers is good for the plants and encourages them to continue flowering month after month.
And when arranging, always strip off all the leaves that would be below the water line in the vase. This is true for all flower arrangements, not just dahlias. When leaves stay underwater, they decay and release bacteria that shorten the vase life of the flowers. And change the water daily so they look fresh and last longer.
With good sunlight, proper watering, and a little bit of luck, I’ll have gorgeous, colorful dahlias growing all the way until Halloween.
Summer weather at the farm is expected to be especially hot and humid today, with temperatures possibly reaching 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
By this time of year, many of the garden’s plants have already reached their peak of bloom and are beginning to fade, but the trees are putting on a spectacular show of their own. I planted most of them over the years and I love seeing how beautifully they have matured. Their lush green foliage provides wonderful texture, shade, and beauty throughout the landscape.
Enjoy these photos.
This weekend, stop and look at some of the trees around you. Every single day I am home, I tour the farm to see how all the trees, shrubs, and plants are doing. Every specimen is special – their foliage, shape, and growth habit. This tree is the symbol of my farm – the great sycamore in my back hayfield. It’s one of my favorite trees and is original to the property.
This is a mature hickory tree. Hickory trees are one of the most important hardwood trees in North America. They are robust, durable and valued for their nut production. The hickory is a variety of species within the Carya genus. There are about 12 species of hickory native to North America.
Down behind the chicken coops is a grove of dawn redwoods. Dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, grow faster than most trees and need an area under full sun that is large enough to accommodate the trees which can grow to more than 160-feet tall. One of their distinguishable characteristics is the deeply fissured bark on mature trees.
These trees line the main carriage road to and from my woodland.
On both sides of the carriage road in my middle hayfield, I planted an allée of London plane trees and about 100 royal purple smoke bushes, Cotinus coggygria.
In 2009, I planted what I call my “Christmas Tree Field” – a large space where I grow different types of evergreen trees – rows of Frasier Fir, Canaan Fir, Norway Spruce, Blue Spruce, and others. They’ve grown so big since that initial planting.
I have many Japanese maples in this woodland near my chickens. I dedicated this area to my late sister, Laura, who loved Japanese maples. I always look forward to their gorgeous displays of color, especially in autumn.
This is a ginkgo. Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back 270-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history. I have many ginkgo trees planted around the farm.
The leaves are unusually fan-shaped, up to three inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze.
From a distance, everyone notices the weeping willows. These are in a grove at the edge of my pinetum. Weeping willows are wide and tall with graceful curtains of drooping branches that sweep the ground.
Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage. Sugar maples covered with climbing hydrangeas look so beautiful in my tree peony garden.
The Japanese Stewartia is native to Japan, Korea, and the southeastern United States. It is a slow-growing, all-season performer that shows off green leaves in spring, white flowers in summer, and colorful foliage in autumn. I love stewartias – after all, my name is “Stewart.”
One of the most appealing features is the Stewartia’s bark. It is multi-colored and peels away in strips.
Outside my Winter House is this weeping katsura. Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. pendulum has pendulous branches that fan out from the crown and sweep the ground. Caramel-scented foliage emerges bronze or purple-red, turns blue-green, then fades to gold or apricot in autumn.
One of the most distinctive features of the katsura is its heart-shaped leaves. These leaves grow opposite each other along the branches.
Nearby, off my terrace parterre is this beautiful Nyssa sylvatica, or black tupelo – a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and eastern Texas, as well as Mexico. Its summer leaves are a bold dark green.
This is my allée of pin oaks, Quercus palustris, which I planted soon after moving to my farm. At that time, they were just about six feet tall. Look at them now!
This is a weeping larch, Larix decidua ‘Pendula’. It has bright lime green needles in spring, which turn gold before dropping in fall. I liked this specimen because of its growth habit – it almost looks like an “S.”
It won’t be long before I’m enjoying the fruits from my orchard. My orchard surrounds three sides of my pool. I planted more than 200-fruit trees here, many of which started as bare-root cuttings.
And this is a view through the woodland, where I’ve also planted thousands of trees. I love how all the trees here look in the landscape and how they change through the seasons. Most importantly, I am proud to plant as many as I can for the environment – trees help combat climate change, provide habitat and food for birds and other animals, and release oxygen for us to live. I hope you can enjoy and appreciate the many trees where you are.
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