Creating a perennial garden takes time, patience, and thoughtful planning.
The perennial hydrangea border across from my chicken coops has long been home to a selection of colorful hydrangeas. In more recent years, I expanded it and added other plantings, such as irises, ligularia, phlox, Aruncus, Euonymus, and catnip. Yesterday, my gardeners planted more hydrangeas to fill in bare spots, including Berry White, Strawberry Sundae, and Vanilla Strawberry. They also added a few more varieties of phlox, including Bubblegum Pink, and Coral Crème Drop. The plants are part of our recent delivery from First Editions Shrubs and Trees.
Enjoy these photos.
I’m always expanding and improving my gardens. Most of the time when plants arrive, I already have in mind where they will go. Many of these hydrangeas will fill in my perennial border across from my chicken coops.
I also plan to add some phlox to the same garden – both plants in shades of pink.
I began expanding this bed In 2020. I planted more hydrangeas and perennials I knew would do well in this location with sunny mornings and shady afternoons.
It’s developed nicely over the years, but my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, and I keep an eye on it and supplement it with other plantings to fill in any voids.
This year we’re adding some of the First Editions hydrangeas. Now that it is fall, these hydrangeas are beginning to fade, but they’re all in excellent condition and ready to be planted.
This is a Berry White Panicle Hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Renba.’ It has strong, upright stems and large cone-shaped flower panicles. The flower color starts white in July then progresses to dark pink, beginning at the bottom and developing up to the top of the panicle.
Strawberry Sundae is also a panicle hydrangea. This one is perfect in small hedges or as part of mass plantings. The flowers emerge creamy white in midsummer and change to pink as night temperatures cool down.
The Vanilla Strawberry™ Panicle Hydrangea features enormous flower heads that are held upright – first white, then pink, then red in later fall.
Ryan also places some of the new phlox in the garden. It’s always a good idea to position the potted plants first before planting in order to visualize best locations and experiment with design layouts.
Phlox is a hardy, long-lived perennial that blooms from mid-summer to early fall. I grow a lot of phlox in my flower garden. This Bubblegum Pink Phlox is fragrant with bright blossoms accentuated with dark pink eyes.
Josh digs all the holes before planting, which is faster and more efficient when planting in numbers.
As always, holes should be at least twice the size of the plant’s root ball.
Once dug, Josh sprinkles fertilizer in the hole and in the surrounding soil. For these, we use an all-purpose formula with a good balance of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium from Miracle-Gro.
The plant should sit at the same depth it was in the pot. Josh backfills, tamping the soil lightly at the end to ensure good contact.
In gardening, the “rule of odds” dictates it’s best to plant in odd numbers such as three or five because it creates a more natural and visually appealing look compared to even numbered groupings.
Josh scarifies the next plant. I have the crew scarify all root balls, meaning make beneficial cuts, before planting to encourage new growth and make the plant more stable.
This hydrangea will fill in this void nicely. Remember, perennials grow slowly the first year, faster the second year, and then usually reach full size in the third year.
Josh digs a hole for this Endless Summer Collection hydrangea.
Depending on the variety, some hydrangeas can bloom all the way through fall.
These are macrophylla hydrangeas, commonly called big leaf hydrangeas – deciduous shrubs with a more rounded habit.
All these hydrangeas and phlox will flourish in this garden and make nice additions to the already established plants. Develop gardens thoughtfully and they will provide many years of enjoyment.
If you live in an area where foliage changes with the seasons, you know how exciting and beautiful this time of year can be.
I love autumn and although the season hasn't quite hit its peak here in Bedford, New York, the changing leaves are providing lots of fall color. I've planted hundreds of trees at my farm, so it's a fantastic place to take in the season's changes and enjoy all it has to offer.
Enjoy these photos.
Here at my farm, one of the prettiest times of year to walk the four miles of carriage road around my home and through the woodland is now, when the foliage on so many trees and shrubs show off their fall colors. This is one of the most popular views – the road leading to my hayfields and the woodlands beyond.
In the Northeast, some trees change early, others late – usually from October to November.
Here’s a look up at a canopy of golden sugar maple leaves. Because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to gold and orange colors come out and give the leaves part of their fall splendor.
The trees around my hayfields display such wonderful shades of orange, yellow, amber, brown, and green. I love the layers of color created by the changing leaves. Although some autumn coloration occurs wherever deciduous trees are found, the most brightly colored foliage is seen in Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia, northern and western Europe, the Caucasus region near the Black Sea, Russia, eastern Asia, Argentina, Chile, southern Brazil, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand’s South Island.
Autumn leaves have already filled this stream bed in the woods.
Here, the evergreen on the left will keep its green colors through the year, but soon the trees on the right will be bare.
These are Japanese Stewartia trees. Native to Japan, this tree is known not only for its brilliant shades of orange that emerge in fall, but also for its interesting exfoliating bark and delicate blooms. I love Stewartia trees – do you know why? Here’s a hint: it’s in the name.
These are the changing leaves of my Nyssa tree near my Winter House terrace. This beautiful Nyssa sylvatica, or black tupelo dark green leaves in summer, but in the fall its foliage turns yellow, orange, bright red, purple or scarlet – all colors that may appear on the same branch. It’s just starting to transform.
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.
Here’s a close look at the leaves showing the changing colors from bright green to yellow.
At my farm I planted many different types of trees in hopes that they would shade, provide climate control, and change color at different times, in different ways. It’s so beautiful to see them change through the seasons.
The older, innermost needles of Eastern white pines often turn yellow all at once. The needles are usually a paler and more yellowish color than other pines, but still quite attractive this time of year.
These lindens are also just starting to turn. I love this linden tree allée so much, I decided to extend it all the way down to the chicken coops in 2017.
These are my blueberries. In summer they are filled with sweet, delicious fruits. And then in autumn, the leaves turn a variety of colors, including red, orange, yellow, and purple. The leaves often start out as a blend of colors and end up a deep red.
Viburnum leaves change colors in the fall, and may turn red, burgundy, and yellow, depending on the species.
Here’s a view of the autumn woodland landscape. I tour the entire property every day I am home.
While it varies from tree to tree, once leaves start changing color and falling, it typically takes a few weeks for most of them to drop off completely. As temperatures drop, trees produce a separation layer at the stem of the leaf, causing it to detach.
My outdoor grounds crew is already very busy blowing all the leaves.
This sugar maple is planted in my tree peony bed. Maples and sugar maples are usually the first trees to change color in the fall, typically turning orange, yellow, and red.
At the edge of the back field is the giant sycamore tree – the symbol of my farm. The foliage of American sycamore trees is a crown of large leaves. In autumn, they turn shades of yellow and brown. I hope you can enjoy some of the season’s colors where you are.
One of our favorite fall activities here at my Bedford, New York farm is picking the season's pumpkins.
Pumpkins grow on vines, which means they take up a lot of space. I always plant my pumpkin patch in a roomy area that can accommodate a large crop of big, colorful specimens. This year, I decided to grow my pumpkins and winter squash along the perimeter of my vegetable garden. My gardeners and I plant lots and lots of pumpkin seeds - many from our favorite seed companies, and some from interesting and tasty fruits I’ve enjoyed in years past. I've been checking the crop every week to see what's growing under the giant leaves. And yesterday, they were ready to harvest.
Enjoy these photos.
Most pumpkin varieties take between 90 and 120 days to grow. It’s always exciting to see how many colorful pumpkins we’ll get each year.
In front of my hornbeam hedge along one side of my vegetable garden I planted all pumpkins. Along the east side of the garden, I planted squash and gourds. Pumpkins and winter squash are both edible fruits from the Cucurbita species. Pumpkins are a type of winter squash that are generally round with thick skin and sweet meat.
Pumpkin plants grow on long vines, which can easily reach 20 to 30 feet long in the course of a growing season. The pumpkins are ready to harvest when the foliage on the vines begins to wither and turn brown. Pumpkin and winter squash leaves can look very similar – large, lobed leaves that grow on hollow stems. They are roundish in shape, and often have serrated edges.
Some of the pumpkins are covered with leaves until the moment they’re picked. It’s a surprise to see what they look like – the wartier the better. This type of pumpkin is called a knucklehead, and as the name suggests, is reminiscent of the knuckles on one’s hand.
These pumpkins are about eight to 10 pounds each. The name pumpkin comes from the Greek word ‘pepon’ which means large melon. The pumpkin is a cucurbit, a member of the Curcurbitaceae family, which also includes squash, cucumbers, watermelon and cantaloupes.
When picking, it is important not to injure the rind as decay and fungi will attack through the wounds.
This is one of two very large deep orange pumpkins. Sadly, the other was already enjoyed by a visiting critter.
I always advise my crew to keep as much of the stem intact as possible. Leaving at least a couple of inches of stem will increase its keeping time.
Here’s the first of several loads. Elvira and Enma are so pleased with how many pumpkins we have this year. Before displaying, Enma rinses the pumpkins clean of any dirt.
Elvira places the pumpkins on the wall outside my home.
And then it’s back down to the garden to get more.
This load includes my squash. Always choose winter squash that is heavy for its size, rich and deep in color, when the skin is hard and difficult to puncture.
Red kuri squash is a thin skinned orange colored winter squash. Inside the hard outer skin there is a firm flesh with a very delicate and mellow chestnut-like flavor.
This long, cylindrical green squash goes by opo squash, calabash, Chinese long squash, lauki, and bottle gourd. Inside the white flesh is very similar to a summer squash but a little meatier. The seeds are edible when immature, but grow larger and harder as the squash matures.
This is a variegated dinosaur gourd with its lustrous dark green skin, markings, and distinct ridges that look almost reptilian.
And look at all the acorn squash. Acorn squash, also called pepper squash or Des Moines squash, is a winter squash with distinctive longitudinal ridges on its exterior and sweet, yellow-orange flesh inside. Although considered a winter squash, acorn squash belongs to the same species as all summer squashes.
Enma is holding a giant pink banana squash – it’s about two feet long!
I am always trying to grow different and unusual specimens along with the more traditional varieties. We grow some pumpkins and squash from heirloom seeds. Heirlooms are old-time varieties, open-pollinated instead of hybrid, and saved and handed down through multiple generations of families.
Here are pumpkins along the wall in front of my mature weeping katsura trees – I like to place them here every year.
On this wall, are the orange, pink and cream colored varieties.
And on the wall in front of my Winter House terrace are all green pumpkins – many of which would have turned orange if they were left on the vines. Pumpkins start out green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment needed for photosynthesis. As the nights get longer in fall, pumpkins stop producing chlorophyll and start to produce carotenoids, which cause the pumpkin to turn orange, red, or yellow.
I also placed some gourds and squash on the terrace tables.
And on the steps to my home. No other ‘decorating’ is required. Just lining them up makes a wonderful fall display.
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