For anyone passionate about gardening, it's always so rewarding to plant new specimens and watch them flourish.
Recently, I received a large assortment of beautiful plants grown by Monrovia, a wholesale plant nursery specializing in well-nurtured shrubs, perennials, annuals, ferns, grasses, and conifers with several nursery locations across the country. I decided a selection of hostas, heucheras, and lady's mantles would look perfect in the new expanded beds behind my Tenant House and around my Basket House. Last week, my gardeners Ryan McCallister and Brian O'Kelly, placed them and planted them before the heavy rains.
Enjoy these photos.
As a serious and passionate gardener, I am always looking for ways to add more beauty and texture to all my garden beds. I was so excited when these plants arrived from Monrovia. Ryan and I already had many ideas about where to place them.
Here’s Brian loading some of the potted plants onto the pick up truck to go to their new locations.
This selection includes a variety of hosta plants. Hostas, with a palette of so many different colors, textures, and sizes have tremendous landscape value and offer great interest to the garden. Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies, and occasionally by the Japanese name, giboshi. They are native to northeast Asia and include hundreds of different cultivars.
Here, near my Basket House, we also decided to plant heuchera – this one is dark burgundy. Heuchera is a genus of largely evergreen perennial plants in the family Saxifragaceae, all native to North America. Common names include alumroot and coral bells.
And here is a collection of Lady’s Mantle. Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla mollis, is an herbaceous perennial. The plant is fairly low-maintenance, blends well with other spring bloomers, and does well as a ground cover. It will be planted close to the footpath.
Whenever we get new specimens, Ryan positions the plants first before any holes are dug. When choosing locations for plants, always take into consideration the height and spread of the plant when it is mature, and give it ample room to grow in the garden bed.
This area in front of my Basket House will look so beautiful with hostas and heucheras.
All the areas to be planted are given a good sprinkling of fertilizer. Here we used an all-purpose formula with a good balance of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.
Brian starts by digging the hole at least twice the size of the plant’s root ball.
Since this day was so warm and humid, Brian decided to dig all the holes first in the morning and then plant. Here is one of many, many holes.
After each hole was dug, Brian placed the potted plant into the hole – it’s a good way to keep track of what goes where when planting a large amount.
This is a ‘Northern Exposure Silver’ Heuchera. The burgundy foliage becomes heavily frosted with silver, forming a dense mound. This plant also features sprays of small pink flowers on red stems that rise above the foliage from spring through summer.
Monrovia’s ‘Sirens Song™ Orange Delight’ Heuchera has lively peach and orange tones on large leaves. The plant grows into a full mound that is exceptionally heat tolerant. Dainty flowers appear on spikes above the foliage in spring.
Lady’s Mantle is a grayish green large circular, scallop-edged leaves. In late spring and early summer, the plant produces small delicate chartreuse blooms.
This garden already has several smoke bushes, so we added a few more. This is Cotinus coggygria ‘Lilla’ – a compact, upright, bushy, deciduous shrub with oval, maroon leaves turning red and orange in autumn, and feathery panicles of pink flowers in summer.
Another heuchera is this ‘Northern Exposure™ Sienna.’ It is long lived, hardy, and rust resistant and adds a pop of bright color to the shade garden. New leaves emerge green, then transform in summer to burnt-orange with yellow edges. Bright pink flowers and stems appear above the compact foliage in spring.
And this is a ‘T-Rex’ hosta. Right now, the leaves are young and small, but they will grow to gigantic green leaves measuring 18-inches long and 14-inches wide with a matte finish and a slightly wavy texture.
Before planting, Brian uses his hands to scarify the roots of every specimen. Scarifying stimulates root growth. Essentially, he teases small portions of the root ball to loosen the roots a bit and create some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
Next, Brian places it into the hole and backfills, tamping down gently to ensure good contact between the plant and the surrounding soil.
Many of the plants in this area are under the dappled shade of these majestic bald cypress trees, Taxodium distichum – a deciduous conifer. Though it’s native to swampy areas, the bald cypress is also able to withstand dry, sunny weather and is hardy in USDA climate zones 5 through 10. These trees do so well here at the farm.
After a few hours, all the plants are in the ground. Here is one area all planted. I know these plants will thrive here. My Tenant House can be seen in the distance. This house is where my daughter and grandchildren stay when they visit. The surrounding beds are already filled with many beautiful shade-loving plants, trees, and shrubs.
All hostas need some sunlight. Choose them wisely. Blue, green, and variegated hostas will do better in slightly deeper shade, while yellow and gold ones need more light to bring out their bold colors.
And here is another area, near the new footpath we created. The combination of burgundy and green will look stunning. I can’t wait to see these plants grow and fill in the spaces. The dark plants are ‘Northern Exposure Red’ Heuchera – bold burgundy-red rounded leaves with fluted edges that form a tidy, dense mound with sprays of small greenish-yellow flowers.
And here is the area in front of my Basket House. I am glad to use more of the space for plantings instead of grass, which will save on mowing. I will be sure to share more photos of these areas as the plants grow.
Clean-up continues today at my Bedford, New York farm after torrential rains pounded through the Northeast over the weekend. I hope you saw the photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
It’s heartbreaking to see the many images of areas ravaged by this storm. In many regions of New England and the Northeast, this recent rain caused flash flooding, deluged roadways, and thousands of power outages. Fortunately, my farm escaped major damage. There was extensive runoff on the carriage roads, trees hit by lightning, and trees completely uprooted from the oversaturated soil, but everything here can be fixed, and my outdoor grounds crew is working very hard to get things back into shape. If you were in this recent storm, I hope you and your families are safe.
Here are are some photos.
I have four miles of carriage road at the farm and much of it suffered water runoff generated from all the fast-moving rain that flowed over the roads and into the landscape. A lot of the gravel is everywhere is shouldn’t be. Soon after the rain, we placed larger stones in the crevices left by the rushing water. It will all be recovered by gravel.
The rain came down fast and furious, causing overflowing waters all over.
This tree was struck by lightning. One can see the darkened charred bark.
There was ponding everywhere.
Here’s another part of the carriage road where water rushed through it taking away much of the gravel.
And here’s a tree that had completely toppled over because of the oversaturated soil.
Fortunately, the tree fell on another maple which was strong and stable – it kept the tree from falling onto my guest house.
Here is the base of the fallen tree – look at how it has totally come out of the ground.
The first step was to cut off the smaller branches. Pasang is an excellent tree man. He works efficiently and safely to remove the branches with the chainsaw.
Then from the safety of the Hi-Lo cage, Pasang tackles larger limbs and sections of the trunk.
Each section falls from the tree to the ground below – everyone keeping their distance for safety.
This is what is left of the base of the tree after the rest has been cut apart. Maple, Acer, is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. There are approximately 132 species, most of which are native to Asia, with a number also from Europe, northern Africa, and North America. It is a creamy white hardwood that sometimes has a reddish tinge. It is also a very heavy wood, so breaking it apart first is crucial.
Chhiring is my outdoor grounds crew foreman. He is an excellent driver and operates all the large machinery at the farm. Here he is operating the Hi-Lo to carry parts of the tree to the nearby dump truck.
I am so grateful that this tree cushioned the fall and saved the nearby structure from any damage…
… thank you, thank you, thank you.
All these logs are from the one tree – it was very large.
And look, watching from above is this hawk – it stayed quite awhile. Perhaps it is nesting in one of the nearby trees.
Here comes the Hi-Lo to loosen the base from its location in the soil. Chhiring wraps a chain around the trunk and moves it slightly until it is completely separated from the soil. I always feel bad when I lose trees on the farm. Trees are important to our environment – they are the world’s single largest source of breathable oxygen. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gasses, and they create an ecosystem to provide needed habitat and food for birds and other animals. However, occasionally trees fall or need to be removed.
And this is what was uncovered. The tree was actually unwell – half of it was already dead and deteriorating leaving no roots whatsoever. Underneath was a rush of water nearly 24-hours after the deluge.
Chhiring pulled it out in two pieces – here is the very bottom. Now the tree is completely removed.
Meanwhile, Pasang removes any broken branches from the standing tree.
Phurba brings the branches down the carriage road to the chipper. I am fortunate to have all the necessary equipment here at my farm. It is important to clear the debris as it is being cut to prevent any injuries during the process. The chipper is directed to the woodland, so all the cut pieces are used as top dressing right away.
By the afternoon, the area is clear of the fallen tree, and this one is looking great. Another job well-executed and completed. There is still much to do around the farm, but we made great progress, thanks to my hardworking crew. this task is now “done and dusted.”
Here at my Bedford, New York farm today, we're cleaning up after the torrential weekend rains. We got quite a bit of damage - fallen trees due to lighting and oversaturated soil, excessive runoff that washed away gravel from the carriage roads, and flooded garden beds causing many of the vegetables to rot. It's a lot of work on top of an already long list of outdoor chores.
Last week, despite the hot and humid summer weather, my outdoor grounds crew worked hard pruning, grooming, and planting. Pasang Sherpa, who is our resident tree expert here dedicated a few days to the six beautiful weeping hornbeams that line one side of what I call my "soccer field" - a large, flat area where my grandson, Truman, loves to play. Botanically known as Carpinus betulus 'pendula', the weeping hornbeam is deciduous and has a tight, dense growth pattern. I keep a close eye on all my hornbeams - it’s crucial that they be pruned regularly, so they never look too overgrown and unruly.
Here are some photos, enjoy. And check out my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 to see some of the damage caused by this recent storm.
In the area between my orchard and my clematis pergola are six matched standard weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus ‘pendula’ – a dense tree with a strong center, a shapely form, and gracefully arching branches.
The leaves are a fresh green color in the spring and summer. Each leaf has a sharply double serrated edge and a top that tapers to a point.
These are the seed catkins hanging from the branches, holding about 10 to 30 seeds each.
This is a photo taken in October. The weeping hornbeam turns a golden yellow in autumn. One can see the changing color here.
Because it is deciduous, these hornbeams also lose all their foliage in winter. This is a photo taken of the hornbeams in February.
But now, these rare, slow growing and exceptionally beautiful weeping hornbeams are full of gorgeous foliage and are due for a trim.
The long arching branches are healthy, but are now touching and sweeping the ground.
Pasang is an excellent pruner and oversees a lot of the smaller tree pruning projects around the farm. As with any pruning project, Pasang cuts off any dead, damaged, or diseased branches first.
I prefer all the hornbeams be pruned by hand using pruners, secateurs or Japanese shears – it is a slower process, but provides a more detailed and prettier finish. This is our The STIHL PL 40 lopper with long handles that allow for better leverage and reach. This tool has a cutting capacity of two-inches, which is very helpful for these hornbeams.
These ‘pendula’ hornbeams are actually grafted onto a lower trunk of Carpinus betulus. The branches start off by growing straight downwards and later grow more in the width, which forms the half-rounded parasol shape.
Here’s a look at the long branches from underneath the hornbeam.
The trunk is dark grey and very sturdy with a relatively smooth bark.
Hornbeams are very dependable cultivars and don’t need much pruning except when necessary for shaping or for removing dieback. Here Pasang removes any crowded or crisscrossing branches from inside.
Pasang also uses his hand pruners to remove smaller branches less than an inch in diameter.
The goal is to trim up the hornbeam, so the branches do not drag. This will also allow more air circulation within the tree and give it a nicely groomed appearance.
Pasang makes his cuts sloping down and away at a 45 to 60 degree angle. And always use sharp tools, so the cuts are clean.
Here are the first two trees well-pruned. One can now see underneath them.
Here’s a view from ground. There’s a good two feet cleared under each one.
All the clippings are gathered and carried away to the compost yard.
And here they are – all six done. Under ideal conditions, weeping hornbeams can live up to 120-years or more. I am so pleased these trees are thriving here at my farm – they are among my favorite and most precious of trees.
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