The tree peonies are blooming so beautifully in my garden right now! I hope you've seen my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
I adore tree peonies and have been collecting them for quite some time. As many of you know, I have a long tree peony border planted in a semi-shade of giant sugar maples just outside my Summer House. Many of the specimens were transplanted from my Turkey Hill garden in Westport, Connecticut and over the years I've added many more - all of them continue to thrive here at my Bedford, New York farm. Unfortunately, the tree peony season is short - only about seven to 10 days, so I make sure not to miss them when they flower. I love seeing their colorful show every year.
Here are some photos, Enjoy.
These tall and striking sugar maple trees, Acer saccharum, are located at one corner of my farm – just outside my Summer House and its formal sunken garden. These maples are covered with climbing hydrangea, and beneath them is one of my favorite gardens this time of year…
…my tree peony garden. I love my curved border of tree peonies, Paeonia suffruticosa. There are very few plants that can compete with a tree peony in full bloom. They flower from late April to early May, but the season can often vary from year to year.
We started to see these gorgeous blooms begin to unfurl just last week – these petals are so delicate and pretty.
And then within days it was showing off its beautiful colors.
The tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa, has upright flowers that bloom above the foliage.
And, unlike the more common herbaceous peonies, which flop over if not staked, tree peonies bloom on graceful woody stems.
Tree peony leaves are easily distinguished from herbaceous peonies by their dissected three pronged appearance.
Here is a white tree peony blooming perfectly. Although tree peonies can thrive in full sun, they prefer partial shade, with three to four hours of sunlight.
Tree peonies come in colors that include all ranges of white, yellow, pink, magenta, and dark maroon.
The pink varieties are more fragrant than the darker maroon flowers. This one has slightly ruffled petals with a gold center.
Here is a darker salmon variety still opening. This peony has enormous semi-double flowers. The petals are somewhat cupped, giving the flower a very full appearance. It also has a light, sweet fragrance.
Tree peonies typically reach only about four or five feet tall. Once their blooms have died, the green-leaved shrubs provide an attractive backdrop for other plants. They grow best in climates with hot summers and cold winters, making them great specimens for much of the eastern, midwestern, and western United States. I love how these looked backed by the blooming azaleas.
I have both Chinese and Japanese varieties. Chinese tree peonies are more robust and bushy. Their flowers are also more likely to be fragrant. Japanese types, by contrast, are renowned for their beauty and elegance.
Every year, these shrubs become more and more prolific, producing large flowers. And remember, tree peonies should not be cut back. Tree peonies are very slow growing and will not send forth new growth if pruned. The only cutting should be to remove any dead branches.
Here is a stunning majenta tree peony.
This peony has lovely pink flowers and a darker pink, burgundy, and gold center.
Smaller flowering plants grow among the peonies in this bed including Spanish Bluebells, late-blooming spring bulbs. These flowers are in the asparagus family, as are lily-of-the-valley and Adam’s needle. The flowers are a charming blue color, bell-shaped and about 3/4-inch long.
This is Ornithogalum. It features spear-like flower stems with multiple star-shaped white blooms.
And there are lots of beautiful bright green colored ferns.
Behind my Summer House, in the formal sunken garden, I have more tree peonies showing their colors. These are planted between the tall wall of American boxwood and the smaller European boxwood. Tree peony plants like to grow in soil that is well-drained, with a pH that is neutral or slightly alkaline. They will thrive in a loamy soil fortified with compost. Tree peonies have medium water needs and should not be overwatered – water deeply after the top four inches of soil have dried out.
This darker pink cultivar has several rows of petals around a golden interior – an eye catcher in this bed.
And look at this soft creamy yellow tree peony. Tree peonies are heavy feeders and respond well to a generous, early autumn top dressing of bone meal or rose fertilizer. The high potash content encourages flowers to develop. A light sprinkling of a general fertilizer can also be applied in spring.
Here’s a view from above the bloom.
The peony is a perennial plant that can survive up to 100-years when it is cultivated under optimal conditions. I look forward to many seasons of these most stunning flowers.
Here in Bedford, New York, we're expecting several more days of beautiful warm spring weather - great for spending time outdoors with those near and dear.
Earlier this month, I welcomed about 200-people to my farm for a Kentucky Derby Party benefitting the Bedford Riding Lanes Association, the BRLA. There was lots of food - a beautiful cheese table, an oyster bar, and of course a caviar station. My friend Chef Pierre Schaedelin from PS Tailored Events and I also planned a delicious array of Southern bites - deviled eggs, southern fried drumsticks, hot crab dip on shortbread crackers, brown sugar and bourbon glazed ham on buttermilk biscuits, and more. For drinks everyone enjoyed my special mint juleps, Martha's Chard, Martha-tinis, and sweet iced tea. It was a great day and a most enjoyable gathering.
Enjoy these photos.
It was a gorgeous May day for my party. Here is the mint julep station where I made my rendition of the popular Kentucky Derby drink for all my guests – outside on the cobblestone courtyard at the foot of my long Boxwood Allée.
We had an elaborate cheese table filled with lots of great cheeses from Murray’s Cheese in New York City.
We also enjoyed lots of these Biddy Sticks – small-batch, handmade, organic, artisanal breadsticks – made with just a hint of red pepper.
And here are our friends from Copps Island Oysters ready to shuck and serve. We ordered more than 300 oysters for the event – and all of them were devoured.
I made the melba toasts myself earlier in the morning.
I instructed the wait staff to make sure each piece had a nice dollop of caviar on top.
My Derby hat was made by expert milliner Jackie Cicogna Millinery right here in Westchester, New York. I am standing with Katherine Zeller Gage, the beautiful wife of Chef Daniel Boulud, and my neighbor, fashion designer Andy Yu.
We had glasses of wine in Govino glasses made especially with the thumb indentation on the side for easy holding.
Chef Pierre made this gorgeous and colorful platter of crudités. It was served with a Benedictine Dip – also popular for Kentucky Derby gatherings.
Some of the small bites passed around included Southern fried drumsticks, hot crab dip and glazed ham on buttermilk biscuits.
My Carriage House was decorated with a Kentucky Derby theme. Samsung monitors were hung on the walls around the room, so everyone could watch the race. And our buffet table was decorated with a Kentucky Derby themed centerpiece. The seven foot tall zinc eagle on the pedestal is something I purchased not too long ago. I think it looks so pretty in this room.
Kevin Sharkey took this photo from the hayloft of my stable. The weather was absolutely perfect.
This is Romilly Newman – tastemaker, recipe developer, and food stylist. She created our table scapes.
Here’s a giant mound of shrimp. Served with cocktail sauce, of course.
Chef Pierre and his team baked dozens of sourdough boules. A boule, from French, meaning “ball”, is a traditional shape of French bread resembling a squashed ball.
Candied pecans from High End Desserts in Georgetown, Kentucky served in fanciful silver were also part of the buffet.
And here are the girls – Billie and Jude “JJ” Junior, always looking on with curiosity. What a fun event for a great cause – to help maintain and develop the historic system of riding trails and dirt roads in this area of Westchester.
Spring is such a wonderful time for outdoor entertaining.
You may have seen my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. I recently hosted a Kentucky Derby Party at my Bedford, New York farm benefitting the Bedford Riding Lanes Association (BRLA), which maintains and develops the historic system of riding trails and dirt roads in this area of Westchester. The event was held in my stable, the adjacent Carriage House and the cobblestone courtyard just outside. The day before and the morning of the affair were very busy - it takes a lot of planning and forethought to host a gathering of 200, but we got it all done and the weather was absolutely perfect.
Enjoy these photos.
Leading up to this party, I decided to use tree stumps as tables around the courtyard. These are natural and very heavy – they definitely wouldn’t fall over. We cut them from a neighbor’s tree that fell down.
We cut each to just under waist-high – all the same height and completely smooth on top. We later placed them randomly around the courtyard.
Large televisions by Samsung were also placed in the courtyard and in my Carriage House.
Here, Sebastian is creating a racetrack themed table centerpiece. It will be placed in my Carriage House with lots of small bites surrounding it.
Silver is taken out and photos of what will fill each piece is placed on top. This kind of planning saves time later – assign plates and platters to the appropriate foods to avoid scrambling for the pieces later.
Everything is also shined perfectly. Always try to do these chores days ahead, so you can focus on more time sensitive tasks closer to the event.
This platter is for our crudités. Crudités are French appetizers consisting of sliced or whole raw vegetables which are served with a dipping sauce. Crudités usually include celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, bell pepper strips, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, baby corn, and asparagus spears.
Outside, chairs are pulled from storage and brought to the courtyard where they are dusted and placed in the Carriage House.
Lorna and Sebastian paint a buffet table my favorite color – “Bedford Gray.”
Copper cocktail cups are washed and placed on a table for our mint juleps. The mint julep became the official drink of the Kentucky Derby during the 1930s, when Churchill Downs started serving it in souvenir julep cups, which it ordered for the first time in 1937.
Pitchers were also taken out for serving water and sweet tea.
Sustainable, reusable, shatterproof wine glasses by Govino are displayed in tidy rows for our cocktails.
Container ferns decorate our cheese buffet table. We called on the help of tastemaker, recipe developer, and food stylist Romilly Newman to help with our “table scapes” – she and her team did a wonderful job.
Here is the racetrack centerpiece in the Carriage House. I had the miniature steeple fencing already, but we used crushed Biscoff cookies for the track.
And the miniature horse figurines are from Schleich.
Our brown sugar and bourbon glazed hams from Loveless Cafe are taken out and ready to be cut for our mini sandwiches.
Bottles and bottles of my wine are put on ice in the giant stone sink inside my stable. “If you play hard, drink Martha’s Chard.”
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
