This time of year, my home is always decorated with gorgeous colorful blooms from my gardens. Right now, fragrant roses.
I love roses and have enjoyed growing them for many years. Here at my farm, there are so many roses blooming, we're able to enjoy them both inside and out. When cutting roses, do so early in the morning and select those that have just opened. And always use a pair of shears or scissors with sharp blades - the sharper the blades, the cleaner the cuts and the longer the roses will last. Earlier this week, my housekeepers, Enma and Elvira, picked some beautiful flowers to display in my Winter House.
Enjoy these photos.
I love decorating my homes with fresh, colorful and fragrant blooms. Here at my Bedford, New York farm, I have a large cutting garden located just outside my main greenhouse. Right now, it’s filled with stunning flowers – baptisia, dianthus, poppies, and of course, roses. And with so many roses flowering, it’s nice to cut my own to enjoy indoors.
Most are climbing on all four of the garden fence sides, while some varieties fill obelisk trellises, or tuteurs, in the center. This pink rose is sticking through the fence at the entrance to the garden – so perfectly perfect.
A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae. There are more than a hundred species and thousands of cultivars.
Many of my roses are old fashioned antique varieties. I have small English tea roses as well as big David Austin types.
Roses come in many different colors, such as pink, peach, white, red, magenta, yellow, copper, vermilion, purple, and apricot.
Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses to climbers that can reach several feet in height.
Here is a creamy white rose just opening – it’s just right for cutting.
Early in the morning, before the sun hits the blooms, is the best time to cut roses and other flowers. This is when they are the most hydrated. With more water, the stems should feel firm and strong.
Here, Enma cuts the flowers that are newly opened and fresh looking. She cuts the stem at a 45 degree angle so there is more surface area for water uptake.
Fortunately, the flower garden is not far from my Winter House, so they are brought back quickly after cutting. Always try to get cut flowers into water as soon as possible.
Elvira fills the vase with fresh water.
I love these vessels – they fit lots of stems and can be arranged to look very full.
Enma removes any leaves from the stem that sit below the water line in the vase. This makes the arrangement look clean and also keeps the water clean.
She keeps a few of the upper green leaves as is and gives each stem a fresh cut before placing it into the vessel.
I like arrangements to be done by color – this arrangement includes many of the light colored roses.
Here is a light yellow rose. When arranging, be sure not to overcrowd the flowers. Too many can prevent some flowers from getting adequate water.
Here is one vase almost done. Most freshly cut roses should last up to one week if properly tended.
In this vase, Elvira mixes deep red roses with a few cream to light pink colored blooms. When displaying roses, be sure to keep them away from heat and bright light, which will shorten vase life.
This vase of roses is in my sitting room, where I can see them every morning on my way to the kitchen. With cut flowers, it is also a good idea to change the water every two to three days to keep them fresh longer. And check on them. Keeping the vase full ensures the flowers do not dry out and wilt.
This arrangement of red and pink roses is on the center island of my servery, another nice spot where gorgeous arrangements can be seen and enjoyed. If you grow roses, I hope this inspires you to go out and cut a selection of flowers, so you can enjoy their beauty and fragrance inside.
The garden maze here at my Bedford, New York farm is transforming more and more with each row of plantings.
My three-acre living maze is located in a lush pasture just outside my Winter House. I started planting it one year ago with a variety of different hedges, espaliers, trees, and shrubs to add texture and interest. All of the specimens will grow tall enough to prevent walkers from seeing the paths ahead. So far, I've planted European beech, European hornbeams, boxwood, parrotias, espaliered apple trees, American sweetgums, barberry, and London planetrees. Most recently, I added more European hornbeams and a selection of yew trees, Taxus, a coniferous evergreen, related to pines, spruces, firs, cedars, and cypress. The trees are placed according to a very detailed map I designed specifically for this maze.
Enjoy these photos.
We picked up 30 yew trees from Select Horticulture in nearby Pound Ridge. I selected all the specimens myself – they are all healthy and lush. The yew, taxus, is a small to medium sized evergreen that grows up to 65-feet tall. The leaves are flat, dark green, and arranged spirally on the stem.
We also picked up 50 European hornbeams, Carpinus betulus – a fast-growing deciduous tree. I have many hornbeams here at the farm. The tree is native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. Because of its dense foliage and tolerance to being cut back, the hornbeam is popularly used for hedges and topiaries.
The maze can be seen from my Winter House. Here is the area designated for the newest grouping of yews and hornbeams.
The first step is to mark exactly where the trees will be planted. The maze is drawn out on a map, so Fernando and Pete set up the landscape twine according to the map’s specifications. This day was quite hazy because of the Canadian wildfires – one can see the difference in these images.
Here, Pete secures the twine on the other end of the designated row.
Once the area is marked, Pete uses our edger to cut the lines for the bed.
Pete gets up right next to the twine, so everything is completely straight.
Here, one can see where the line of sod is cut.
Next, Pete goes over the same lines with our our new Classen Pro HSC18 sod cutter. Since the area is already edged, the sod cutter goes over the lines smoothly and more deeply. Everything must be done as precisely as possible for the maze.
Pete rolls up the sod in sections, so it is not too heavy to transport.
Here are several pieces of sod neatly rolled up. It will be used in another section of the farm.
Pete continues to cut the sod to make the bed wider. This sod cutter works quickly and efficiently. It doesn’t take long to cut the entire bed for the yews.
The bed is now wide enough for the yew trees. Yews do best in moist but well-drained soil in full sun to full shade.
Meanwhile, holes are dug in a nearby bed for the European hornbeams. These trees are very adaptable and also do well in full sun to full shade.
In assembly line process, each tree is placed into a designated hole, still in its pot. This way, we can make sure there are enough holes for each tree and all of them are lined up perfectly. Afterward, the trees are removed from the pots and positioned into their new hole with the best side facing the path.
Hornbeams are often confused with the common beech because of their similar leaves; however, the hornbeam leaves are actually smaller and more deeply furrowed than beech leaves. The leaves are deciduous and alternate, with serrated margins.
And a trench is dug out for the yew trees and all of them are carefully positioned and equally spaced in the trench.
Once all the trees are in place, the burlap and ties are removed. This is very important. Some gardeners will leave the wrapping in the ground, but I prefer to remove everything around any trees that are planted at the farm, so there is nothing blocking its root growth. Some burlap is also treated to prevent it from disintegrating in the ground.
Here is our pile of burlap – all the tree root balls are now bare.
I always say, “if you eat, so should your plants.” For all of these, we’re using Plant-tone, an all-purpose organic fertilizer for trees, shrubs, lawns, flowers and vegetables. It’s made from only natural organic ingredients and fortified with beneficial microbes to improve soil structure without burning.
The fertilizer is made of insoluble granules that release nutrients as it biodegrades.
The yews are carefully backfilled. Another rule is “bare to the flare” meaning only plant up to the flare, where the tree meets the root system.
And here they are all planted and mulched. These yews are ready for a good, deep drink.
And so are the hornbeams. The maze will take some time before it is complete, but I am so happy with how well it is turning out so far – it’s already stumping some of those who walk through.
I'm always looking for interesting and healthy plants and trees. I love visiting different nurseries to see what specimens they have for my ever-evolving Bedford, New York farm.
Not long ago, I visited Select Horticulture Inc. in Pound Ridge, New York to purchase a selection of European hornbeams and yews for my living maze. Select Horticulture offers an extensive inventory of premium quality trees and shrubs including large sizes, unusual and rare specimens, with both stand-alone and mature espaliered options.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Select Horticulture Inc. has locations in Lancaster, Massachusetts and here in Westchester, New York right off route 137.
The nursery is filled with beautiful and well maintained specimens. Every row of trees and shrubs is neat, tidy, and every item properly identified.
There are lots of evergreen shrubs and mature trees.
I always notice the boxwood – these boxwood shrubs come in a variety of sizes from small to these medium-sized specimens to mature giants.
These are apple trees, Malus domestica ‘Red Delicious,’ the most widely planted apple tree in North America. It grows at a fast speed of more than 24-inches per year. Its mature height and width vary from 10 feet for the dwarf, 12 to 15 feet for the semi-dwarf, or 20 to 25 feet for a standard.
Every tree is connected to an extensive water irrigation system. There are multiple stakes in each root ball that connect to the water source.
Acer griseum is the paperbark maple or blood-bark maple – a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to central China. It is a small, deciduous, oval to oval-rounded tree with slender upright branching.
Most interesting is this tree’s bark – copper orange to cinnamon reddish-brown bark which exfoliates.
These are Bloodgood Japanese maple trees – several being trained on this trellis. In its maturity, the Bloodgood Japanese maple will reach between 15 to 20 feet tall, with a small narrow trunk. One of the most attractive features is its ability to retain its color throughout the seasons – a deep burgundy in spring that lasts throughout summer and then changes to a bright red in fall.
This is Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’ – a weeping blue atlas cedar. This is a beautiful, pendulous evergreen tree. And because it is a free-form weeping plant, it can be trained, trellised, espaliered, and even grown as a bonsai to fit various garden spaces.
This is Sciadopitys verticillata, commonly called a Japanese umbrella tree. It has a dense, narrow, conical to pyramidal habit when young, but tends to open up with age. It gets its common name from the umbrella-like whorls of needles that grow at the ends of the branchlets and branches. In its native habitat in Japan, this evergreen conifer may grow to 90-feet tall. In cultivation in the U.S., however, it typically matures to about 30-feet tall over many years.
Each whorl on the Sciadopitys verticillata contains 20 to 30 soft, flattened, dark green needles that radiate outward – almost like the ribs of an opened umbrella.
Six Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ trees were pulled out and prepared for pick up. This tree is commonly called an eastern redbud – a deciduous, often multi-trunked understory tree with a rounded crown that typically matures to 20 to 30 feet. It features purple-leaves and has an attractive red-orange fall color. Its common name, Judas tree, comes from legend. Biblical literature records that after betraying Christ, Judas Iscariot hanged himself from this kind of tree.
Eastern redbud leaves are alternate, simple, broadly heart-shaped and three to five inches high and wide.
Cercis canadensis ‘Vanilla Twist’ is a small tree with beautifully cascading branches.
And it has the same charming heart-shaped leaves.
There are many hornbeams, Carpinus betulus, of all sizes including this giant specimen.
And these giant columnar Carpinus betulus Frans Fontaine – a dense hornbeam with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit.
Here are our European hornbeams – all stacked in our dump truck and ready to go back to the farm to get planted in the maze.
If you’ve ever looking for a selection of quality trees or shrubs, and live in or around Pound Ridge, New York, or Lancaster, Massachusetts, be sure to visit Select Horticulture Inc. There’s something for everyone.
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