My blog team is taking a brief summer break, so for the next week we'll be posting some of our favorite blogs from years past. This one was originally posted on June 27th, 2022 - a fun evening at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. Enjoy the look back.
The 2022 Summer Season at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is underway - I hope you take the opportunity to attend one of their events if you're in the area.
Caramoor, which is not far from my Bedford, New York farm, is an 80-acre former estate where Lucie and Walter Rosen built an Italianate-style villa and gardens to entertain their friends from around the world. In 1946, the Rosens opened their property as a performing arts center, which now hosts summer concert series, historic house tours, educational programs, and other outdoor affairs and performances. Earlier this month, I attended Caramoor's special Opening Night Gala to celebrate its 77th season of events. The evening included cocktails, dinner, and a spectacular performance by The Knights and Yo-Yo Ma.
Enjoy these photos, and please visit the website at caramoor.org to see what events are being offered in the coming weeks.
On the expansive Caramoor grounds, guests are welcomed by this commissioned sound art sculpture, in”C”, created by Trimpin. Born Gerhard Trimpin, Trimpin is a kinetic sculptor, sound artist, and musician. His work integrates sculpture and sound across a variety of media. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
The Rosens built the estate and Tuscan-style villa gradually during the 1930s, importing many architectural and decorative items from Europe. The estate became a center for the arts and music following the World War II death of the Rosen’s son. The couple donated the property in their son’s memory, and it quickly became an established summer festival venue. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
During the Summer Season, guests can sit on Friends Field to watch various outdoor musical performances. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
At the Opening Night Gala, we all gathered for dinner under the large tent. Dinner was prepared by Great Performances. It included burrata, spring peas and greens with favas, edamame, and lemon vinaigrette along with a vegetable mosaic of chioggia beets, carrots, radishes, and chickpea mousse. The second course was grilled beef filet with tarragon roasted baby carrots, green peas, and king oyster mushrooms. And for dessert – lemon curd and light lemon mousse with blueberry and mint petit fours. (Photo by Julie Ades Richter)
Caramoor President and CEO Ed Lewis III took to the podium and welcomed all the guests to the Opening Night Gala.
Comments were also given by Vice-Chairman, Peter Kend.
Featured wines on this evening included 2016 The Napa Valley Reserve Kend Family Reserve and a 2021 Babich Black Label Sauvignon Blanc.
(Photo by Gabe Palacio)
Opening Night at Caramoor, Katonah’s wonderful music festival, is always a festive affair. The audience was packed and very enthusiastic about the performances and the music. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
This is Caramoor Chairman of the Board Jim Attwood. Jim has served on the Board of Trustees for more than 15 years. He is a personable and knowledgeable music aficionado who loves Caramoor.
On this night, attendees celebrated the transformative philanthropy of Leslie Williams and Jim Attwood. They have done so much to support Caramoor over the years.
Here, Ed introduces evening’s performance from The Knights and Yo-Yo Ma.
This is the inside of the Venetian pavilion. The Theater is set around Greek and Roman marble columns topped by Venetian arches and protected by a billowy tent. It’s always brilliantly lit and the acoustics excellent. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
This is violinist and composer, Colin Jacobsen. He is a touring member of Yo-Yo Ma’s famed musical ensemble and an artistic director for The Knights.
And here is renowned cellist, Yo-Yo Ma. Yo-Yo graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University and attended Columbia University and has performed as a soloist with orchestras around the world. He has recorded more than 90 albums and received 19 Grammy Awards.
Yo-Yo’s primary performance instrument is a 1733 Montagnana cello. Yo-Yo is well known for his smooth, rich tone and virtuosity.
Yo-Yo and Colin along with the entire ensemble played so beautifully together. Included in their musical program – Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, Scott Joplin’s The Maple Leaf Rag and The Chrysanthemum, and Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 1. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
It was a a great show and a wonderful evening. Colin and Yo-Yo enjoyed performing as much as we enjoyed watching.
Upcoming performances at Caramoor include J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano with Bradley Moore on the piano on July 7th. (Photo courtesy of Caramoor)
Another event features The Chevalier: A Concert Theater Work About Joseph Bologne Written and Directed by Bill Barclay which is on July 10th. (Photo courtesy of Caramoor)
And this weekend to celebrate Independence Day on July 2nd, is Pops & Patriots
Westchester Symphonic Winds – Curt Ebersole, conductor, Christine Taylor Price, soprano, and Thomas West, baritone. Please see the Caramoor website for a full calendar of upcoming events and tickets. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
It's definitely mid-summer when my long and winding pergola is full of striking orange-colored tiger lily blooms.
This pergola, located on one side of a carriage road near my Tenant House, goes through several transformations during the year. In winter, the beds are bare and the bordering boxwood is enveloped in protective burlap. In late spring, a palette of bold purple and white alliums covers the area, followed by the delicate shades of lavender and blue from the flowering clematis vines that wrap around each of the granite posts. And now, hundreds of brightly spotted tiger lilies line the garden bed for all to see - and they are thriving.
Enjoy these photos.
Tiger lilies, Lilium lancifolium, bloom in mid to late summer, are easy to grow and come back year after year.
Native to China and Japan, these robust flowers add striking beauty to any border. I love how they look with their bright and showy orange colored blooms.
In winter, my pergola is sleeping – the boxwood border is covered in burlap and the beds are bare. On this day in mid-March, the pergola was covered in snow.
In early spring, this garden is filled with bold green stems of new growth.
By late May, this pergola garden is filled with lots of blue and purple flowers. This palette of colors is a big favorite at the farm – it grows more colorful and vibrant every spring.
The beds are filled with Camassia, alliums, Hyacinthoides or Spanish bluebells, and others.
By June, the colors transform again. One by one, the orange lilies begin to open.
The tiger lily’s petals bend back far during the flowering cycle, curling up against its own stem and exposing the stamens and pistol for visiting pollinators.
Tiger lilies are covered with black or deep crimson spots, giving the appearance of the skin of a tiger. They have large, down-facing flowers, each with six recurved petals. Many flowers can be up to five inches in diameter. Lilies are well-known for having heavily pollinated stamens, which stain. Here, it is easy to see those pollen-filled anthers. When cutting, always remove the anthers to prevent a clothing disaster – just pinch them off with gloved fingers.
The blackish, round “seeds” that develop in the axils of the leaves along the main stem are called bulbils.
The leaves can grow to three inches long and about 3/4-inch wide. They are medium green, narrow, smooth along their margins, and glabrous, clasping the stem at their bases.
There are also a few white lilies in this bed – adding more interest to the long floral display.
This lily is white and orange with bright orange pollinated stamens, which also stain.
And there are also some lighter orange lilies.
On the granite posts, there are a few lasting clematis flowers. I have always loved clematis, and over the years I have grown many varieties of this wonderful plant. Most species are called clematis, but it has also been called traveller’s joy, virgin’s bower, leather flower, or vase vine. It’s also been called “Old Man’s Beard,” because of the long fluffy seed heads that look similar to an old man’s beard.
This is Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’, which has slightly fragrant, bell-shaped flowers that bloom from summer to fall.
A few passionflowers also grow here. The passionflower has a wide, flat petal base with five or 10 petals in a flat or reflex circle. The ovary and stamens are held atop a tall, distinctive stalk encircled by delicate filaments. The stigmas start high above the anthers and slowly bend backward for easy pollination.
In this garden, we also have pops of daylilies. The daylily is a low-maintenance perennial—easy to grow, virtually disease- and pest-free, and able to survive drought, uneven sunlight, and poor soil. The daylily’s botanical name, Hemerocallis, comes from Greek hemera “day” and kallos meaning “beauty”. The name is appropriate, since each flower lasts only one day. Despite their name, daylilies are not “true lilies.” Leaves grow from a crown and the flowers form on leafless stems called “scapes,” which rise above the foliage.
In various spots along the pergola garden are some of the dried alliums which I leave be as the garden transforms.
This pergola starts across from my perennial flower cutting garden and runs along one side of the carriage road leading to my Winter House. It’s one of the first gardens guests see when they come to visit.
Beside the pergola, I also display some potted specimens such as this sago underplanted with Helichrysum petiolare, the licorice plant.
And across the carriage road, there are more orange tiger lilies blooming in my Stewartia Garden near the tall and stately bald cypress trees.
The entire pergola border and its surrounding gardens, trees, and other specimens provide a spectacular show every year. I am so proud of how it’s grown.
It takes a lot of close monitoring to stay on top of our watering tasks this time of year. We've had sporadic showers and thunderstorms, but sometimes they're just not enough to keep all the gardens well irrigated.
Because of this typical mid to late summer weather, our hoses and sprinklers are always very busy in July and August. One of my favorite sources for watering equipment is Gilmour, a Madison, Wisconsin-based company that’s been manufacturing hoses and other watering solutions since 1949. I use several of their products at my Bedford, New York farm and at Skylands, my home in Maine - they're durable, long-lasting, and easy to use. With so many trees, shrubs, and plants to maintain, it’s important we use only the best quality outdoor tools.
Enjoy these photos.
Every spring, when it starts to warm up, my outdoor grounds crew puts out all the sprinklers and hoses around the farm, so they’re ready to use. During the driest, warmest days of summer, we have to do lots of watering. Fortunately, I have deep wells and an elaborate underground irrigation system.
Gilmour has a very dependable collection of gardening supplies – I have been using Gilmour products for years. The hoses are always put to great use in the gardens and wherever thorough watering is needed. Plus, they curve without kinking, connect without leaking, and are easy to store. I also love Gilmour’s Professional Adjustable Circular Tripod Sprinklers, Rectangular Sprinklers, and their Professional Watering Wands with Swivel Connect.
A Gilmour hose and at least one sprinkler are placed at every bibb or faucet. And here’s a tip… to keep it from kinking, when it’s new stretch it along a path or the edge of the lawn and then loop the business end back to the tap.
This hose and sprinkler is near my Winter House, where it can be accessed easily for watering the terrace parterres.
Here, a hose is paired with a wand for watering the container plants around my home.
Here’s a tripod sprinkler in my orchard. The adjustable tripod can reach a height of 58-inches and can water everything from above. Once the watering in one area is done, it’s extremely important to turn off the water at the source. Just turning off at the sprinkler puts a lot of pressure on the hoses and pipes.
Here’s a tripod in my new vegetable garden. Look how far the sprinkler can reach – and the spray is very consistent.
When ready to use, the collar of these tripod sprinklers can be adjusted for partial to full circle coverage. The controls are just under the sprinkler head.
A pin diffuser allows for a customized spray from powerful jet to gentle mist. I show every member of my crew how to use the sprinkler, so they can water properly and efficiently.
The round dial on top makes it easy to set the direction and length of the spray.
And, each of the legs is also adjustable. Here is one of the three spiked feet of the tripod sprinkler which provide lots of stability on varied surfaces.
The hose connects easily to the sprinkler directly under the sprinkler head so it is well-balanced and won’t tip over when in use.
Mornings are the best times to water – when water pressure is high, evaporation is low, and the soil can absorb the water before the sun heats up the ground. The distance and spray patterns of these tripod sprinklers can also be adjusted to suit so many garden needs.
I always instruct the crew to never direct hard spraying sprinklers at trees – this may mar the bark. Instead, use harder sprays for open spaces and wide lawn areas.
Well-established trees with strong, deep root systems will be more drought tolerant.
To avoid dry spots, sprinkler heads should be positioned so they overlap slightly in their coverage areas. During the summer, a good watering is done to a depth of about six to eight inches. An even, intermittent sprinkling is best for thorough, deep watering.
Here is a tripod sprinkler in a pasture. Every so often, observe any sprinklers in action and look for clogged or leaking heads that may need minor maintenance.
And when done, always take the time to properly roll up the hose, so it is neat, tidy, and out of the way.
Here at my farm, each person on the crew manages a day of watering during the warm weather season. This way, everything can be monitored and timed appropriately. This day is Phurba’s day – he goes around the farm checking that everything is adequately watered.
Some of the other Gilmour products we’ve used over the years include this Adjustable Spot Sprinkler with Spike Base. These are great for use where there are planters and garden beds. The durable metal spike provides stability in softer soil and on uneven ground.
These spot sprinklers are easy to push into the ground wherever needed and offer full circular coverage.
We use the Gilmour rectangular oscillating sprinklers that are easy to control in a variety of areas. They feature a tube with multiple openings that move back and forth to provide even watering.
I have many of these rectangular oscillating sprinklers. Some models are older, but they hold up so well through the seasons. They provide thousands of square feet in water coverage.
Fortunately, we’ve had good amount of rain this summer, but August is typically quite warm and dry. It’s nice to know we have the “right tools for the right jobs,” so all my gardens, groves, and allées will be well maintained. Wherever you live, I hope all your gardens are getting the water they need.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
