There is so much growing and blooming here at my Bedford, New York farm - it's a perfect time for a garden tour.
As many of you know, every now and then I agree to small, guided walks around my property. Earlier this week, I opened my gardens for a private showing to the Garden Club of Yorktown, an organization of passionate gardeners of all levels here in Westchester. Unfortunately, because of my busy work schedule I wasn’t able to join this group, but they had a very thorough and enjoyable visit with my head gardener, Ryan McCallister. The tour took them through my flower cutting garden, under the shade of the great pin oaks, down the length of my long Boxwood Allée, through the stable to see my horses and donkeys, past the herbaceous peony bed and winding clematis pergola, and finally to my terrace parterre for a few photos and refreshments.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Most of the tours start at the front gate of my home. All the guests receive a map of the property and a short introduction and history about the farm and how it has evolved over the years. Here is Ryan welcoming the group to Cantitoe Corners.
Right now, the smoke bushes are looking spectacular. They’re among the first plantings one sees when visiting my farm. Smoke bushes, Cotinus, are among my favorite of small trees – they have superlative color, appealing form, and look excellent in the gardens.
The tour then walked through my glass greenhouse and attached head house and then out to the flower cutting garden – it’s so full of colorful blooms this time of year.
Lupinus, commonly known as lupin or lupine, is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. The genus includes more than 200 species. It’s always great to see the tall spikes of lupines blooming. Lupines come in lovely shades of purple, pink, white, yellow, and even red. Lupines also make great companion plants, increasing the soil nitrogen for vegetables and other plants nearby.
The roses are looking spectacular this year. I have a vast collection – many of which are heirlooms that we moved from Lily Pond, my former home in East Hampton, to Bedford.
We have dianthus flowering as well with its beautiful pink fringed margins. Most varieties of dianthus are perennials, meaning they come back every year,
I grow so many alliums here at the farm and they continue to bloom so beautifully interspersed with other flowers. These easy-to-grow bulbs come in a broad palette of colors, heights, bloom times, and flower forms. They make excellent cut flowers for fresh or dried bouquets. What’s more, alliums are relatively resistant to deer, voles, chipmunks, and rabbits.
Also blooming this week – the poppies. Poppies produce open flowers that come in many colors from crimson red to purple, lavender, and pale pink. Poppies require very little care, whether they are sown from seed or planted when young – they just need full sun and well-drained soil.
Here’s another rose – my roses are at their peak. Rose bushes need six to eight hours of sunlight daily. In hot climates, roses do best when they are protected from the hot afternoon sun. In cold climates, planting a rose bush next to a south or west-facing fence or wall can help minimize winter freeze damage.
Wisteria also loves lots of light. And wisterias of all types are scented. Some have a musky fragrance, while others release a sweet, intoxicating smell.
I have many iris cultivars. Iris flowers bloom in shades of purple, blue, white, and yellow and include many hybridized versions that are multi-colored. Iris × hollandica, commonly known as the Dutch iris, is a hybrid iris developed from species native to Spain and North Africa. The bulbous iris has narrow linear green leaves and bears largish blue to yellow to white flowers.
The group walked out of the garden to my stand of bald cypress trees on the left and my long clematis pergola on the right.
Many enjoyed taking photographs of the gardens and flowers – everything is looking very lush and green.
Next, Ryan guided the group through the Pin Oak Allée, Quercus palustris, which looks fuller every week with its distinguishable lower, middle and upper branches – such a lovely collection of trees.
Ryan often stops along the carriage road to answer any questions. Here he points out the pool area behind the growing hedges of purple columnar beech trees, Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Purple’ inside the pool fence and Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ shrubs outside the pool fence. He also shows everyone my orchard, filled with more than 200 fruiting trees.
The Boxwood Allée and stable always grab everyone’s attention. Ryan goes over how we care for the boxwood in winter, covering it with protective burlap. Looking up, the skies are hazy from all the smoke drifting down from the wildfires in the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It has been particularly bad on the east coast with air quality reaching dangerous levels. This day, however, was safe for our walking tour around the farm.
No tour is complete without a brief visit in the stable. Here’s Bond saying hello to the group.
After leaving the stable, the tour continued up the carriage road, past the grove of azaleas, and around the corner to the peonies. Luckily, some of the herbaceous peonies were still blooming.
My herbaceous peony collection includes 11-double rows of peonies, and 22 different varieties of peony plants – two varieties in each row. I chose the varieties for their colors, their forms, and their long blooming periods.
After seeing the peonies, the group was led through the upper terrace parterre to the lower terrace just outside my Winter House. The golden barberry glistens above the bold green of the boxwood hedges.
Carlos and Enma set up some refreshments. I always like to offer guests some tasty treats at the end of our tours. We offer cookies and cool pomegranate juice made using concentrate from our friends at POM Wonderful.
A coyote was also on the terrace wall watching all the activity, but don’t worry, it’s not real.
At the end, the group stopped for a final photo. It was a nice ending to a pleasant early summer walk. Thanks for visiting my gardens, Garden Club of Yorktown.
As you may know, pumpkins grow on vines, which means they take up a lot of space. I always plant my pumpkin patches in roomy beds that can accommodate large crops of big, colorful fruits. This year, I decided to plant them in the large garden adjacent to the chicken coops, where we used to grow all the other vegetables. We planted lots and lots of seeds. Many of them are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in central Maine - a company I’ve been using for quite some time. Some of the varieties should be ready to harvest in about 100-days. We also planted several rows of corn - also from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It's going to be a bountiful season.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Many of you already know, this garden is where I grew the majority of my vegetables. Now that I have a new and giant half-acre vegetable garden closer to my home, I decided to designate this area for our pumpkins and corn. The area was already cleared, rototilled and prepared for planting. Pumpkins are one of the last crops we plant because the soil must be thoroughly warmed to at least 70-degrees Fahrenheit – pumpkins are very sensitive to the cold.
Pasang begins transporting wheelbarrows of compost into the garden. The pumpkins will be planted in “hills” to allow the soil to warm more quickly, while encouraging the seeds to germinate faster.
Here, Phurba shapes the compost into the hills or mounds. These “hills” are the perfect size for planting the pumpkin seeds.
The two work in a production line process to get the job done efficiently and quickly. As one drops the soil in place, the other works at the opposite end creating the needed beds.
It doesn’t take long to create all the mounds for our pumpkin seeds.
Meanwhile, Ryan prepares all the seeds and markers for the pumpkin patch. We always use seeds from various seed companies, and seeds I save from interesting or tasty pumpkins I’ve enjoyed. This year, most of our pumpkin seeds are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Each mound is then appropriately marked, so we can identify the fruits throughout the season.
Pumpkin seeds are oval-shaped with cream-colored husks. Some also come coated or dressed with an antimicrobial.
Ryan plants about five or six seeds in each spot, with each seed about an inch to an inch and a half deep into the soil.
Among the varieties we planted – ‘Rouge Vif D’Etampes.’ “Rouge vif” means “vivid red” in French. Shaped flatter than more traditional pumpkins, this variety averages about 10 to 15 pounds and the flesh is moderately sweet and orange – excellent for pies. (Photo from Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
‘Porcelain Doll’ is a popular favorite. It is a pink pumpkin with sweet flesh that can be used for pies, soups, and other gourmet delights. (Photo from Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
‘Valenciano’ has snow-white skin – it is among the whitest of pumpkins. It makes a unique for doorstep decoration. ‘Valenciano’ pumpkins are slightly ribbed, medium-sized and flatter in appearance. (Photo from Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
‘Cargo’ pumpkins are robust hybrid fruits with strong handles and beautiful rich orange color. (Photo from Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
We also planted a few melon varieties such as this ‘Starlight’ watermelon, a round “icebox” variety with sweet red flesh.
And this is ‘Griselet’ with an old-fashioned sweet and succulent melon flavor.
On the other side, Moises plants corn seeds. Corn is best planted in a location that has rich soil and receives at least six to eight hours of light per day.
Here, Moises plants two seeds together in each spot about an inch deep.
The seeds can be spaced about seven to 12 inches apart.
This is ‘Superb’ – a strong bicolored corn variety that thrives in difficult growing conditions. (Photo from Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
Another bicolor we planted is ‘Montauk.’ This has eight inch long ears with about 16 to 20 rows of small, sweet kernels. (Photo from Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
And another strong grower is ‘Solstice,’ which offers good eating quality and ear size along with delicious flavor. (Photo from Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
Once all the seeds are planted, Moises carefully rakes and backfills the seeds and then gives them a good drink. Our gardens are all planted – now to watch them grow. Sweet corn takes up to 100 days to mature. I can’t wait to pick our pumpkins and ears of corn.
Memorial Day Weekend up at Skylands is always fun and busy. We try to pack in as many activities as we can - hiking, shopping, and touring local gardens and nurseries are often on my list. And of course, spending time with good friends while sharing delicious meals.
Here are a few more photos from my weekend in Maine. I took many of these images, but a large number of pictures were also taken by my guests Kevin Sharkey and Ryan McCallister. Enjoy.
This is my long table in the entrance foyer of Skylands. I brought the roses up from my Bedford, New York farm, but the miniature classic Edsel station wagon was gifted to me by my daughter, Alexis.
Skylands is so relaxing – I always enjoy my stays here. This is a window in one of the bedrooms looking out onto Seal Harbor.
Here is another view looking toward Seal Harbor through the trees. On the right is a row of Rockefeller’s teeth on the top edge of the granite ledge. These teeth were part of Jens Jensen’s design plan for the home and alert passers by that there is likely a drop nearby.
Just below my large terrace is Aristide Maillol’s ‘La Riviere’ – also known around Skylands as “the lady.”
This is my large fenced in garden. This time in Maine, all the lilacs are in full bloom.
We cut lots of them in gorgeous purple, lavender, and white. Here they are in the back of our truck ready to bring to the house.
Every time I go up to Maine, Kevin Sharkey always creates the most gorgeous flower arrangements. Here he is with all the lilacs cut and ready to arrange – the fragrance of all these blooms is intoxicating.
One of his arrangements is on this faux bois table between the dining room and my living hall.
And here is another – each one more beautiful than the last.
I had seen a video of picked dandelions used for a garland and decided to give it a try. We picked a hat full of these dandelion puffs. In fact, the proper term for them is “dandelion clocks” – the single stem of a dandelion in its post-flowering state with the downy covering of its head still intact. Kevin strung the heads together to create a garland.
Look how pretty this garland of dandelion is hanging across the window. Simple, yet so charming. English writer A.A. Milne once said, “weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.”
On this day we also took a short drive to Surry Gardens, in Surry, Maine. I visit this nursery often. It has more than five acres dedicated to growing and selling the area’s largest selection of unusual perennials, classic shrubs, and a huge variety of other favorite plants. There are always many wagons standing by for visitors to use.
Here are some flowering rhododendrons. It’s hard not to walk away with something from this nursery.
There’s always time for a hike when we’re in Maine. Here is a view from atop Cadillac Mountain. From this vantage point, one can see many of the offshore islands. Some of them are hosts to fishing communities, some are privately owned, but most serve as protected nesting sites for sea birds and other migratory species.
Cadillac Mountain features an ancient volcanic landscape. The granite mass was once a magma chamber more than two miles below the earth’s crust. Time has gradually eroded the overlying rock, but the summit still exposes much of the hardened granite.
These views are majestic – be sure to visit Cadillac Mountain if you’re ever touring Acadia National Park. It is the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the United States, and is worth the climb to see this.
At night, we played competitive games of gozo – a card game similar to rummy.
The charming town of Northeast Harbor, near my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, hosts its own Memorial Day Parade every year – I always try to attend. Marching bands from the Mount Desert Island high school and middle school, veterans, and elementary school children participate in the event along with other local first responders and some vintage car drivers.
One afternoon, our group also went to Beal’s Lobster Pier on Clark Point Road in Southwest Harbor. One couldn’t visit Maine without a delicious lobster roll.
In all, it was a wonderful weekend in Maine – I can’t wait to go back.
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