We're now in the third week of spring, all the protective burlap is removed from the boxwood and ornamental urns, and seasonal chores have begun at my Bedford, New York farm.
The area around my pool is planted with a variety of dark-colored burgundy-black leafed plants. I always try to incorporate unique and interesting specimens in the gardens. Along the inside of the pool's fence, I have a growing hedge of purple columnar beech trees, Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Purple' - a splendid tree with deep-purple foliage. On the outside of the fence, I have Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple.’ Yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew checked all the specimens, pruned what was necessary, and dressed all the beds with nutrient-rich compost. All the gardens are looking better and better every day.
Enjoy these photos.
This is what this space looks like in summer – the pool is open for my family and friends, there are gorgeous views of the landscape, and all trees, hedges, and shrubs are filled with bold colored foliage.
Around the pool, I have plantings on both sides of the fence. These hedges and shrubs are all deciduous, meaning they shed their leaves in autumn. This photo was taken in July.
We planted this hedge exactly five years ago. I am so pleased with its development, in part because of all the thoughtful care I give them through the year.
The leaves of the columnar purple beech are rounded ellipses, two to four inches long and one to three inches wide, with an undulating margin and a slightly pointed tip. They are smooth and softly lustrous in the sunlight. In spring the new leaves are a vibrant, deep purple-red. As they mature in summer they become dark burgundy-purple, holding this color well through the hotter weather.
This is what the hedge looks like now. One can see all the new buds growing. The pool is surrounded by about 170 of these European columnar beech trees along the inside fence line. The columnar beech trees will grow to 40 to 50 feet in height and only 10-feet wide which makes them perfect for tight spaces and as an interesting hedge.
Here’s my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, bringing over wheelbarrows filled with my nutrient-rich compost made right here at the farm.
And here’s Phurba spreading the compost below the beech hedge surrounding the pool. Adding compost to the garden has many benefits. Among them, improving the structure and health of the soil by adding organic matter, helping the soil retain moisture and nutrients, attracting beneficial organisms to the soil reducing the need for pesticides and fertilizers, and helping to prevent the potential for soil erosion. We cover all the garden beds with compost this time of year.
And looks what is now blooming. Commonly known as The Guinea Hen Flower, The Checkered Lily or The Snake’s Head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris is an heirloom species dating back to 1575. It has pendant, bell-shaped, checkered and veined flowers that are either maroon or ivory-white with grass-like foliage intermittently spaced on its slender stems. I have many in my gardens.
And here is fritillaria in ivory white.
Guests always ask about these structures at one end of the pool. Do you know what these are? They’re called staddle stones. I bought these staddle stones in 2017 from the annual NYBG Garden Furniture & Antiques Fair. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. They typically looked like giant stone mushrooms, but mine are square – a more rare and unique version.
The hedge bed looks so clean and tidy after the compost dressing is put down. In several weeks, these plantings will show off a stunning dark burgundy color.
On the outside of the fence, Pasang is working on the shrubs – Cotinus alternating with Physocarpus. He cuts off any dead, dying, or diseased branches and twigs first.
Pasang also cuts any big dead or crisscrossing branches from the bottom. Pruning means to lop or cut off any superfluous branches or shoots for better-shape and better growth. These look fuller every year – in part because of our regular pruning.
Here is the Cotinus leafed out in summer. Cotinus, also known as smoketree or smoke bush, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. They are a great choice for massing or for hedges. The stunning dark red-purple foliage turns scarlet and has plume-like seed clusters later in the year, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.
In fact, the name “smoke bush” comes from this – the billowy hairs attached to the flower clusters which remain in place through the summer, turning a smoky pink to purplish-pink. I have many smoke bushes around the farm.
This is physocarpus in June. Physocarpus, commonly called ninebark is an upright, spreading, somewhat coarse, deciduous, Missouri-native shrub which is closely related to the genus Spiraea. It boasts dark foliage with ovate to rounded, usually three to five-lobed leaves.
For these shrubs, Pasang uses two distinct tools. This is his hand-held pruner. Every member of the outdoor grounds crew has one. This tool is good for trimming delicate flowers, cutting thin branches, or getting rid of old, dead wood.
For thicker branches up to two-inches, Pasang uses the STIHL PL 40 lopper, made with aircraft aluminum handles measuring 32-inches long and perfect for getting better leverage or reaching taller branches. I always instruct the crew to use the right tool for the job.
He also trims all the tops to keep them at the same height as the fence itself.
All the cuttings are gathered on a tarp to make cleanup easy and quick.
Here is Chhiring shoveling compost on the outside hedge. A layer of compost should not be too think – just top dress perennial flower gardens with a layer no greater than an inch or so.
The beds look so nice after some spring maintenance.
And here is the outside of the fence – so straight all the way around. The lawn was also mowed for the first time this season. These plantings create such a gorgeous privacy screen around my pool and still disguise the fence very well – one cannot see it at all.
It won’t be long before the pool is uncovered. I am looking forward to the warm season – aren’t you?
Holidays are so much fun, especially when I can celebrate with my daughter, Alexis, and her beautiful children, Jude and Truman.
This year, I hosted a small Easter lunch for 10 at my Bedford, New York farm. The weather was perfect - pleasant temperatures under the bluest of skies. I decorated my home with cheerful bunnies, chicks, and eggs of all colors and sizes. And we all enjoyed a delicious feast, prepared by me with help from Moises Fuentes - it included buckwheat crêpes with crème fraîche and ossetra caviar, white and green asparagus, warm artichokes with hollandaise vinaigrette, poached salmon with cucumber sauce, and a Cipriani meringue cake de Martha.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Easter weekend at the farm was beautiful – the daffodils and many other early springtime bulbs are now blooming in gorgeous bright colors.
And inside, every room is filled with charming Easter themed figures, more springtime blooms, and eggs in all sizes and colors. These two bright green bunnies are watching all the holiday activities from a faux bois seat in my indoor porch.
On this table in my foyer, guests are welcomed by these two larger than life-sized faux chocolate bunny figurines holding pretty daffodils from the garden. Wait until you see my long daffodil border this year – the flowers are coming up so wonderfully.
Kevin Sharkey gifts me with a beautiful Easter basket every year. And I save every single one. This was his Easter offering from 2017 with a sitting rabbit, a butterfly, and brightly colored eggs in shades of pink.
I always love to decorate with pretty plants and flowers. These are purple Easter hyacinths on a giant brass tray in my sitting room.
In the same room, I also display lots of other flowering plants such as this orchid. Most of my plants are kept in my glass greenhouse where they can be and maintained in a temperature and humidity-appropriate space. And when they bloom, I bring them into my Winter House where I can enjoy their splendor.
On my servery counter, a lovely scene of chicks and bunnies.
We picked some beautiful daffodils to place in the glass vase inside this paper maché chick.
Here is another big bunny – the same one I made for the April 2015 issue of Martha Stewart “Living.” This charming rabbit is also carrying a beautiful bunch of fresh daffodils picked from my garden.
Every year, I order these giant asparagus from Mister Spear in Stockton, California – they are always a big hit. I served them with a delicious hollandaise vinaigrette.
Everyone loves the jumbo asparagus I serve. This year, delicious white and green asparagus spears – cooked perfectly. I got them from Natoora in Brooklyn, New York.
Here are the large green asparagus spears. I like to trim an inch and a half off the bottoms of the asparagus stalks and then blanch them.
Our main dish was salmon with a delicious cucumber sauce. Everything was devoured – no leftovers.
And here is my dessert – my own rendition of the Cipriani meringue cream cake. I baked it…
… and my 11-year old grandson, Truman, browned the meringue with a hand-held torch. He did a beautiful job, don’t you think?
The table was also decorated with seasonal plants and flowers, a variety of colorful eggs, and Easter bunnies. The place settings are always so beautiful and different from year to year. This year, I selected muted tones of green and tan with these cheerful dark pink-lavender napkins folded like rabbit ears. Do you remember these place mats? They’re from my original Collection at Kmart.
More faux chocolate bunnies on these black lacquered tables in my Brown Room. One can never have too many whimsical animals sitting around a room on Easter.
This black swan basket was also an Easter gift from Kevin. He found the baskets, painted them and chose the color palettes for all the decorations he made to fill them.
And here is this year’s beautiful Easter basket from Kevin. It matched perfectly with the holiday décor.
What a wonderful celebration at my farm. I hope you all had a festive and memorable holiday. Share your Easter stories and menus in the comments section below.
As many of you know, whenever I am home I always decorate for major holidays. For Easter, I fill my Winter House rooms with lots of chicks, bunnies, and eggs. My dear friend, Kevin Sharkey, our Executive Vice President and Executive Creative Director of Design for Martha Stewart at Marquee Brands, also enjoys decorating his New York City apartment for various occasions. This year, he created lovely Easter vignettes featuring colorful Easter themed candies, figurines, and eggs in all different sizes - some of his decorations were also surrounded by beautiful lilies and bird's nest ferns.
Everything looked so pretty, I asked him to take photos to share with all of you, enjoy.
Decorating for holidays can be lots of fun. One important tip is to start ahead of time. Kevin decorated his home several days early.
Decorative eggs fill this Easter bunny platter.
Here is a view from above – the more eggs the merrier.
Consider decorating with multiples of one item. Here, Kevin lined up bunnies on this credenza – each one tied with a little ribbon.
Here is a view of them from the front.
On this table, potted gorgeous, fragrant white blooms we know as Easter lilies, Lilium longiflorum. Easter lilies grow between one to three feet tall and bloom in clusters of trumpet-shaped flowers.
A large basket filled with eggs and flanked by bunnies sits on Kevin’s coffee table.
This is one of two Guanyin bodhisattvas. Guanyin is the Chinese translation of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, mercy, and love. For Easter, both figures are adorned with decorated eggs.
Silver colored eggs and the one “golden” egg.
And here are jars of beautiful pastel colored candies and chocolates. Decorations don’t have to be expensive – just creatively and beautifully presented.
Here is another small bunny and a goose sharing a basket of orange jelly beans.
Place colorful candies in decorative dishes all around the home for guests.
Here, Kevin lines up a series of bird’s nest ferns in silver vessels surrounded by Easter themed figures and more candy.
Bird’s nest ferns form a series of long, bright green fronds that rise from a central rosette. In the center, Kevin “nests” a beautiful gold egg.
In between these two ferns is a dish of bright colored green jelly beans and more ceramic bunnies and birds.
Here is the other Guanyin bodhisattva – this one is holding up an egg with three others resting on her lap.
Details can be small – such as these bunny shaped clips on place cards.
All Kevin’s eggs and other Easter decorations looked even more stunning at night. Such beautiful decorations, Kevin – thanks for sharing them. And if you don’t already, be sure to follow Kevin on Instagram @seenbysharkey.