Here in Bedford, New York we're expecting a mix of rain and snow showers, with temperatures in the 40s. Although these are warmer than usual conditions, it is winter, and all the gardens and most of the trees are bare.
This time of year, while my outdoor grounds crew is busy pruning many of the trees around my home, it's nice to take notice of all the tree forms and how they look without their lush foliage. These trees are deciduous. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn months, while evergreen, or coniferous trees, retain their greenery through the year. Some deciduous trees hold onto their leaves longer than others. And, there is also a group of deciduous conifers, which are needle-leaved trees that actually lose their needles come fall.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This is the great sycamore in my back hayfield – the symbol of my farm. The American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, is a wide-canopied, deciduous tree, usually growing up to 100-feet tall, with a massive trunk and open crown of huge, crooked branches. Here, one can see those branches now that all the foliage has fallen for the season.
Fruit trees are also deciduous. All deciduous fruit trees have a period of winter dormancy, the stage between leaf drop in the fall and bud break in the spring, which protects the tree buds from freezing weather.
Another deciduous tree is the copper beech. The copper beech, Fagus sylvatica purpurea, is a large, deciduous shade tree known for its beautiful burgundy foliage that turns a lovely shade of copper in fall.
And here it is in summer when it is all leafed out with its lovely dark colored foliage.
Across from the copper beech are these rare weeping hornbeams – there are six planted at the edge of my soccer field.
The same weeping hornbeams are so vibrant and lush green in summer.
This is the hornbeam hedge along the back of the Summer House and the Winter House. The hornbeam, Carpinus, is deciduous and very fast-growing. In fact, it can grow about four to five feet per year. I always keep a close eye on all the hornbeams and keep them well groomed.
Here is a photo of it just after it was pruned last summer.
Another deciduous specimen is the linden – categorized within the Tilia genus, which includes about 30 species native to North America, Europe, and Asia.
Here is the same allée of lindens in summer. Lindens can grow from about 65 to 130 feet in height. It develops dense, pyramidal or round-shaped crowns and can live several hundred years.
And remember these gorgeous horse chestnut trees at the foot of my long Boxwood Allée? Also deciduous.
Here they are now – completely bare. The form of the branches are interesting on their own against the cloudy sky.
Some deciduous trees hold onto their leaves, such as the American beech. This tree falls between evergreen and deciduous. The leaves die, but many don’t fall when they die. Botanists call this retention of dead plant matter marcescence.
And this is the same grove in early fall when the trees are filled with greenery.
Evergreens, or conifers, are plants which have foliage that remains green and functional through the season. These tend to bear cones and have needles or scales. I have one area dedicated to evergreens here at the farm. A pinetum by definition is an arboretum of pine trees or other conifers for scientific or ornamental purposes.
I also love to plant many evergreens in the woodland. I get them as bare root seedlings, nurture them in pots until they are strong, and then transplant them to more permanent locations.
There are also deciduous conifers. These trees form cones and sprout needles like conifer trees, but they also change colors in the fall and lose their needles every year like deciduous trees. The larch is one of them.
Here it is all leafed out. This is a weeping larch, Larix decidua ‘Pendula’. It has bright green needles in spring, which turn gold before dropping in fall. This curvaceous tree is located at “the triangle” where the carriage roads leading to the Boxwood Allee, the Pin Oak Allee and the woodland, all converge.
Another example is the dawn redwood, Metasequoia. Dawn redwoods grow faster than most trees. This tree forms a natural triangular shape throughout its life.
And here they are in early autumn.
And of course the bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, another deciduous conifer. Though it’s native to swampy areas, the bald cypress is also able to withstand dry, sunny weather and is hardy in USDA climate zones 5 through 10. These trees do so well here at the farm. Here it is late last summer.
Like trees with leaves, bald cypress trees drop their needles in the fall leaving the tree – well, bald. And in spring, all the trees here will start to show off their beautiful colors once again. I hope this inspires you to appreciate the trees where you live – even in winter, when many are bare.
There's always a new project being completed here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Earlier this week, I shared photos of my large vegetable greenhouse - an all-glass structure I had constructed several years ago. Its design was inspired by four-season farming expert, Eliot Coleman. It is where I am able to grow fresh, organic produce in the ground during the cold winter months. Most of the energy comes naturally through the big windows. To supplement the natural sunlight, we just installed seven Gavita LED Grow Lights from Scotts Miracle-Gro above all the raised garden beds. These lights are compact, high energy efficient units that offer full-spectrum light needs for all stages of plant growth. I am so excited to see how much more these plants grow and flourish.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
If you follow my blog regularly, you recognize this structure. It is my vegetable greenhouse located behind my large Equipment Barn and Hay Barn. The tarps are covering my dahlia tubers which are protected under bales of hay.
Built in 2008, this greenhouse uses minimal artificial heat – in fact, most of its energy comes directly from the sun, and it successfully grows a variety of cold hardy crops.
We recently received seven Gavita CT1930e LED 120-277V grow lights to fit the entire length of the vegetable greenhouse. These top lights will deliver tons of additional broad spectrum crop-loving light to the plants below.
They are durable and weigh about 33-pounds each. They also measure 29-inches by 11.8 inches.
The first step was to prepare the space for hanging the grow lights. My property manager, Doug White, secured a double line of chain centered above all the beds.
Down below, Pete checked all the electrical outlets to ensure the power would be safely and equally distributed.
There is no assembly required for the lights. Pete just secures two metal brackets to the top of units.
These brackets hook on at each side of the light.
Here is a view from above the light which will face up toward the windows when hung. Because these lights are LED, they are long-lasting and the most energy-efficient grow light option.
And then Pete attaches the hanger to the chains. The brackets and hangers come with the grow lights.
Here is the unit from underneath. In order for the plants to get even light coverage, it is best if they are all hung directly above the plants.
Because the lights are slightly heavier on one end, Doug custom made small wooden spacers that help to keep the lights level.
Pete hangs the light and secures the spacer under the hanger.
Here is one light completely installed. The electrical cord is also wrapped neatly on the chain and connected to the power source.
Here are all the lights installed and turned on just as the sun starts to set.
Greenhouse grow lights can greatly help to supplement natural light during the winter. Grow lights convert electrical energy into photons, light particles that stimulate photosynthesis and encourage plant growth.
The crops in my greenhouse already do very well, but with the added lights, they will grow faster and fuller. This is my bed of arugula.
And here is the lettuce bed. I grow lots of lettuce throughout the year for me and my family.
Here is a bed of young lettuce sprouts just starting to grow. I am looking forward to seeing these plants develop over the next few weeks.
My vegetable greenhouse provides many delicious vegetables – it is sure to be an even more bountiful winter season. I’ll be sure to share more photos soon.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, this winter has been unseasonably mild so far, but it is still a difficult time for wild birds looking for food - there are many chirping visitors at my feeders.
I have a number of bird feeders at my farm, and all the birds love to come by and feast on the seed I provide. I also set out fresh water and cut holes in the burlap covers over the boxwood, so birds are able to take shelter during inclement weather. Helping the wild birds is important to sustain local wild bird populations, but it is also one of the easiest and most beautiful ways to observe and appreciate wildlife and to understand the types of birds that frequent the neighborhood.
Enjoy these photos.
I have long fed the wild birds that visit my farm. Feeders are set up where they are easy to see, convenient to fill, and where seed-hungry squirrels and bird-hungry cats cannot reach them. These are also positioned no more than three feet from the glass to prevent possible collisions.
A long row of bird feeders are hung behind my carport. During winter, more than 10, and during spring and summer a few less. They are checked and refilled every morning around 7am. It’s important that I feed the birds all year long – they depend on it and become accustomed to looking for food here at the same times every day.
Some of the birds perch patiently in nearby trees until they’re ready to feast.
Look closely, one is perched on the roof ready to fly down to the feeder.
I also feel it is important to make sure all the wild birds have access to fresh water. I use one of these double wall metal chicken waterers on top of a heater to prevent freezing. Made of galvanized steel, these waterers are clean, durable and can hold a couple gallons of water.
Some of you may have seen the holes cut out of the burlap here at the farm. I purposely create these holes for the visiting birds. They love to go in and out, especially when it is windy.
All my wild bird seed is stored in galvanized metal cans and kept inside my generator room next to the carport.
When filling the feeders, we use a pole with a hook on one end. Each feeder is carefully removed from its hanging location and refilled on the ground.
Here is a closer look at the pole with the handy hook at the top – it works very well and makes filling these feeders very easy.
This is a wild bird seed mix. This includes white millet, black oil sunflower seeds, striped sunflower seeds and cracked corn. The birds love this seed.
Nyjer is a great seed to offer birds, especially in winter because it contains more oil, and a higher calorie content, so birds can store fat to survive the season.
Every feeder is filled to the top – depending on the time of year, these feeders can quickly empty. Each tube feeder holds about three quart-sized containers of seed.
These tube feeders allow the seed to flow only when birds peck at it, which helps keep any spillage to a minimum.
Many birds prefer tube feeders – hollow cylinders with multiple feeding ports and perches. Tube feeders attract small perching birds such as finches, goldfinches, titmice, and chickadees.
The tufted titmouse is a small songbird from North America. It is rather tame, and active, with an echoing voice, and can often be found near bird feeders especially in winter.
Here’s a male house sparrow. Sparrows are frequent visitors to backyard feeders, where they eat most kinds of birdseed, especially millet, corn, and sunflower seed.
Here’s a downy woodpecker across the carriage road on the granite upright of my pergola. This is the smallest type of woodpecker in North America.
The feeders are visible from my Winter House steps – it’s always so nice to see what bird come to eat at my feeders. I have up to 125 different birds visiting the farm every day.
This is a black-capped chickadee. These birds are highly curious about everything, including humans. Its black cap and bib, white cheeks and gray back, wings and tail make it an easy bird to distinguish and identify.
Some of them go down below to get the seeds that have fallen out of the feeders. A red cardinal is in the foreground. The northern cardinal is a bird in the genus Cardinalis; it is also known as the redbird, common cardinal, red cardinal, or just cardinal. It can be found in southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Minnesota to Texas, and south through Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.
When starting to feed birds, it may take time for new feeders to be discovered. Don’t be surprised if the feeding station doesn’t get birds right away. As long as feeders are clean and filled with fresh seed, the birds will find them. And in summer, guess what? They take care of all the bugs – I never see any pesky flying bugs near my home. Helping the wild birds – it’s a very Good Thing!
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