Here at my Bedford, New York farm, whenever a member of my team returns from vacation, I always encourage them to share some of their photos.
Recently, Dolma Sherpa, who helps me care for my horses, returned from a trip to her native Nepal. Nepal is a landlocked nation located between India and the autonomous region of China known as Tibet. Sherpas live in the most mountainous areas of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. They are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at very high altitudes. Dolma hasn't been back to Nepal since before the pandemic and was so excited to return and spend time with her parents and sisters.
Enjoy this selection of her photos.
Last month, Dolma traveled from New York City’s JFK International Airport to Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital set in a valley surrounded by the Himalayan mountains.
Once Dolma arrived home, she was greeted right away by her dog, Kali. Dolma says Kali is very affectionate and was so happy to see her.
One of the first things Dolma did was eat some of her favorite foods. This is a plate of traditional Nepali foods. It is called Thakali and often includes rice, vegetables, buckwheat finger chips, and served with pickles and curry sauce.
During the first week of Dolma’s trip home, she traveled with her family to several temples in Bhairahawa.
This is a Chinese temple, also in Bhairahawa. This area is home to several temples – visitors travel from all over the Nepal and India to see them. Unfortunately, this day was quite rainy.
Nearby, Dolma captured this photo of a kamal flower, or lotus flower. Native to Asia, Lotus is the national flower of India. It is an emblem of beauty, grace, purity, and is considered a very auspicious flower in Hinduism and Buddhism.
This is a view of the tiny village Gandaki on the banks of the holy river Gandaki. Dolma and her family passed through it on the way to Mustang, one of 11-districts of Gandaki Province and one of 77-districts of Nepal.
This Kali River gorge runs below Dhaulagiri massif, a mountain mass in west-central Nepal.
Here is a family photo including Dolma, her sisters, and her parents Nima and Phuti. They are in Kagbeni, a village in the Baragubg Muktikshetra rural municipality of Mustang.
Dolma stopped to get this image of a great Buddha statue overlooking Muktinath Valley in Mustang. It looks like the skies are clearing.
Dolma found this very interesting – water being boiled by the sun in a giant solar dish. The water was used for tea and other warm drinks.
Here is another beautiful mountain view of Muktinath Valley to the west of Thorong La mountain pass in Mustang.
Dolma and her family took a short break in Kagbeni Village, which has a population of less than a thousand. At this juncture, they were greeted by one of many cows – they were all friendly and quite curious.
This is the suspension bungee jump bridge over the Kaligandaki River – the second highest bungee jump in the world. Dolma is an avid mountain climber and wanted to do the jump, but her parents were not excited about the idea, so instead they just took photos from afar.
Here, Dolma, her sisters, and her parents stand in front of the Lord Shiva Statue Pumdikot – one of the major attractions in Pokhara. This is Nepal’s tallest Lord Shiva Statue and was built in Mathura, India and then brought to Nepal.
This is a section of Patale Chango, which means “Underworld’s Waterfall”. This is one of the most visited places in Nepal. It has also been called “David Falls” after stories of a Swiss tourist named David fell from the waterfall and disappeared. Through a natural tunnel, the waterfall falls from about 500 feet above to 100 feet below ground level.
Back home, Dolma took photos of this rug, which she and her four sisters made when they were all little. They would work on it after school, day after day until it was completed. It still hangs in the family’s home.
In the farmhouse kitchen, they cooked corn on the cob for Dolma – another of her favorite foods, often enjoyed with yogurt or milk.
Here is Dolma with her cousins. On the right is Pemba, who is also the youngest brother of my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring.
This is what Dolma’s family calls the “shrine room” and is used as a living room for family gatherings. It is filled with antique statues given to Dolma’s parents by her grandparents.
And here is the table filled with Dolma’s favorite roasted corn, boiled corn on the cob, and noodle soup.
When Dolma returned to work after three weeks in Nepal, she gifted me with this antique copper tea strainer. It is so beautiful and so special. Thank you, Dolma – so glad you enjoyed your trip home.
I am so thrilled to share a new development, something very special that you can check out and enjoy—today! This morning we are debuting Martha: Harvest + Holiday, an inspiring digital issue that you can access here - just click on the highlighted link. It offers the ideas and practical advice that you've come to expect from me and my team over the years, along with an immersive and rich, curated shopping experience. It’s unlike any one thing we’ve done before: It’s part content, part catalogue, it’s the Martha-logue! And whether you view this volume from your desktop or mobile device, you will find fresh suggestions and our favorite new goods.
You can get delicious recipes and see our new MARTHA by Martha Stewart Enamel Cast-Iron Collection in “One-Pot Wonders,” which was beautifully shot by our longtime contributing photographer Johnny Miller. Both the Dutch oven and braiser are so versatile and useful. With these pots, you can think beyond using them only for making soups, stews, or braising. Our Dutch-Oven Whole Grain Bread recipe, for example, bakes up gorgeously in a covered pot in just 40 minutes. There are also surprising and wonderful ways to cook with our braiser, including our recipe for Lasagna Pinwheels.
There are helpful and informative tips for how to winterize your garden. I’m readying my gardens and plants at both Skylands and Bedford for the cooler months ahead. It’s our aim to always provide you with timely advice and the proper tools to make accomplishing these tasks enjoyable.
When it comes to getting dressed each day, I love clothing that makes this easy and effortless—and looks fabulous. In “New Essentials” we share all the latest MARTHA by Martha Stewart pieces that you’ll reach for the most in your closet. There are new colors and patterns for our best-selling vests.
Classic shirts that always look polished. This was shot beautifully by another frequent contributor Ryan Liebe.
Smart pants—including our new line of denim with a flattering cut for everyone. These pieces are soft, high quality, and high performance. Many items are designed to work in the garden—or when you are running errands around town or going out on it!
If you know me, you know how much I love jadeite, and I have been collecting it for years. The various sizes and shapes of these vintage-inspired pieces make them wonderful for entertaining. I like to stack the cake stands on each other to add height to a display. Then fill with creamy cheeses, nuts, charcuterie, buttery crackers and more, or use them for a dessert or sweets table during the holidays.
You’ll also find our favorite recipes for the upcoming holidays, including my Turkey 101 for Perfect Roast Turkey. This step-by-step guide using our new MARTHA by Martha Stewart roaster is always on my table come Thanksgiving. We offer the secrets to success every time so you can prepare your bird with confidence.
No holiday volume would be complete without lots and lots of inspiration for decorating your home. Here is just a taste of the many pages inside Martha: Harvest + Holiday.
For me, the best gifts are thoughtful, useful, beautiful, and sure to delight the recipients. We curated several pages of our favorite presents in “Truly Gifted” our holiday guide to shopping for everyone on your list!
Please check it out here and I hope you enjoy it as much as we loved creating it for you!
I hope you've seen my newest show "Martha Gardens" on The Roku Channel. If you haven't, you can stream it free right now.
My new series welcomes all of you to my Bedford, New York farm, where I share some of my most valuable gardening lessons, tips, and ideas. In the first episode, I show you my new living maze and how I selected and planted the first specimens for this giant and fun project. I started with European beech, European hornbeams, boxwood, parrotias, and a variety of espaliered apple trees. My gardeners, outdoor grounds crew, and I have already done some much since we started the maze earlier this year. Recently, we planted several Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette' trees, American sweetgums. As these trees mature, they will maintain their erect, columnar form, growing up to 50 feet tall and only about four-feet wide. My plan is to plant as many interesting trees, hedges, espaliers, and shrubs as possible in this space.
Enjoy these photos.
I am so pleased with how this botanical maze is coming along. This maze is located in a three acre paddock – among the most beautiful green spaces here at my farm. On this day, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew planted these tall, slender American sweetgums. This tree shows off green foliage in the warmer months and a kaleidoscope of autumnal tones in the fall, including vibrant orange, red, purple, and yellow.
Earlier in the day, I directed where the trees would go and marked the spots with small bamboo stakes.
When it came time to planting, my foreman Chhiring uses the end of a shovel to mark exactly where the hole will be dug. The stake marker is the center. Moises pokes through the soil with the shovel to indicate the circle for the hole.
Then the team begins digging. The holes must be pretty wide – it should be at least two to five times as wide as the root ball.
The hole sides should also be slanted. Digging a wide planting hole helps to provide the best opportunity for roots to expand into its new growing environment.
It is very important to feed the plants and trees. I always say, “if you eat, your plants should eat.” Once the hole is dug, it is amended with fertilizer. We use a quality food with mycorrhizal fungi, which helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
Meanwhile, Moises begins removing the plastic wrap around the ball of the tree.
Domi estimates how deep the hole should be. Planting at the proper depth is another crucial part to planting healthy trees. A good rule of thumb is to plant it to the same height as it was in the pot. Planting a tree too deep can kill it. Plant it only at its flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk.
Here, Domi checks the hole to see if it was dug deep enough – looks good.
Before rolling the tree into the hole, Chhiring uses heavy duty wire cutters to cut the wire cage that is wrapped around the root ball.
If left untouched, the metal cage could reduce the ability of a tree’s roots to grow out into the surrounding soil. Some gardeners will leave the wire in the ground, but I prefer to remove the cages of all the trees that are planted at the farm, so there is nothing blocking its root growth.
Slowly the crew rotates the tree on its root ball closer to the hole. When moving heavy trees, only hold it by the root ball and the base of the trunk – never by its branches, which could easily break.
Here is the sweetgum in its new home. The Slender Silhouette sweetgum is highly adaptable, drought-resistant, and easy-to-grow, but it does best in well-drained soil where it can get full sun.
Once again, the team measures to make sure the tree is positioned perfectly in line.
Here, Pasang unravels the burlap covering that is also wrapped around the the root ball to keep it intact.
Brian stands several feet away from the tree to also make sure the tree itself is straight and that its best side is facing out.
Using the burlap, Chhiring and Domi adjust the tree slightly.
Finally, Chhiring cuts and removes the burlap.
And then Pasang backfills the hole. And remember, not too deeply – leave it “bare to the flare.”
Chhiring uses the end of the shovel to tamp down on the soil. He also gently steps around the root ball to remove any air pockets.
Domi uses a hard rake to level the soil and tidy the tree pit.
This sweetgum looks great. When planting any tree or shrub, always consider the size of a mature specimen when selecting where to plant it. All of these trees will thrive in the maze. We still have lots of work to do, but I am so excited to see it all done. Please see more of my maze, including sweeping drone shots from above, on my newest show “Martha Gardens” now on Roku. You’ll love it.
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