My flower cutting garden continues to produce beautiful blooms.
This cutting garden has developed so well over the last few seasons. I enjoy comparing its progress from year to year and seeing where I need to add more plants to improve the display. It takes a lot of time to maintain a flower cutting garden this large. We are constantly weeding and watering, particularly during these warm summer months. This time of year, I have many Shasta daisies, balloon flowers, Black-Eyed Susans, yarrow, sweet peas, and more.
Enjoy these photos.
All these flowers are thriving in my cutting garden – there is always something new to see every time I walk through the beds. These are Shasta daisies. I have an abundance of shasta daisies this season – they always look so cheerful, especially when planted in large groups.
Shasta daisy flowers provide perky summer blooms with the look of the traditional daisies along with evergreen foliage. They are low maintenance and great for filling in bare spots in the landscape.
These are the showy flowers of rudbeckia. Rudbeckia’s bright, summer-blooming flowers give the best effect when planted in masses in a border or wildflower meadow.
In general, rudbeckias are relatively drought-tolerant and disease-resistant. Flower colors include yellow and gold, and the plants grow two to six feet tall, depending on the variety.
Here is one of many kinds of lilies that bloom in my flower garden. I also have lilies along my winding pergola, outside my Winter House kitchen and in the sunken garden behind my Summer House. My collection of lilies is a combination of Oriental, Asiatic, trumpet, and Orienpet lilies.
Lilies come in a variety of colors with multiple blooms per stem.
I also have many different irises in this garden. Iris flowers can begin blooming in late winter to early spring. Iris care is minimal once the growing iris is established. Iris flowers bloom in shades of purple, blue, white, and yellow and include many hybridized versions that are multi-colored.
Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris, grows along both sides of the main footpath of my cutting garden. In late spring and early summer, the plant produces lovely chartreuse colored blooms.
Close to the footpath is this attractive Nasturtium. Nasturtium plants, Tropaeolum, are loved for their rich, saturated, jewel-toned colors. Planted in the spring they are fast and easy to grow. Nasturtium is a genus of about 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants. It was named by Carl Linnaeus in his book Species Plantarum. These flowers can vary in shade, but the most popular versions are orange, yellow, pink, red, or mahogany.
Nasturtium leaves are small to medium in size and round and broad in shape. The flat, bright green leaves are waxy, pliable, have a few veins running throughout, and are connected to a central stem.
These are the large leaves of Rodgersia – a genus of flowering plants in the Saxifragaceae family. Rodgersia are herbaceous perennials originating from east Asia. The common name is Roger’s Flower.
Achillea millefolium, commonly known as yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a hardy perennial with fernlike leaves and colorful blooms. The large, flat-topped flower clusters are perfect for cutting and drying.
The flower clusters or corymbs are made up of dozens of tiny daisy-like florets. Here’s yarrow in light pink. Yarrow flower colors range from white and soft pastels to brilliant shades of yellow, red, orange, and gold.
Butterfly weed is a bright orange showy native wildflower that’s easy to grow, cold hardy, and does well in poor, dry soils. Long-lasting clusters of small, flat-topped flowers are crowned with a yellow, sun-kissed “corona” and blooms from June through August. Butterfly weed is an important nectar source for Monarch butterflies and its leaves provide essential food for developing Monarch caterpillars.
Many of the poppies are still going strong. Poppies require very little care, whether they are sown from seed or planted when young – they just need full sun and well-drained soil.
Poppies are an attractive, easy to grow flower in both annual and perennial varieties, and they come in nearly every color of the rainbow.
Here is a poppy seed pod, which is what’s left on the stem once the flower blooms and the petals fall off. As the seed heads turn brown with ripeness, it’s time to cut them and harvest the seeds. One can tell when pods are ripe by shaking the stem. If the pod rattles, it’s ready.
There are still a few foxgloves here too. Here is a tall foxglove plant, Digitalis purpurea. These add lovely vertical interest to any garden. Foxglove flowers grow on stems which may reach up to six feet in height, depending on the variety.
The phlox is thriving in the garden. Phlox has superb heat and mildew resistance. Phlox is a tall and upright grower that’s great for the back of the border, or even planted at the edge of the garden among the shrubs. Phlox also comes in a range of colors from pure white to lavender to even red, and grows happily in most parts of the country. If properly planted and sited, phlox is largely pest and disease free too – a perfect perennial.
This is a balloon flower, Platycodon grandiflorus – a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus Platycodon. It is native to East Asia and is also known as the Chinese bellflower or platycodon. The opened flowers resemble those of bellflowers, and while most are deep blue or purple, white and pink varieties are also available.
Balloon flowers get their name from the unopened buds, which swell up prior to opening and resemble little hot-air balloons.
And growing on one side of the fence surrounding the garden are these dainty perennial sweet pea or everlasting pea flowers. The sweet pea is a herbaceous climbing vine with beautiful bright flowers that grow up to 10 feet long. I hope your garden is also doing wonderfully this season. Share what blooms you are growing in the comments section below. Have a great week.
Entertaining at my Bedford, New York farm is always so much fun, especially when I host momentous occasions.
Yesterday, I invited more than 60 people for dinner to celebrate all those who have worked with me for 20-years or longer. Our feast centered around an Argentinian theme with foods prepared on an asado grill by Chef Pablo Calandroni - whole salmon, rib eye steak, beef short ribs, pork spare ribs, sweetbreads, chicken, and morcilla sausages. My friend Chef Pierre Schaedelin of PS Tailored Events also prepared a variety of delicious fresh salads - Spanish criolla salad, black bean salad, three-color carrot slaw, potato salad, beet salad, and my daughter's flavorful chopped salad with corn and jalapeño. Everything was so delicious, everyone went back for seconds and even thirds. For dessert - refreshing fruit ice pops, shortbread cookies, and tres leches cupcakes.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
It was a beautiful summer evening for a party. For this gathering, I decided to have a sit-down dinner for all 64 guests. We used green and grayish tan linens and my Drabware plates for the long table.
For the centerpieces, we placed potted herbs down the entire length of the table. I bought the chairs years ago during my catering days – 450 wicker chairs and they still come in so handy for these large parties. Each longtime employee had a small gift from me at their place setting.
Here is my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, with his son, Mingmar, and his wife Pema. This day was Chhiring’s actual 20th anniversary working with me at the farm.
Video editor, Paul Delmiche, is another longtime colleague who started with me in our Westport television studio in 1997. Here he is with line producer, Jon Coniglio, who has also been with me for a number of years.
Here’s Lorna Aragon and her sister, Elizabeth. Lorna has been with me for more than 20-years – working with our flagship magazine, Living. Lorna oversaw the table setting for this event.
Many of you may recognize my longtime food editor, Sarah Carey, who has been with me for more than 20-years. Here she is with her wife, Maryann Vanderventer, who also worked with me on my television show.
Before dinner I welcomed everyone to Cantitoe Corners and thanked all the longtime celebrants for their years of hard work and dedication to my farm, my company, and my brand.
Not far from the table was the giant asado grill filled with so many delicious foods. The charcoal was lighted three hours earlier to get it perfectly hot for cooking.
Asado chef, Pablo Calandroni, and his sous chef, Kevin Thomas, cut all the meats for the buffet as soon as they were done cooking.
These chaffing dishes are heated with charcoal from the grill. Each one held a different meat – everything was so delicious.
Here is a first helping – a little bit of everything cooked so perfectly.
Kevin and Pablo stopped for this quick photo. Be sure to see more of Pablo’s great feasts on his Instagram page @asado.561.
My executive manager, Dorian Arrich, smiles for this photo with Fernando Ferrari, who has worked for all my television and video programs and shoots for more than 25 years.
The salads were all so beautiful and delicious. Chef Pierre used vegetables from my gardens to make them. We also had corn on the cob.
This is my daughter Alexis’s chopped salad with corn and jalapeño. It takes a bit of time to dice all the ingredients, but it is so worth it.
And look at this gorgeous deep red beet salad. The beets were harvested from my garden just the day before.
We also served cocktails – Martharitas and sangria. Here is our excellent wait staff.
For dessert, ice pops served in individual cups – currant, black raspberry, coconut, peach, lemon, and red raspberry. It was hard to choose just one.
Sarah Carey made these delectable tres leches cupcakes with candied orange slices.
And my favorite brown butter shortbread cookies – dessert was so perfect.
Each employee gift was wrapped in the same blue and white of the Argentinian flag to go along with our theme.
I gave Bandolier phone cases – the original luxury crossbody leather case. Practical and functional, I’ve been using them for several years and love all the different styles and colors. It was a perfect evening and perfect party with friends. And, you’ll soon be able to watch me make some of the dishes from this party on Roku!
Today at my Bedford, New York farm, I'm hosting a very special party to celebrate all those who have worked with me for 20-years and more.
With so much to do, everyone pitched in yesterday to get everything ready. Among the many tasks on our list - mow the lawns, weed the garden beds, mulch the carriage roads, harvest the vegetables, bathe the donkeys, and make the tablecloth and centerpieces for the outdoor sit-down dinner. We got so much done and fortunately this week's weather is fantastic.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
My peafowl have the perfect “bird’s eye view” of all the party preparations going on at the farm. Here are three sitting atop one of the chickens coops “taking it all in.”
The courtyard is where everyone will gather – it is looking so pretty with the large potted sago palms on the cobblestone courtyard.
All the surrounding areas near the stable are freshly groomed. Here’s Domi mowing the lawn in front of the peafowl and goose enclosures.
Nearby, my stable manager, Helen, wipes down all the stall doors.
My vegetable garden is looking so lush and green. It was also cleaned and weeded.
These beets were harvested early in the day. The beetroot is the taproot of the beet plant, and is often called the table beet, garden beet, red or golden beet or simply… beet. Beets are highly nutritious and very good for maintaining strong cardiovascular health. It’s low in calories, contains zero cholesterol, and is rich in folates, vitamin-A, B-complex, and antioxidants.
Vicia faba, also known as the broad bean or fava bean is an ancient member of the pea family. They have a nutty taste and buttery texture. I always grow lots of fava beans. A trug bucket full is also picked for the party.
And here’s a bowl of fresh eggs from my gorgeous and most productive chickens.
Herbs are potted for use as our centerpieces. It is always nice to utilize natural elements to decorate the tables. Green is also a theme color for the table setting. It will go so nicely with my Drabware dishes.
Dawa is weeding the perennial garden across from the chicken coops – it’s all hands on deck for this special gathering.
And of course, the donkeys are getting bathed for the occasion.
Truman “TJ” Junior and Clive don’t seem to mind – these baths cool them down on a warm summer’s day.
Here’s Domi carefully weed whacking around the antique posts of the Asian pear espalier. I bought these posts from China. Originally, they were used as grape supports in a valley that was going to be dammed and flooded to create a reservoir. Now, I use these beautiful posts for various projects around my farm – including this row of espaliered fruits.
Inside my Flower Room kitchen, Chef Pierre Schaedelin from PS Tailored Events, cuts the beets into bite-sized pieces for a delicious salad.
Here’s sous chef Moises carrying a tray filled with citrus – ready for the cocktails and fruit popsicles.
Phurba puts fresh mulch around the boxwood in the long Boxwood Allée. Mulch is a layer of material applied to the soil surface. It helps to conserve soil moisture, improve fertility and health of the soil, reduce weed growth, and enhance the visual appeal of the area. All the organic mulch we use is made right here at the farm.
The peafowl have moved for a closer look – here they are on top of the mulch filled dump truck.
Here, Chhiring, who is celebrating his 20 years with me today, is burning all the pesky weeds that grow in between the cobblestone pavers.
Lorna unrolls the fabric to make our handmade tablecloths. I chose this dark gray color – it will look so pretty with the Drabware and herb centerpieces.
And here’s a tray of homemade currant fruit popsicles ready for the freezer.
We’re almost set for our fun summertime party! And I think the peafowl approve. This peahen is sitting on the rim of a giant stone birdbath in front of my Stable Office building – she is so interested and curious. I’ll be sure to share more photos of this party in my next blog – stay tuned.
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