My tall English hornbeam hedges always look so beautiful after a fresh pruning.
This week, my outdoor grounds crew trimmed the hornbeam hedges in front of my main greenhouse - the hedges surrounding part of my formal lily garden beds and the large sculpted hedge nearby. Botanically known as Carpinus betulus, the hornbeam is a fast growing deciduous tree that can grow up to several feet per year. I like to maintain the hedges using a traditional European style of pruning, so they have a nice, sculpted appearance. This means, it’s crucial that they be trimmed regularly, so they don’t look overgrown and unruly.
Here are some photos.
This tall hornbeam hedge grows at the edge of the gravel topped parking area directly in front of my main greenhouse. It is quite pretty here, but serves primarily as a privacy and noise barrier from the road. This photo was taken before any pruning began – one can see all the lush new growth.
With proper care, the hornbeam grows quickly, so it is important to trim and sculpt it regularly. Hornbeam is also very hardy and frost resistant, which is good in this area.
Carpinus betulus is native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. Because of its dense foliage and tolerance to being cut back, this hornbeam is popularly used for hedges and topiaries. Hornbeams are often confused with the common beech because of their similar leaves; however, the hornbeam leaves are actually smaller and more deeply furrowed than beech leaves. The leaves are deciduous and alternate, with serrated margins.
Looking inside the hedge, the hornbeam has pale grey bark with vertical markings. All of these hornbeams are planted in a very straight line just a couple feet apart. One can see the sturdy branches and how they grow outward and slightly upward.
The crew does most of the pruning by hand. Everyone uses Japanese Okatsune shears specially made for trimming hedges. These shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes. It is more time consuming to trim these hedges by hand, but it is also more exact and provides straight clean cuts – very important when sculpting formal hedges.
We trim the hornbeams every year around this time. Pasang keeps the shears close to shoulder level. This allows the best control. He also holds the shears closer to the base of the blades.
Here, one can see what has been cut and what hasn’t.
It doesn’t take long for the ground to fill with clippings – and this is just from the front of the hedge.
Once the front of the hedge is done, our Hi-Lo is moved in, so Pasang could trim the uppermost sections and the top. The Hi-Lo is very useful, and because the hedge is accessible from the parking area, it always comes in handy for this task.
Manning the Hi-Lo is my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa. He’s been working with me here at the farm for 20-years! He positions the Hi-Lo and its cage and makes sure Pasang can safely reach what he is pruning.
Once an area is trimmed, Pasang uses a soft rake to clear the top of any cut branches and leaves.
Next, he uses a long bamboo stake to ensure the hedges are all level and equal in height.
From above, the tops look flat with well-trimmed corners.
Here is a side view showing how the front is sculpted with the taller sections protruding just a bit. It is looking very straight and square.
And here is the finished hedge – trimmed beautifully. I can’t believe how much these grow every year.
Across the gravel road is the hornbeam hedge surrounding my formal white lily and hosta garden. Chhiring uses orange twine along the top of the hedge, so it can be trimmed straight.
Here, Chhiring uses a level to check that everything is perfectly even from one end to the other.
Here is a view once it is pruned. The dark green of the hornbeams look so nice in contrast to the lighter green of the lily foliage and hostas in the foreground.
At the side entrance leading to my berry bushes and rose garden, I decided to create a more sculpted top, so this bit will remain untouched while it grows. It will look so nice once we shape it.
And here’s the other side. Look how lush this garden is – I will be sure to share more photos once the lilies are blooming. Next to be done is the long European hornbeam hedge that runs along the back of my Summer House and Winter House. It’s a busy summer here at working farm – there’s always lots to do, but the gardens, allées, and groves are all looking so wonderful.
It's so important to keep up with the maintenance and care of the many trees here at my Bedford, New York farm. My grove of American beech trees, Fagus grandifolia, is undergoing a soil treatment program to make sure they continue to thrive.
As many of you know, I tour the grounds every day and keep track of what needs pruning, feeding, and mulching throughout the year. Early last month, I noticed something wasn't quite right with my American beech trees. The trees just didn't look as vibrant or as full. I also knew there was a relatively new beech leaf disease that is spreading rapidly through the Northeast killing both mature American beeches and saplings. I called on True Nature tree and soil expert, Sebastian “Rocky” Camarillo, to take a look right away. Rocky assessed the trees, took many soil samples for testing, and started a thorough feeding plan. Yesterday, Rocky came back to see how they were doing.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This is my grove of American beech trees. This grove is located at the east end of my long Boxwood Allee not far from the carriage road leading to my hayfields. This photo was taken last fall when my American beech tree grove looked lush and healthy.
This spring, i noticed the trees were getting bare. I was concerned they had gotten the beech leaf disease that’s been plaguing trees across the country. The disease, which was first spotted in northeastern Ohio, causes parts of leaves to turn leathery and branches to wither and then kill a tree within six to 10 years. I definitely needed to make sure these beautiful specimens survived.
True Nature owner, Rocky Camarillo, came to the farm last month and noticed there was clearly something wrong.
Rocky took many samples of soil from around the trees for testing. Soil helps regulate the water, supports biodiversity, filters pollutants, provides support, and cycles nutrients. Soil tests are available at garden shops and online. It is a good idea to test one’s garden soil every three to five years.
And then he treated the roots around every tree in the grove. It is crucial to feed the roots and the soil in order to feed the trees. Rocky used a solution containing nitrogen, iron, sulfur, magnesium, manganese, boron, and zinc and went all the way out just past the drip-line of every tree.
Unfortunately, the leaves looked withered and many had not grown.
Held up to the sunlight, the leaves also showed dark bands – a sign of the beech leaf disease. An invasive nematode is believed to be responsible for disease. These microscopic worms are present in the leaves and buds of infected beech trees. Hopefully the added nutrients could strengthen the tree and fight the disease.
In the weeks following that first treatment, I already noticed a little improvement. Rocky returned to the farm yesterday to check on the grove.
While many of the leaves still looked diseased, new growth showed green, smooth, healthy leaves. The trees were doing better, but the soil still needed some more nutrients. The soil tests showed a low CEC, or Cation exchange capacity, a property of soil that describes its capacity to supply nutrients for plant uptake.
Rocky’s son, Eric, puts together the AirSpade – a hose attachment for a compressor that can shoot air and uncover sensitive tree roots without harming them.
Using the AirSpade, Rocky clears the area around the tree’s base. The trunk base, where it widens, is called the root flare or root collar or root crown. This is a key area on any tree. The rule of thumb when planting trees is to be sure the tree is “bare to the flare.”
Rocky also cuts any roots that are wrapped too tightly against the flare roots.
This tree now has a well-exposed flare.
Next, Rocky uses the AirSpade to make holes around the tree. Rocky does this in many locations under the canopy and all the way out just past the drip-line of every tree. The drip-line is the area directly located under the outer circumference of the tree branches. When the tree canopy gets wet, any excess is shed to the ground along this drip-line. This is also known as a tree’s critical root zone or root protection zone.
Meanwhile, Eric mixes a solution of compost and biochar, which is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and ashes.
He then adds bokashi, a fermented organic fertilizer that contains beneficial microorganisms and nutrients. Bokashi is different from compost because it uses fermentation to break organic waste down and compost uses decomposition.
Here, Rocky mixes the elements together.
And then Freddy pushes generous amounts of the mixture into each hole around the tree.
Each hole goes down at least a foot deep into the soil.
The next step is to spray the surface soil with fertilizer. The same liquid fertilizer he used in his first visit.
Freddy sprays the fertilizer generously around each tree. We’re also expecting some rain this week which will hopefully help the tree roots absorb the new nutrients.
The trio stopped for a quick photo – here’s Rocky, Freddy, and Eric.
Rocky will be back again before the summer is over to check on this grove and all the other American beech trees around the farm, including the purple columnar beech trees around my pool, the fastigiate beech trees outside my Winter House, and the weeping copper beech trees. I am looking forward to seeing these trees look even better in the weeks ahead. I will keep you all updated – stay tuned.
I hope you all had a lovely Independence Day weekend. Here in the Northeast, we had excellent weather at my Bedford, New York farm and up at Skylands, my home in Maine, where there are many flowers now in bloom.
I love Maine - for me, it is a magical place and I always wish I could spend more time there. In May, I go up to carry out my annual task of planting the large ornamental urns and planters that adorn the exterior of my home. And later during the summer I go up there again to spend a few weeks with family and friends. Unfortunately, I don't always get to see all the beautiful flowers that blossom at Skylands, but Cheryl DuLong, who helps me care for Skylands, and Wendy Norling, one of my gardeners, keep me updated by sending photographs from time to time.
Here's a look at what's been blooming over the last couple of weeks, enjoy.
The garden in the center of my circular driveway at Skylands is so lush this time of year. It is planted with hay-scented ferns, purple smoke bushes, and spruce trees, Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’. When I found this variety, I just had to get many to plant up here at MY Skylands.
This columbine plant, Aquilegia, is blooming on the edge of the Council Circle where friends and family love to gather. Columbine is an easy-to-grow perennial that offers seasonal interest throughout the year. Columbines aren’t particular about soil as long it’s well-draining and not too dry. It blooms in a variety of colors and forms, which emerge from its attractive dark green foliage. The bell-shaped flowers are also a favorite to hummingbirds and may be used in cut-flower arrangements as well.
Here’s another columbine in dark purple and white.
The woodland up near my lost pools is filled with beautiful moss. Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. Moss is a slow growing wild plant that should never be harvested in large amounts – in fact, it is illegal to take any moss from national forests without permission. Whenever we use moss, we are always very conscious to return it to the forest once the season is over, so it can regenerate and flourish.
Calendula has daisy-like bright orange or yellow flowers and pale green leaves. Commonly called the pot marigold, Calendula officinalis, the calendula flower is historically used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Like most herbs, calendulas are adaptable and do not require a lot of maintenance. They can be grown in containers or in the garden bed with full sun to shade conditions.
Both my herbaceous peonies and my tree peonies are finished blooming at Bedford, but they’re looking wonderful at Skylands. The peony is any plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae.
Here is a gorgeous large white peony flower. Herbaceous peony blooms range from simple blossoms to complex clusters.
Wendy captured this image of the Nicotiana – a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs of the family Solanaceae that is indigenous to the Americas, Australia, southwest Africa and the South Pacific.
Iris flowers bloom in shades of purple, blue, white and yellow and include many hybridized versions that are multi-colored.
Also looking very vibrant right now is our Astilbes. Astilbes are wonderful shade perennials, known for their dark green foliage and plume-like blossoms.
These lupine flowers are attractive and spiky, reaching one to four feet in height. Lupine flowers may be annual and last only for a season or perennial, returning for a few years in the same spot in which they were planted. The lupine plant grows from a long taproot and loves full sun. The flowers are produced in dense or open whorls on an erect spike, each flower about one to two centimeters long. The pea-like flowers have an upper standard, or banner, two lateral wings, and two lower petals fused into a keel.
Alliums are also growing at Skylands. Allium species are herbaceous perennials with flowers produced on scapes. They grow from solitary or clustered bulbs and come in a broad palette of colors, heights, bloom times and flower forms. They will grow in most any soil, as long as it is well-drained. And they love sunlight and will perform best when planted in full sun.
These little ferns are growing out of the side of the cliff walk. They’re called common rockcap ferns – a native evergreen fern found in moist rocky areas.
Heliotrope is a plant of the borage family, cultivated for its fragrant purple or blue flowers, which are used in perfume.
This is Mountain Laurel. This shade-tolerant North American shrub has beautiful flowers that bloom in late spring and early summer. A close relative of rhododendrons and azaleas, it’s a great option for shady gardens. It’s also evergreen, so after the blooms have faded, its leathery deep green foliage continues to add beauty to any space.
On my large terrace, Cheryl took this photo of one of the agaves we planted just a few weeks ago. Agaves are exotic, deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, and make wonderful container plants. It’s not easy dealing with giant, prickly agave plants. One must be very careful of one’s eyes, face, and skin whenever planting them.
Clematis is a genus of about 300 species in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine. Clematis, pronounced KLEH-muh-tis, are native to China and Japan and known to be vigorous growers.
The hellebores are still going strong in Maine. I’ve had hellebores in my gardens for many years. Hellebores are members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus – about 20 species of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. They blossom during late winter and through spring for up to three months. Hellebores are widely grown for decorative purposes because they are easy-to-grow and are able to resist frost. It is common to plant them on slopes or in raised beds in order to see their flowers, which tend to nod.
These are the flowers of the golden chain tree at the little chapel at Skylands. Laburnum, sometimes called golden rain or golden chain, is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It has golden-yellow flowers that grow 10 to 20 inches in length. but beware – all parts of the tree contain cytisine and are highly toxic to humans and pets.
And here’s a view that never gets tiring. Taken through the woods, this view looks at Seal Harbor and Sutton’s Island in the distance. I can’t wait to return to Skylands for my next visit. Thanks for the photos, Wendy and Cheryl!
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