My perennial flower garden continues to produce so many colorful and beautiful blooms.
This cutting garden has developed so well over the last few seasons. I really enjoy comparing its progress from year to year, and seeing where I need to add more plants to improve the display. Right now, there are gorgeous poppies blooming everywhere - those papery, tissue-like blossoms that look stunning both in the garden and in the vase.
Enjoy these photos.
It’s always so exciting to step into the flower garden and see all the blooms that open each day. My flower garden is brimming with pink, white, red, and lavender poppies in a variety of forms.
The name “poppy” refers to a large number of species in at least 12 different genera in the subfamily Papaveroideae, which is within the plant family Papaveraceae. They produce open single flowers gracefully located on long thin stems, sometimes fluffy with many petals and sometimes smooth.
Papaver grows mainly in the northern hemisphere, including within the Arctic Circle, with one species found in southern Africa.
Poppies are attractive, easy-to-grow herbaceous annual, biennial or short-lived perennial plants.
The plants typically grow to about two feet in height forming colorful flowers during spring and into summer.
Flowers have four to six petals, many stamens forming a conspicuous whorl in the center of the flower and an ovary of two to many fused carpels.
The leaves almost look like weeds when first emerging from the soil. They are lobed or dissected, appearing lacy, frilly or fern-like.
Poppies can be found in areas throughout Western Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th Century transformed bare land into fields of red poppies, growing around the bodies of the fallen soldiers. In 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were hit again as World War I raged through Europe. Once over, the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren battlefields. Today, it remains a popular bloom and an enduring symbol of remembrance.
This poppy has delicate dark pink petals that get lighter in the center.
Poppies come in a variety colors including white, lilac, pink, yellow, orange, red, blue, purple, and gray.
Poppies require very little care, whether they are sown from seed or planted when young – they just need full sun and well-drained soil. Though it varies from one type to the next, most poppies fare best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9.
Poppies can be planted as soon the ground becomes warm and soft in spring. If there’s a frost, poppies will survive and are also able to germinate in chilly weather. Poppies should receive at least six hours of sunshine a day, but in very warm locales, a little shade in the middle of the afternoon, when the sun is most intense, is ideal.
This poppy is very light pink and white with a yellow center.
One tip – only water once per week during weeks that receive less than two inches of natural rainfall. And don’t splash any water on the foliage; moist leaves are more susceptible to pests and diseases.
This lavender bloom has both frilly and shaggy petals adding lots of texture to the garden.
In contrast, this poppy is very dark in color – more plum.
One of the more unique poppies is this pompom variety with amazing double and semi-double flowers in a delicate lilac color. The large, frilly blooms are truly eye-catching.
Here’s another in a more pink color. Though flowers are packed full of petals, their stems are strong enough to support the weight. Many of these poppy photos were taken with our Google Pixel 6 – a great phone with a terrific camera.
This poppy is smaller, more dainty, and more tissue paper-like in appearance. The gray tones are a favorite.
Poppy flowers are attractive to pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Never eat poppies. Most poppies are toxic to varying degrees. Virtually all species contain alkaloid compounds that are poisonous and can cause terrible side effects in both humans and pets.
Here are the poppy seed pods, which is what’s left on the stem once the flowers bloom.
Here’s a closer look – when the seed heads turn brown and a band of holes appear at the top, they are cut and the seeds inside are harvested and saved until they can be planted in the garden the following year. I hope you are able to enjoy the beauty of poppies wherever you live.
One thing I love is the intoxicating scent of a garden rose - especially an English rose.
Last year, I planted a new rose garden behind my main greenhouse not far from my flower cutting garden and raspberry bushes. The space is in full sun, so I knew it would be an excellent area for planting a variety of David Austin roses. Every gardener and rose expert is familiar with the rose hybridizer, David Austin, who started as a hobby breeder when he was a teen and went on to breed a collection of roses renowned around the world. His specimens have exquisite blooms and the most alluring fragrances. The plants in this garden are still small, but every one of them has bloomed and the flowers are breathtaking.
Enjoy these photos.
I have lots and lots of roses at the farm. Many are planted inside my perennial flower cutting garden and down behind my chicken coops along with my allée of lilacs. I also have some climbers growing around my vegetable garden. This ‘Vanessa Bell’ variety, with medium-sized flower cups held in large clusters of pale yellow to white is in the newest garden designated for roses – in an open area where I previously planted dahlias.
These David Austin roses are young and small, but every one of them is developing so nicely.
When selecting a location, plant roses in a sunny spot with good drainage. Fertilize them regularly and water them evenly to keep the soil moist.
This is ‘Carding Mill.’ The full blooms are a blend of pink, apricot, and yellow, giving the overall impression of orange. They also have a wonderful fragrance close to myrrh.
This rose is called ‘Tottering-By-Gently.’ This variety has simple single flowers in soft yellow with golden stamens. Paling prettily over time, they have a light musky scent, with notes of orange peel. ‘Tottering-By-Gently’ flowers freely, repeating regularly throughout the summer.
Some rose blooms are very full with many petals in at least three or more rows.
‘Lady of Shalott’ shows chalice-shaped blooms with loosely arranged, orange petals. The surrounding outer petals are salmon-pink with beautifully contrasting golden-yellow undersides. It gives off a pleasant, warm tea fragrance, with hints of spiced apple and cloves.
Rose leaves are borne alternately on the stem. In most species, they are about two to five inches long, pinnate, with at least three leaflets and basal stipules. The leaflets also usually have a serrated margin.
Rose stems are often armed with sharp prickles – they aren’t thorns at all. Unlike a thorn, a prickle can be easily broken off the plant because it is really a feature of the outer layers rather than part of the wood, like a thorn.
‘Eglantyne’ is a David Austin favorite. It has perfectly formed, soft pink blooms with a charming, sweet Old Rose fragrance.
The flowers of most rose species have at least five petals. Each petal is divided into two distinct lobes.
Other roses have multiple tight petals such as this one. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach several feet in height.
Another beautiful David Austin rose is ‘The Poet’s Wife,’ which bears rich yellow flowers that pale over time. The form has an outer ring of petals enclosing more petals. There is a strong, wonderfully rich fragrance with a hint of lemon, which becomes sweeter and stronger with age.
Around the entire perimeter of this garden, we planted foxglove. Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, thrives in full sun to partial shade to full shade, depending on the summer heat. Each plant usually has a one-sided raceme with 20 to 80 flowers.
The downward-facing blooms are tapered and tubular with four lobes.
Each 1½ to 2½ inch long pink, purple, or white corolla has long hairs inside and is heavily spotted with dark purple edged in white on the lower lip, which serves as a landing platform for pollinators. The flowers are visited by bees – primarily bumblebees – which climb deep into the flower tube to get the nectar inside.
At the front of this garden, I decided to plant two large boxwood shrubs gifted to me by my friend, George Bridge, who first introduced me to boxwood more than 15 years ago. These boxwood look so handsome “guarding” this bed.
This rose variety has full-petalled, rosette-shaped flowers with a button eye and a strong fragrance.
This is a perfect white rose named ‘Tranquillity.’ This one has beautifully rounded flowers, with neatly placed petals making up the rosettes.
This is ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’ with its unusually large, bright pink flowers that are full-petalled and deeply cupped. It features a strong fresh tea fragrance, which changes to lemon, eventually taking on hints of blackcurrants.
Here is ‘The Alnwick Rose’ – with broad, full-petalled shallow cups of soft to rich pink. In an upcoming blog, I’ll also share photos of the roses in my flower garden and down in the lilac allée – they’re all so beautiful this time of year.
My beautiful, fluffy Silkie chickens are thriving here at my Bedford, New York farm.
As some of you may know, earlier this year I incubated and hatched 11 Silkies. They joined four adolescent Silkies in a coop I designated just for them right outside my stable. The Silkie, also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken, is a breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy, satin-like plumage. This breed is very calm and friendly - everyone at the farm loves to stop by their enclosure and visit with them. The youngest are now about four months old and doing excellently.
Here are the latest photos, enjoy.
I acquired, refurbished, and repurposed this coop from a commercial shoot several months ago – it’s the perfect Silkie home here at my farm. It is located within the large goose enclosure outside my stable.
The coop has an indoor area and a ramp at each end that goes down to the outdoor enclosure, which is well-shaded and dry.
Silkies were originally bred in China. They are best known for their characteristically fluffy plumage said to feel silk- or satin-like to the touch. Underneath all that feathering, they also have black skin and bones and five toes instead of the typical four on each foot.
Silkies are also adaptable and playful. And, they are naturally more calm than most other breeds.
Silkies also have black eyes, dark beaks, combs, and wattles.
This breed grows a bit slower than other chicken breeds. This one is growing a very fluffy head. The combs of Silkie chickens are very dark maroon red. Both male and female chickens have combs, but they’re larger in males. Baby chicks hatch with tiny combs that get larger as they mature.
It is believed that the Silkie was first mentioned by Marco Polo around 1290 to 1300 during his journey across Europe and the Far East. Although he did not see the bird, it was reported to him by a fellow traveler, and he wrote about it in his journal, describing it as “a furry chicken.” The Silkie chicken made its way westward either by the Silk Road or by the maritime routes, most likely both. Experts accepted the Silkie into the British Poultry Standard of Perfection in 1865 and the American Poultry Association standard in 1874.
There are eight Silkie color varieties accepted by the American Poultry Association. They include black, blue, buff, gray, partridge, splash, and white.
Here at the farm, there is always plenty of food and lots of fresh water for all my birds – everything is replenished or changed whenever needed.
Here is a black Silkie at the top of the ramp – these chickens love to watch all the activity from this opening.
Because the Silkie’s feathers lack functioning barbicels, similar to down on other birds, they are unable to fly, but they do flap and stretch their wings.
This also means that the feathering is not waterproofed, so they should never get too wet. If they do, they must be dried or they will likely get ill.
Here, one can see this Silkie’s grayish-blue beak, which is short and quite broad at the base.
Their bodies should be broad and stout, the back is short, and the breast is full.
This is a splash Silkie – its markings are so beautiful, like splashes of black ink on a light gray background.
Silkies weigh anywhere from 1.1 pounds for a female bantam variety, up to four pounds for a large breed Silkie.
The head on a Silkie should be crested, looking somewhat like a pompom. The head on the white Silkie is a good example.
In general, chickens are quite vocal. They make around 30 different calls to communicate with each other, expressing everything from “I am hungry” to “there’s a predator nearby.” While these birds are a bit quieter than others, they still peep and communicate within their flock.
Some characteristics between males and females – female Silkies will keep their bodies more horizontally positioned, while males will stand more upright, keeping their chests forward and their necks elongated. Males will also hold their tail more upright, where females will keep it horizontal or slightly dipped toward the ground.
Here are two more Silkies coming out through the ramp doorway to say hello.
And look, inside my stable feed room, an incubator with more Silkie eggs. All my Silkies and these eggs are from Stonebrook Silkies in Massachusetts. Once they arrived at my farm, the eggs are placed into the incubator where they are safe from other birds and closely monitored until they hatch. Chicken eggs take 21-days. While the eggs incubate, they are automatically turned once a day, 45-degrees each way, back and forth during this period.
My incubating and hatching equipment is from GQF Manufacturing, Inc. in Savannah, Georgia – a company that specializes in game bird and poultry supplies. There are several crucial conditions needed for proper embryo development in all birds. These factors include: proper temperature, controlled humidity, and sufficient air circulation. I can’t wait to see these babies hatch – stay tuned for more photos to come.
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