Spring is officially here and all the gardens are beginning to transform here at my Bedford, New York farm.
So many of the flowers are finally erupting after the long, dreary winter. We have crocuses, snowdrops, hellebores, daffodils and so many more peeking through the soil. Soon, the grounds will be covered in spring color. Here’s a glimpse of what is flowering in my gardens now.
Enjoy these photos.
Once the weather starts to get warm, it’s so exciting to see what flowers open up each day. Crocus is among the first flowers to appear in spring, usually in shades of purple, yellow and white. There are about 90 different species of crocus that originate from Southern Europe, Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and Africa.
Crocus lives in alpine meadows, rocky mountainsides, scrublands, and woodlands. Patches of crocus can be found everywhere around my farm.
This patch is right outside my gym building. I love to see them every morning on my way to exercise.
Here are some white crocuses. They only reach about four inches tall, but they naturalize easily, meaning they spread and come back year after year.
These white crocus look great planted in bunches. Choose a planting site where there is well-draining soil.
This is ‘Natascha’ miniature iris – a lovely ice blue color. They bloom in early spring and grow to about four to six inches tall.
In another area, dark purple irises. The blooms have a very light and subtle violet-like scent. Irises come from a vast genus of plants, but nearly all show the recognizable iris flower form – three standard petals and three hanging outer fall petals.
Eranthis, or winter aconite, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae – the Buttercup family.
Winter aconite produces such cheerful yellow flowers that appear in late winter or earliest spring. And, they are deer resistant.
All around the farm, bulbs are pushing through the earth with so much energy. The daffodil border that stretches along one side of my farm is growing fast. There are many daffodil varieties planted in large groupings, providing a stunning swath of color when in bloom. The original daffodil border was begun in 2003.
Here is one of the first daffodils to bloom outside my Tenant House. I plant early, mid and late season blooming varieties so that sections of beautiful flowers can be seen throughout the season.
Do you recognize these plants? These are the rows of saffron planted by my friend, Hannah Milman. She planted thousands of saffron corms in various gardens around the property. Saffron, Crocus sativus, is a perennial fall-blooming corm that is grown extensively in southeastern Asia and parts of the Mediterranean region.
This crocus patch is growing beneath my bald cypress trees across from my pergola. I love the deep purple color.
Here are purple and white striped croci growing in the back border of my pergola in front of a row of bold green boxwood. This striped flower produces several upright, cup-like, purple and white striped blooms on stems rising to four to six inches above basal, grass-like leaves.
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 early spring for up to three months.
Hellebores come in a variety of color and have rose-like blossoms. It is common to plant them on slopes or in raised beds in order to see their flowers, which tend to nod.
Puschkinia is a genus of three known species of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to the Caucasus and the Middle East. The leaves are green, strap-like, and grow in pairs. The flowers open in early spring in racemes up to about 10 inches high.
I have puschkinia growing in a large patch near my Tenant House. Puschkinia is best grown in moist, fertile, well-draining soil in full sun to partial sunlight.
Chionodoxa, known as glory-of-the-snow, is a small genus of bulbous perennial flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, often included in Scilla. The blue, white or pink flowers appear early in the year making them valuable garden ornamentals.
New growth is also emerging in the woodland. Symplocarpus foetidus, commonly known as skunk cabbage or swamp cabbage is a low growing plant that grows in wetlands and moist hill slopes of eastern North America.
This is a red sedum. Sedum, a large genus of flowering plants, are also known as stonecrops and are members of the succulent family. Sedum does really well growing between the crevices in stone walls. We planted this sedum several years ago. Most sedum has a trailing nature – I love how it grows on the side of this wall outside my Winter House.
And one of my favorite flowers – the snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis, are another sure sign of spring. These beautiful white flowers are blooming all around my houses. Snowdrops produce one very small pendulous bell-shaped white flower which hangs off its stalk like a “drop” before opening. What flowers are you seeing on this first full day of spring? Share your comments with me below.
I always enjoy hosting St. Patrick's Day dinner at my Bedford, New York farm.
This year, it was a small intimate gathering for six - complete with my corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and of course, my own version of the traditional Irish soda bread. I brined the 10-pound brisket for five days and then boiled it for three and a half hours on the day of our feast. It was cooked with a variety of seasonal vegetables including potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, broccoli, and celery. I also made a wonderful pea soup. And for dessert, refreshingly delicious grapefruit sections topped with pure grapefruit juice granita. It was an evening of good company and great food.
I hope you saw my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. Here are some more, enjoy.
Whenever I entertain indoors at my farm, it’s usually in my Brown Room, a large dining room and sitting area. Flanking my fireplace are recently cut pussy willows from a grove I planted along the wetlands behind my main greenhouse.
Here I am the morning of my dinner juicing the grapefruits for our granita – a shaved ice dessert flavored with fruit juices.
I also made several loaves of my Irish Soda Bread with Rye and Currants. Click on this highlighted link for the recipe from MarthaStewart.com.
Fresh out of the oven, I just had to slice some up to taste.
Then, I cut up all the vegetables. This process is called mis en place meaning “set in place”. It refers to having all the ingredients prepped and ready to go before cooking.
Here is the brisket fully covered in water and boiling with vegetables for three and a half hours. Click here for my recipe for Quick Brined Corned Beef and Vegetables from MarthaStewart.com. It is boiling in a WagnerWare Magnalite Dutch Oven I bought at a tag sale years ago.
Look at this head of broccoli. This is one of the first broccolis we’ve grown in the greenhouse. To grow broccoli successfully indoors, it must get at least six hours of direct sunlight per day or grow lights timed to provide the same amount of direct exposure. The entire crop looks so beautiful.
And here is one of the lettuces for our salad. I love using fresh, organic vegetables from my gardens. I always grow lots of varieties of lettuce, so I can enjoy them at dinners and share them with my family and friends.
Here are wedges of cabbage cooking in the beef broth.
All the vegetables are cooked separately until tender.
Here I am at the beautifully set table – in shades of green, of course.
Here is a closer look at one of the place settings. My housekeeper, Enma, and I, always work together to create the most inviting table settings. I also used some plants from my greenhouse for the centerpiece. This is a potted selaginella, sometimes referred to as a spike moss or arborvitae fern.
Here’s a closer look. This plant is the sole genus of vascular plants in the family Selaginellaceae. It has creeping foliage and simple, scale-like leaves on branching stems.
If you follow my blog regularly, you may be familiar with this plant. It is one of my Chinese money plants, Pilea peperomioides. The Pilea peperomioides has attractive coin-shaped foliage. This perennial is native to southern China, growing naturally along the base of the Himalayan mountains. It is also known as coin plant, pancake plant, and UFO plant.
Dinner was scheduled for 7pm. Kevin took this photo as I was plating our sliced corned beef brisket and vegetables.
There was plenty for everyone. Everything was so beautiful, and delicious – the corned beef came out so tender and flavorful. The vegetables were also very tasty – fresh cabbage, turnips, parsnips, celery, potatoes, and cabbage.
The platters were brought into the dining room, so all my guests could help themselves. Every one of us went back for seconds, and even thirds. Here is a full platter before we all “dug in.” In Ireland, beef was a meat reserved only for the wealthy. The Great Famine resulting from potato blight caused a mass migration of the Irish to the new world. In America, corned beef was readily available to Irish immigrants and became a favored comfort food.
Here are three of my soda bread loaves still warm and ready to serve. Legend has it that, in some areas of Ireland, a cross was cut on the top of the Irish soda bread with a knife to ward off the devil and protect the household. It also helps the bread cook evenly and thoroughly. Irish soda bread is a somewhat sweet white bread made with eggs and butter and studded with raisins and caraway seeds — the “soda” in the name comes from the baking soda, or “bread soda” in Ireland, used to leaven it instead of yeast and kneading.
Our greens salad was first – dressed with a light vinaigrette.
Here is my pea soup – the silky smooth texture of this soup is an elegant way to show off the subtle flavor of peas.
I served my delicious new wine, Martha’s Chard – be sure to visit 19Crimes.com for a store near you. You will love it – so well balanced and flavorful.
And here are slices of grapefruit ready to be topped with grapefruit granita.
Look how beautiful this is – and so easy to make. It was so nice to gather with friends and share this wonderful meal. I hope you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day.
Earlier this month, I shared images of my cute, fluffy, and very healthy Silkies - 11 chicks that were incubated and hatched right here at my farm, and four adolescent Silkies - all purchased from this year's 2022 Northeastern Poultry Congress, a large poultry show held every year in Springfield, Massachusetts. Upon arrival, they were housed in my stable feed room, where we set up safe, warm brooders. This week, they were all big enough and strong enough to move into a new coop I acquired, refurbished, and repurposed from a recent commercial shoot - it's the perfect Silkie home here at my farm.
Enjoy these photos.
The new coop arrived safely at my Bedford, New York farm in several pieces. Here, my outdoor grounds crew move the unit to its new location in one corner of the peafowl pen outside my stable. I knew it was the perfect size for the young Silkies.
The coop’s original walls were bright blue, so once it was reassembled, Fernando painted it my signature Bedford Gray. It is already looking so much better.
The roof is made from sturdy galvanized steel.
And the coop comes complete with ramps so the chicks can walk up and down easily from their heated space to the outdoors.
Here is a view of the entire coop – the side boxes will later serve as nests for the hens. The tops open for easy access to eggs.
And here is Dawa transporting the chicks and pullets to their new enclosure. Dawa helps me care for all my outdoor birds – the chickens, geese, peafowl, and pigeons, and he does an excellent job.
As part of the set-up, the floor is lined with wood shavings, the chick feeders are filled with organic feed, the water receptacles are filled with cool, fresh water, and the special heat lamps are in place.
At first the chicks are a bit unsure of their surroundings, huddling together in one corner.
But after a few minutes, they’re eager to explore the space. Silkies were originally bred in China. Silkie chickens are known for their characteristically fluffy plumage said to feel like silk or satin to the touch. This one is a beautiful gray Silkie.
Perhaps these two are discussing the new coop – I know you’re going to love it here my little Silkies.
These chicks will eat, drink, and run around for four to six months before they start laying eggs. When they do start laying, the eggs are small and grow larger as the pullet, or young chicken, grows larger.
This is a white Silkie chick, a white egg layer. There are eight Silkie color varieties accepted by the American Poultry Association. They include black, blue, buff, gray, partridge, splash, and white.
Notice, Silkies have black eyes. Silkies also have black skin, along with black muscles and bones, and dark beaks, combs, and wattles. And, Silkies have extra toes, a genetic condition called polydactyly. Most chickens normally have four toes – a few breeds have five, Silkies among them.
Silkies grow a bit slower than other chicken breeds. This one is growing a pretty fluffy head – hard to see its comb. 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.
All my chicks get a balanced diet of medicated chick crumb with some treats and fresh greens from my gardens.
Silkies have docile natures and tend to be less rowdy than other breeds. These chicks love peeping and walking around their new coop – it didn’t take them long to learn how to use their ramps.
The indoor area is long enough for all the Silkies to use at night. Doors will keep them fully enclosed and protected from predators.
These four older Silkies are doing very well also. Here, one can see their grayish-blue beaks, which are short and quite broad at the base.
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.
If you think you may be interested in raising chickens, research the town’s zoning regulations first to make sure they are allowed in your area. And spend some time reading about what’s involved in raising chickens to make sure it’s a good fit for you and your family.
This one is actually a rooster – he’s starting to make his “cock-a-doodle-do” crowing noise. He is the biggest in the group and is very curious and friendly. Other differing 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 is a view from the side – this day temperatures reached nearly 70-degrees Fahrenheit. It was a gorgeous day to introduce our Silkies to their new coop. They will have lots of room.
I love raising chickens. I visit them as often as possible. And, of course, there’s nothing like eating your own fresh, organic eggs.
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