The season's burlap project at my Bedford, New York farm continues at my long and winding pergola.
As many of you know, I've been covering shrubs and hedges with burlap for many years to protect the branches from splaying and even breaking from the weight of snow and ice. Every season, our wrapping methods become easier and more streamlined, giving me peace of mind during the cold weather months. This entire project takes weeks to complete, but it's almost done. And just in time - winter officially begins today.
Here are more photos of our "burlapping" process, enjoy.
My long pergola is located along the carriage road leading to my home. Here it is in September – this garden is among the first guests see when they visit the farm.
In 2017, I decided to line both sides of my clematis pergola with small boxwoods. There are more than 300-shrubs now planted here, and they continue to thrive.
This hedge is now covered every year along with all the other tender boxwood hedges and shrubs around the property. Chhiring begins to build the frame on top of the hedge. The frames are built at least several inches above the plants so even the heaviest snow doesn’t weigh the burlap down and crush the foliage.
These wooden stakes are placed in between every three of the boxwood shrubs at the pergola. String is used to ensure all the stakes and piping are straight and even.
Chhiring screws the horizontal piping to the vertical stakes positioned along both sides of the pergola.
Because the burlap covers are custom fitted for each hedge and shrub, every burlap cover is labeled, so it can be reused in the same exact location the following season.
Here, Pasang unwraps the piece of burlap saved from the previous season and drapes it over the frame at one end.
And then carefully covers the long hedge section by section. My crew has gone through the process several times – it is a well-executed production line.
After the burlap cover is in place, Domi hammers in smaller wooden stakes every two to three feet at the base of these specimens.
The sides are pulled over the stakes and then sandwiched and secured with wooden strips.
The strips are four to six inches long – just long enough to accommodate two or three screws that will keep the burlap secure. These are also reused year after year – nothing is wasted at my farm.
Here is Pasang screwing in a wooden strip at the bottom, securing it to the stake on the inside of the burlap.
Here is one side all done – it looks great. Any snow that falls will just slide off the the burlap cover.
The larger burlap shrubs are also enveloped in burlap. Do you see the hole on the left of this giant boxwood shrub? Various birds love to perch and nest in the big bushes, so I purposely add a few holes for our avian friends. These covered shrubs are great places for small birds to take shelter on cold, windy days.
Our burlap covers last up to three seasons depending on the weather, but remember, these boxwood specimens also grow a little more every year, so the covers and frames have to be adjusted each time.
The pergola is long and curved, but the burlap is measured carefully and cut to fit perfectly.
Here is a view from the soccer field looking south toward my Tenant House. The “burlapped” plantings take on a whole new look. This boxwood is now ready for the winter weather ahead – which officially begins today.
Meanwhile, holiday shooting stars are put up around the farm – it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
I like to position them strategically on buildings so they can be seen from afar. Once the star is hung, the taillights are separated so they swoop properly and are all equally spaced. Here’s one above my giant Equipment Barn. I designed these stars for my holiday collection – they’re available on Martha.com. Use them all winter long to liven up your home.
Here’s another shooting star above my Hay Barn.
And here’s Pete placing another star on one side of my stable.
As day turns into night, the stars light up the farm – the more lights, the better. I wish all of you a very happy and safe holiday season.
During my recent trip to Washington, DC, I also stopped at Mount Vernon - the historic home of George Washington, the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. The estate sits on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia. It is located south of Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia and is across the river from Prince George's County, Maryland.
Here are more of my photos, enjoy. And if you're in the area now through 2022, you can visit Mount Vernon using the following information for discounted tickets. Use promo code: MSMV20 for 20% off a grounds pass and up to six tickets. The offer is valid from now through December 31, 2022.
The Mansion at George Washington’s Mount Vernon is one of the most iconic 18th-century homes in the United States. The original house was built by George Washington’s father, Augustine, and George Washington expanded the house twice – once in the late 1750s and again in the 1770s. The present day mansion is more than 11-thousand square feet. This is the West Front of the mansion taken from the Bowling Green.
And here is the West Front entrance to Mount Vernon. Look closely at the lack of symmetry. Washington reused the original four room house as the core of the expansion.
Above the entrance is the bulls-eye window and cupola.
Here is a view from the inside of the window looking out to the Bowling Green. The current size and shape of the Bull’s Eye Room were created by the addition of the wide pediment in 1778. Some of the shelves in this room are part of the original shelving in this space. The shelving confirms this room was a storage space, almost certainly the “China Closet upstairs.”
And here is the view looking out from the cupola to the Bowling Green.
The mansion is flanked by colonnade passageways from the Servants Hall and the Mansion.
The exterior of Mount Vernon is made to look like stone, but actually it is made up of pine boards beveled to look like masonry, then sanded and painted.
When George Washington returned home from the American Revolution, he was immediately referred to as a modern day Cincinnatus after the Roman statesman, Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus (519-430 BC). Cincinnatus fought to protect the Roman republic, and like Washington, after claiming victory returned to the plow of the farmer rather than assuming absolute authority over the state. Samuel Vaughan recognized this and sent Washington a marble mantelpiece with bucolic scenes of rural life symbolically celebrating the General’s return.
The view from Mount Vernon’s Piazza, or veranda, has been preserved by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association to look as if it did during Washington’s time. Across the river is Maryland and Piscataway National Park.
Added to the Mansion in 1777, the two-story piazza is the Mansion’s most distinctive architectural feature. Extending the full length of the back of the house, it also has a practical function – catching the river breezes on a hot and humid Virginia day. The Washingtons treated the piazza as an outdoor room, serving afternoon tea and coffee to visitors and family members seated in comfortable Windsor chairs.
Upon his death in 1799, George Washington’s estate inventory listed 30 Windsor chairs on the piazza. These reproduction chairs are based on an original in the collection that descended in the family of Washington’s enslaved body servant, Christopher Sheels. In July 1800, Martha Washington paid to have the chairs on the piazza painted with mahogany – a paint scheme that was replicated on these reproductions.
This 1796 stipple engraving depicts a calm and resolute Washington before the Battle of Trenton, in which the American troops defeated a garrison of Hessian soldiers after the famous Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River in December of 1776.
Nearby is reproduction furniture in the Front Parlor. In 1774, Washington received a new suite of parlor furniture as a gift from his friend and neighbor, George William Fairfax. This suite consisted of a set of eight backstools, chairs upholstered on the back and the seat, and a sofa all upholstered in luxurious blue silk and worsted damask.
The ornamental plaster ceiling was made by Irish plasterer Richard Tharpe in the late 1780s. The ceiling features neoclassical detailing—swags, husks, and ovals. Documentation and conservation work in 2018 confirmed that much of the 18th-century ceiling ornament still survives.
George Washington died in this bed on December 14, 1799. The bedstead’s tall, slender, turned posts exemplify the neat and plain style the Washingtons favored. During the winter, it was hung with dimity curtains to ensure warmth and privacy. Netting installed in the warmer months kept insects out but permitted cool evening air to flow through. The bedding shown here is a reproduction.
After returning to Mount Vernon from the presidency, Martha Washington used this small, Louis XVI-style writing desk to manage her household business. Originally called a “bonheur du jour,” meaning daytime delight, it was made in France around 1787 and was designed especially for ladies’ use. The Washingtons purchased it in 1790, from the household of the French minister to the United States. The upper cabinet of the desk features fashionable tambour panels, created with flat, vertical strips of wood glued to a canvas backing. The panels slide in grooves revealing internal compartments for storage. The hinged writing flap below also lifts up. In a letter, dated June 23, 1775, George Washington wrote Martha that he was about to take up his new duties as the commander in chief of the Continental Army. One of only two surviving letters from the general to his wife, this document was found behind one of the drawers in Martha’s writing desk. Mrs. Washington destroyed the couple’s correspondence, presumably to preserve their privacy.
By the time of his death, George Washington had acquired more than 1200 books, pamphlets, magazines, and newspapers – he loved to learn. He organized this extensive collection in built-in bookcases and free-standing units. The subjects ranged from politics and economics, religion, agriculture, and military matters, to poetry and literature, applied and natural sciences, and general reference works.
The most faithful likeness of George Washington is a terra cotta bust created by Jean Antoine Houdon. The French sculptor visited Mount Vernon in October 1785 to carefully observe Washington’s movements and expressions, even making a plaster “life mask” of Washington’s face to accurately preserve every detail. Washington was then 53 years old. When completed, Houdon gave the bust to Washington and it has remained at Mount Vernon for more than two centuries.
In March 1797, Washington bought this stately secretary-bookcase from Philadelphia cabinetmaker John Aitken for his study at Mount Vernon. His choice, purchased for the exceptional sum of $145, was based on fashionable British neoclassical design. His chair is an early edition of a swivel – this one on four legs.
The kitchen was a central hub of activity on the Mount Vernon estate. Cooks arose at 4am each day to light the fire in the bread oven and prepare for the Washingtons’ usual meals: breakfast, dinner, and sometimes tea. Martha Washington planned each day’s menus, selected ingredients, and supervised food preparations. The Washingtons were well known for their hospitality.
It was such a beautiful day for a tour of Mount Vernon. Here is a row of outbuildings on the South Lane.
There are four main gardens at Mount Vernon. This is the Lower Garden, or Kitchen Garden. While George Washington oversaw most aspects of the grounds, Martha Washington oversaw the kitchen garden, allowing her to keep fruits and vegetables on the table year round.
The octagonal structures at the west end of the Upper and Lower Gardens were used to store tools and seeds. They also provided sheltered workspaces for gardeners, who cultivated new plants, gathered seeds, and carefully stored them.
This graceful, serpentine-front sideboard is one of two that George Washington purchased from Philadelphia cabinetmaker John Aitken in February 1797 for his “New Room” at Mount Vernon. When the New Room was used for dining, the sideboard could be set up to serve food, but more often than not, it displayed ceramic figurines and knife boxes, while storing linens and other valuable objects in its drawers.
This is a view of the New Room, where Mount Vernon’s curators setup a holiday dining scenario. This is one of two English-made tables. One table is stored in the Central Passage, the other is this one in the Dining Room. While the winter scenario is in place guests see a completely empty Dining Room, bare of furniture showing the practicality of furniture in the 18th century. The beautiful light green color is called “green verditer.”
If you haven’t yet been, I hope you take some time to visit Mount Vernon one day to see the place that the Father of Our Country and the first First Lady called home. For more information, go to the Mount Vernon web site.
Whether I am traveling for business or pleasure, I always try to visit notable sites that inform and inspire.
Earlier this month, I spent two days in our nation's capital attending business events. While there, I also visited Glenstone - a private contemporary art museum in Potomac, Maryland, just 15-miles from downtown Washington, D.C. The museum's exhibitions are drawn from a collection of about 1300 works from post-World War II artists around the world.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The views in Washington, DC were breathtaking. My driver, Andres, captured some gorgeous sights during his early morning runs. Here is the Washington Monument – an obelisk on the National Mall built to commemorate George Washington. This photo was taken from across the Mall that spans 1.2 miles. The Monument is 555-feet five-inches tall and 55-feet wide at its base.
The Lincoln Memorial is a US national memorial built to honor our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of the National Mall across from the Washington Monument, and is built in the form of a neoclassical temple.
And if you haven’t yet visited, inside is a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, the “Gettysburg Address” and his second inaugural address.
A visit to our Nation’s Capital would not be complete without seeing the White House – the official residence and workplace of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. This view is the northern facade with a columned portico facing Lafayette Square.
Glenstone is an art museum that assembles post-World War II artworks of the 20th and 21st centuries and displays them in a series of indoor and outdoor spaces. The name “Glenstone” comes from two local sources: Glen Road, where the property line begins, and a type of carderock stone indigenous to the area, which is still extracted from several nearby quarries.
One of the first art works we saw was Richard Serra’s, “Sylvester”, 2001. Richard Serra is an American artist known for his large-scale sculptures made for site-specific landscape, urban, and architectural settings.
Here I am within the giant sculpture. It is a weatherproof steel outer spiral that is 13 feet 7 inches by 41 feet by 31 feet 8 inches and an inner spiral that is 13 feet 7 inches by 30 feet 8 inches by 24 feet 11 inches.
This is artist Michael Heizer’s “Compression Line”, 1968/2016, another land artist specializing in large-scale and site-specific sculptures.
This is the view from Room 7. This space does not have art in it. Instead, it is meant to offer a moment of rest for visitors.
This bench is a collaborative design by artists Martin Puryear and Michael Hurwitz. It faces the expansive window of Room 7.
This is an entire room installation by artist Robert Gober. The 1992 “Untitled” work is a room-scale, multi-sensory presentation made up of darkened exterior pathways, a brightly lit interior chamber, and walls covered by hand-painted, 360-degree murals depicting a forest.
The room also includes sinks with running water mounted on the walls, and multiple “prison windows,” up high with forged iron bars through which a view of a painted sky is seen.
Together, all the elements form an architectural, aural, and aesthetic environment. We took multiple snapshots of this room. Here’s a closer look a section of the wall.
This is also by Michael Heizer and is called “Collapse”, 1967/2016. This artwork consists of 15 heavy beams of rusted steel that appear to have been tossed into a deep pit lined with vertical walls.
Roni Horn’s, “Water Double, v. 3”, 2013-2015 incorporates the surrounding light, architecture, water court, and viewer into the work itself. It sits in a light filled room completely accessible by visitors.
We walked right up to see the two sculptures, considered by the artist to be one of her greatest achievements – a “water double,” solid cast glass duo in black and white.
And a clear view of the water inside.
This is a view of the Water Court, the open 18-thousand square foot central area of the museum’s Pavilions.
This is called “Moss Sutra with the Seasons” (2010–2015) by Brice Marden. It measures nine feet by 39-feet. Each of these monochromatic panels is inspired by a season, beginning at the left with the yellow of springtime and ending on the right with the blue-black of winter.
Here’s a closer look at the painting. The five-panel painting brings together two monochromes with complex, layered palettes that flank each side of a large central panel which features more fluid, calligraphic gestures against a subtle ground.
And this is by Lorna Simpson. It is called “Specific Notation”, 2019 and shows a figure of a women washed in layers of dark blue ink – a very abstract piece done with screenprint on gessoed fibreglass. This marks the first installation of a work by Simpson at Glenstone. It was a fun visit to Glenstone – please stop by the next time you are in the area.
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