Three stalls in my stable are now more donkey and Fell pony friendly!
I share my Bedford, New York farm with four Friesians, five Sicilian donkeys, and one Fell pony. All of my equines reside happily in my large stable. Recently, I decided to change three of the stall gates, so that the smaller animals could have better views of their stable-mates and all the daily activities. We called on the experts at American Stalls in Fairfax, Virginia to make us three heavy-duty steel half-size stall gates. Once the gates arrived, I sent them over to our friends at Patty's Portico: Outdoor Furniture Restoration & Powder Coating, so they could be painted in my signature "Bedford Gray." I'm happy to report the gates are now installed and Rufus, Clive, Billie, Jude "JJ" Junior, Truman "TJ" Junior, and Banchunch love them.
Enjoy these photos.
Here are my two female donkeys – the only females in the stable. Billie and Jude “JJ” Junior share one stall. Until now, they did not have a good view of the wide aisle outside their enclosure. And to see them with their stall gate closed, one had to look over and view them from above.
Here’s Truman “TJ” Junior with his front on the step looking at his “girlfriends” next door.
A few stalls down, Banchunch looks over his stall gate to see what’s going on.
Not long ago, three gates from American Stalls arrived at the farm – these are made of all-steel materials and designed for smaller horses, donkeys, and ponies.
Helen takes a look at the gates after they arrived from Patty’s Portico, where they were powder-coated “Bedford Gray.” They look like they will fit very well.
Each gate was adjusted to accommodate heavy gate hinges.
My property manager, Doug White, installed the hinges to the gates and then marked where they would be installed on the existing gate posts. These gates will not interfere with the existing wood and metal ones.
Doug secures two hinges on the side of the gate. He uses a twist bit to drill through the metal.
And then he screws in the hinge securing it to the post.
Each hinge has has four screws.
Next, Doug attaches a latch to open and close the gate.
Here is the new gate – this one installed at just the right height for the donkeys.
The gates are designed with European-style yoke openings.
The vertical bars are closely spaced. Beneath the bars is a metal mesh bottom.
Billie and “JJ” can see everything so clearly now.
The donkeys can look over very easily to see everything that is going on in the rest of the stable.
And so can Banchunch… And look at the video to see what else he can do now that he has a new gate on his stall.
Today in the Northeast, we’re expecting scattered thunderstorms and partly cloudy skies, but so much continues to flourish here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Every day, I notice something new blooming. And, while many of the flowers are erupting with vibrant color, we've also been watching all the trees come to life. I've shared some images on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 - I hope you've seen them.
For this Memorial Day weekend, here are more photos from the gardens at Cantitoe Corners - enjoy.
When I first moved to my farm, it was a blank slate. Over the years, I’ve planted thousands and thousands of trees and plants. These gorgeous ferns surround part of my Basket House under the shade of bald cypress trees. In the distance – a section of my long and winding pergola and gardens now filled with shades of purple and blue.
On the right is a Japanese maple. With more than a thousand varieties and cultivars, the iconic Japanese maple tree is among the most versatile small trees for use in the landscape. They look so pretty with all the green foliage surrounding them. Japanese maples are native to areas of Japan, Korea, China, and Russia. In Japan, the maple is called the “autumn welcoming tree” and is planted in the western portion of gardens – the direction from which fall arrives there.
Red-leafed cultivars are the most popular of the Japanese maples. Japanese maple leaves range from about an inch-and-a-half to four-inches long and wide with five, seven, or nine acutely pointed lobes.
Astilboides is an interesting plant with huge, bright green leaves that are round and flat and measure up to 24-inches across. The effect is dramatic, and beautiful among other hardy perennials.
This is Pulmonaria, or lungwort – a beautiful, versatile, hardy plant. Lungworts are evergreen or herbaceous perennials that form clumps or rosettes. They are covered in hairs of varied length and stiffness. The spotted oval leaves were thought to symbolize diseased, ulcerated lungs, and so were once used to treat pulmonary infections.
The lungwort flower appears in early spring and can be blue, pink, or white, and is frequently two or more colors on a single plant. Often the flowers on a lungwort will start out one color before eventually fading into another color as the flower ages.
These are the dainty leaves of thalictrum. Plants in this genus are native to stream banks, shaded mountains, and moist meadows. It grows best in moist, humus-rich soil in partial shade. Thalictrum has some of the most beautifully textured foliage. The name Thalictrum means “to flourish,” and it does, with elegant, finely cut and rounded compound leaves.
Japanese painted ferns are beautiful mounds of dramatic foliage with luminescent blue-green fronds and dark central ribs that fade to silver at the edges.
In contrast are the ostrich ferns – a light green clump-forming, upright to arching, rhizomatous, deciduous fern which typically grows up to six feet tall.
The hostas are so lush with their varying leaf shape, size, and textures. Hostas have easy care requirements which make them ideal for many areas. I have them all around the farm. Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name, giboshi. They are native to northeast Asia and include hundreds of different cultivars.
This is Syneilesis – a tough, drought-tolerant, easy-to-grow woodland garden perennial that prefers moist, well-drained, slightly acid soils. If in the proper environment, syneilesis will slowly spread to form an attractive colony.
I’ve planted several American horse-chestnut trees around the farm. These two are at one end of my Boxwood Allee. Aesculus hippocastnum is a large deciduous tree commonly known as the horse-chestnut or conker tree. It’s easy to spot by its showy bright pink flowers.
The blossoms appear on erect, eight-inch-long panicles at each branch tip – they’re very attractive and very accessible to bees and hummingbirds.
On this side of my large Equipment Barn is a hedge of parrotia trees. They’ve developed quite nicely since we planted them two years ago. Persian parrotia or Persian ironwood is a small upright tree or large, rounded, multi-stemmed shrub related to witch hazel. The oblong green leaves turn various shades of red, orange, and yellow in the fall.
There are so many fruits growing at the pear espalier down by my stable. I have six ‘Shinseiki’ and four ‘Nijisseiki’ pear trees here. ‘Shinseiki’ Asian pear means “new century” and was developed from two of the best Asian pears of the 1940s. The ‘Shinseiki’ Asian pear is round, medium to large, yellow smooth-skinned fruit with little or no russet. It has crisp, creamy white flesh, and a mild, sweet flavor. The ‘Nijisseiki’ pear, or the 20th Century Asian pear as it is often called, is incredibly delicious, easy to grow, and smells just like a pear, but, like an apple, the outside of the fruit is crisp, firm and round.
On the other side of the stable above my azalea grove are several paulownia trees, which are broadleaf and deciduous. The flowers are pale violet and grow in 20 to 30 centimeter long panicles. The scent is a lovely vanilla fragrance.
From afar, one can see the gorgeous blooms.
Beautiful irises are popping up everywhere. Iris is a genus of 260 to 300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris.
I love my curving border of tree peonies, Paeonia suffruticosa. There are very few plants that can compete with a tree peony in full bloom. They flower from late April to early May but the season often varies from year to year.
This is just one of the many amazing tree peony flowers. Tree peonies do not die back to the ground in autumn. Like a rose bush, tree peonies drop their leaves and their woody stems stand through the winter.
Nearby, the herbaceous peonies are opening with such vigor. Herbaceous peonies die back to the ground in the autumn and emerge again in the spring. These flowers are all erupting with color. I will post images when all are opened – they’re so stunning.
At the end of this day, the clouds rolled in and opened with a drenching rain. The recent weather has done well for the gardens – everything looks so green and lush. I look forward to sharing more photos as the gardens transition in summer. And, during this Memorial Day Weekend, let us all remember our heroes in uniform who made the ultimate sacrifices to defend our country through the years.
There are still so many delicious, organic greens ready for picking in my vegetable greenhouse.
This time of year, my gardeners are busy planting our crops in the outdoor vegetable gardens, but it's nice to know there are many fresh, delicious vegetables thriving inside my special vegetable greenhouse located behind my Equipment Barn. We practice succession planting in order to keep the produce coming. This process involves following one crop with another in order to maximize a garden's yield. Yesterday, we picked some wonderful greens to enjoy over the long holiday weekend.
Enjoy these photos.
The construction of my vegetable greenhouse in 2008 was inspired by Eliot Coleman, an expert in four-season farming. It uses minimal artificial heat – in fact, most of its energy comes directly from the sun through the giant windows, and it successfully grows a variety of hardy crops.
The vegetables always grow so nicely inside this greenhouse. Just look at these beautiful lettuce heads.
I always grow lots of lettuce, so I can share them with my daughter and her children. I love fresh lettuce. It’s a real treat to have lettuce like this all year long.
Here’s our parsley. Parsley is a flowering plant native to the Mediterranean. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning “rock celery.” Celery is a good source of vitamins A, C, and K. We grow flat leaf and curly parsley.
Parsley is one of the most commonly used herbs with its mild flavor and pleasant aroma.
This is curly parsley. This comes from the same family, but curly parsley leaves are thicker and ruffled. Some also say its flavor is a bit stronger in curly parsley than in the flat-leaf varieties.
Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum, is also known commonly as coriander or Chinese parsley. Coriander is actually the dried seed of cilantro. Cilantro is a popular micro-green garnish that complements meat, fish, poultry, noodle dishes, and soups.
Look at this beet – ready to pick! Beets are sweet and tender – and one of the healthiest foods. Beets contain a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains, which provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification support.
The gorgeous Swiss chard stalk colors can be seen from afar. They are so vibrant with stems of yellow, red, rose, gold, and white. Chard has very nutritious leaves making it a popular addition to healthful diets.
The most common method for picking is to cut off the outer leaves about two inches above the ground while they are young, tender, and about eight to 12 inches long.
Here is a yellow stemmed Swiss Chard. Look at its giant leaves – so perfect.
I also grow a lot of spinach. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, and a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron and vitamin B2. We use a lot of spinach at the farm for my green juice – a must-have every morning of the year.
New Zealand spinach is a trailing plant that forms a mat of triangular soft fleshy foliage. It is not the same as true spinach, in fact the two plants are not related but can be used fresh or cooked in the same way.
Last summer, my gardeners planted five of my fig trees in the vegetable greenhouse where they can live all year long in a controlled setting. If you enjoy growing an unusual fruit crop that’s delicious and nearly trouble free, consider figs. Figs will grow well unprotected in zones 8 to 10, and also in colder areas if given good care and proper winter protection.
Celery is part of the Apiaceae family, which includes carrots, parsnips, parsley, and celeriac. Its crunchy stalks make the vegetable a popular low-calorie snack with a range of health benefits.
I also use a lot of celery in my green juice. Here is Enma picking several stalks along with their nutritious leaves.
There are even a few carrots to pick. This greenhouse has 16 wooden garden boxes to fit the entire length and width of the space, so we are able to plant many crops. Raised bed gardening allows good drainage, prevents soil compaction, and provides protection for those plants that may otherwise get trampled.
These are scallions. Scallions have a milder taste than most onions. Close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chive, and Chinese onions. Growing scallions is actually easier than growing onions since they have a much shorter growth period. Varieties sown in spring can be harvested just 60 to 80 days after planting or when transplants reach about a foot tall.
On the wall are the beautiful blooms of passion flower, Passiflora incarnata – a climbing vine with flower bases supporting five or 10 petals in a flat or reflex circle. They can be woody or herbaceous. Flowers come in several different colors including lavender, blue, white, pink, and red.
Enma was able to harvest quite a bit. Thanks, Enma! There’s nothing quite like the taste of fresh organic vegetables from one’s own garden – inside or out.
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