This time of year can be very hectic - my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are busy keeping up with all the rapid growth in the garden beds.
Summer may be coming to a close, but there is still lots of work to be done - weeding, pruning, and grooming the many perennial plants and shrubs. This week, the crew is tackling the areas around my long and winding pergola.
Enjoy these photos.
These boxwood shrubs along both sides of my winding pergola were grown from small saplings nurtured right here in one area of my vegetable garden next to my chicken coops. There are more than 300 boxwood shrubs planted here. This photo shows the latest growth which needs to be trimmed and groomed.
I love boxwood and use a lot of it around the farm. Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The leaves on boxwood branches are arranged opposite from each other, making pairs.
Some of you may recall, I planted the boxwood exactly four years ago. I decided this area would be great if planted with a row of boxwood on both sides. This 2017 photo shows the area all ready for planting.
The boxwood we used had been growing in this patch for about three years. Finally they were ready to transplant to their more permanent spots under the pergola.
Each shrub was placed into a plastic pot and then groups of potted boxwoods were carefully transported.
Every boxwood was positioned perfectly, two-feet apart from the next. The best time to plant boxwood is during the fall. These plants need well-drained, alkaline soil that contains organic matter.
These were some of the first ones planted. Boxwood can grow in full sun and partial shade.
And here is Phurba yesterday – the boxwood is nearly waist high. To groom the tops and sides, Phurba uses a STIHL HSA 25 Battery-Powered Garden Shear. The hedge shear attachment with double-sided cutting blades cuts in both directions. It’s one of our favorite tools – it’s very light and handy.
This tool has two attachments – grass shears and shrub/hedge shears. The top is the grass shear attachment, which is helpful in cutting the grass around my fence posts. The bottom is the hedge shear attachment. And each fully charged battery lasts 110-minutes.
Here, Phurba skims over the tops and trims the lighter green, new growth while shaping the shrubs as he goes.
Here, one can see what he has trimmed and what still needs to be done.
Adjacent to the pergola on one side is my expansive soccer field where my grandson, Truman, loves to play when he visits. In order to keep it in excellent condition, it must be mowed regularly. Here’s Chhiring on my Kubota ZD1211-60 zero turn riding mower. It has a 24.8 horsepower diesel engine and a wide mower deck. It gets a lot of use this time of year.
Domi uses STIHL’s brush cutter to whack any extraneous weeds around the pergola beds. These heavy-duty cutters have a four-point anti-vibration system that helps reduce operator fatigue and an easy-adjust handle bar for easy maneuverability, transport, and storage.
Also in the pergola garden – comfrey, Symphytum officinale, a perennial that grows in clumps naturally along riverbanks and in grasslands. It is a member of the borage family. The plant grows slightly taller than it is wide and features large, pointed, dark green leaves up to eight inches long that have a coarse, hairy texture.
And there are still a few clematis blooming. Clematis is a genus of about 300-species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine. Most species are called clematis, but it has also been called traveller’s joy, virgin’s bower, leather flower, or vase vine.
One one end is this giant weeping copper beech tree – I love these trees with their gorgeous forms and rich color. I have several large specimens on the property. The deep red to copper leaves grow densely on cascading pendulous branches.
Perovskia atriplicifolia, commonly called Russian sage, shows tall, airy, spike-like clusters that create a lavender-blue cloud of color above the finely textured, aromatic foliage. It is vigorous, hardy, heat-loving, drought-tolerant, and deer resistant.
This is the seed pod of the daylily. I have a selection of daylilies planted here. Daylily ‘Entrapment’ flowers appear in midsummer, and again in late summer to early fall. They grow up to 26 inches tall with semi-evergreen foliage and ruffled blue-purple blooms.
In the center and at the ends of this winding pergola are wisteria standards. Looking up, one can see its vines mixed in with the climbing vines of my beautiful Rosa ‘Veilchenblau’ – the violet rambler also known as ‘Bleu-Violet’, ‘Blue Rambler’, ‘Blue Rosalie’ and ‘Violet Blue’ that blooms from May to June.
And here’s a closer look at the newly groomed boxwood. I am so pleased with how it’s developing – so lush and green.
My gardens are constantly evolving. The entire border is just so beautiful – in spring when it blooms with gorgeous purple and blue; in summer when it features all the bright orange lilies; and, in autumn, with all its bold greenery. Enjoy your gardens.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew know how imperative it is to "use the right tool for the right job." Among our favorites are the durable, easy-to-use tools from STIHL.
I've been using STIHL products for a long time. STIHL is recognized as a worldwide leader in outdoor power equipment and offers an extensive lineup of more than 80 different pieces including professional-grade chainsaws, blowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, pruners, and more. These dependable tools allow the crew to successfully complete the many, many tasks around my working farm. Recently, we added a few more pieces to our supply.
Here are some photos.
Not long ago, STIHL delivered a handful of tools we needed for different tasks here at my farm – some are battery operated and others are gas-powered.
Here’s Brian Carolan from STIHL. Brian always delivers the tools and shows us the proper way to use each one. He’s holding one of STIHL’s hedge trimmers. These hedge trimmers are designed without excess bulk and feature an appropriate power-to-weight ratio for superior maneuverability and cutting power.
Chhiring is holding a STIHL telescoping hedge trimmer which features precision-ground cutting blades and anti-vibration technology so are hands steady during every job. At the end of every STIHL blade tool is the bright orange protective scabbard.
Brian also brought a couple telescoping pruners. All the STIHL tools are easy-to-use and easy to maintain.
We keep all our STIHL tools in my large Equipment Barn. Here, they are all organized on our shop table and ready-to-use.
The STIHL blade tools are sharpened regularly to keep them in the best working condition.
The backpack battery includes comfortable shoulder straps, an ergonomic hip belt, and chest strap that evenly distribute its weight.
The backpack battery can be plugged into power the blower, which is less noisy and perfect for around my Winter House. And, the blower can be used both from the right side and the left side depending on the user.
STIHL’s most well-known tool is the chainsaw. STIHL designed and built its first electric chain saw in 1926 and 94 years later, it is still one of its best pieces of equipment. The chainsaw has soft grips for comfortability and secure maneuverability. STIHL offers gas-powered chainsaws as well as battery-powered chainsaws that run on an AP 300 S Lithium-Ion Battery.
The AP 300 S Lithium-Ion Battery from STIHL is powerful and compatible with a wide range of tools, including extended-reach hedge trimmers, pole pruners, chainsaws, and blowers. It weighs only 3.9 pounds and is water resistant.
The crew loves the telescoping tools from STIHL. The telescoping pole pruners have a quiet, zero-exhaust emission and a low vibration option for trimming overhead branches. It offers lightweight, balanced cutting thanks to its brushless, commercial-grade, high-torque electric motor.
And here are their leaf blowers. We’ve been using STIHL’s backpack blowers for years here at my farm. These blowers are powerful and fuel-efficient. The gasoline-powered engines provide enough rugged power to tackle heavy debris while delivering much lower emissions.
When it comes to smaller jobs and touch-ups, the HSA 25 Battery-Powered Garden Shears work great. The HSA 25 is lightweight with a rubberized handle for user comfort and a secure grip. It comes with its own roll-up case to store all its accessories. I use this tool all the time to trim the boxwood.
Here’s Ryan trimming the flower stalks from the hostas. This handy tool features two attachments – grass shears and shrub shears – to meet specific trimming needs. This has run times of up to 110 minutes on a single charge. The HSA 25 also allows users to complete tasks with clean, efficient cuts.
Pete likes to use STIHL’s powerful battery-powered MSA 220 C chainsaw. It’s capable of felling and limbing. Its durable construction and reliable performance make it a powerful addition for its size. Pete uses it to trim the tops of the upright fence posts as he replaces them.
All STIHL chainsaws are also equipped with a chain stopping system designed to reduce the risk of injury. The STIHL chainsaw is also used to cut long boards before they’re made into stakes.
This is the GTA 26 – a mini saw that fits right in the palm of one’s hand and is great for smaller jobs and tight spaces. It offers high cutting performance, quiet operation, excellent ergonomics, and long battery life – thanks to its 10.8 V AS 2 replacement battery.
Here’s the battery-powered blower that’s used every day to blow leaves and other debris off the terraces and footpaths around my home.
Here, Ryan uses the telescoping hedge trimmer to lop off the top of the beech hedge around my pool.
Pasang is an excellent pruner – he’s had a lot of experience with trees. Here he is using the chainsaw to cut down an old tree. Whenever using any of the tools, each crew member “suits up” with safe protective gear for the head, face, and legs. Safety is of the utmost importance.
Here, Pasang uses the telescoping pole pruner to prune high branches. These tools can cut branches up to 16 feet above the ground.
And in the winter, the crew uses STIHL’s brush cutters. These heavy-duty cutters have a four-point anti-vibration system that helps reduce operator fatigue and an easy-adjust handle bar for easy maneuverability, transport, and storage.
Here I am in my STIHL chaps, helmet, and gloves along with Kevin Sharkey. Maybe you recognize this shot from my show “Martha Stewart Gets Down and Dirty” on Discovery+. I am so pleased with all these tools from STIHL – they allow us to get so much work done here at the farm.
The gardeners and outdoor grounds crew at my Bedford, New York farm are busy with late season gardening chores - most recently, grooming the sunken garden behind my Summer House.
Some of you may recall, I began this formal garden more than 10 years ago. The focal point is the great old ginkgo tree at the back of the space that is original to the property. Over time, I've planted American and English boxwood, smaller ginkgo trees, smoke bushes, Siberian weeping pea shrubs, peonies, hostas, lilies, ferns, and so much more.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
These are the beautiful deep-colored leaves of the chocolate mimosa tree. These leaves are bronze-green, fern-like leaves that appear in late spring and then become a deeper rich chocolate-burgundy color in summer.
I have two of these gorgeous trees growing beneath the large ginkgo tree in my Summer House garden. The chocolate mimosa tree is a fast-growing, deciduous tree with a wide, umbrella-shaped canopy.
But the main focal point is the mighty old ginkgo tree. This tree is about 250-years old. Although not as large as others I’ve seen, my tree is quite massive.
Surrounding the sunken garden on three sides is a tall American boxwood hedge. I love how it encloses the space. And because the Summer House faces a rather busy intersection, the wall of boxwood also provides a good deal of privacy.
On the terrace, I have several potted split-leaf philodendrons. They look so pretty in the faux bois containers.
The split-leaf philodendron, Philodendron Selloum, is native to South America. It belongs to the group of philodendron plants that are among the most popular of houseplants for their ability to thrive without much maintenance.
The plants have glossy, heart-shaped or rounded leathery leaves that develop deep clefts and oblong perforations as they grow older. The leaves may be as much as 18-inches wide on foot-long leafstalks.
This is one of two shampoo ginger plants here at the farm. Shampoo ginger, Zingiber Zerumbet, is an aromatic, clump-forming perennial belonging to the moderately large ginger Zingiber genus of the family Zingiberaceae.
Both the leaves and the pine cone-like inflorescence’s arise each year in the summer from underground rhizomes. The floral bracts are green when young and red when mature.
They produce a juice that collects inside the flower cone. It is slightly sudsy and the cones can be squeezed and used for shampoo, hence the name of the plant. Look closely and see the juice getting squeezed out.
Another series of urns is planted with young sago palms. The sago palm, Cycas revoluta, is a popular plant known for its feathery foliage and ease of care. Native to the southern islands of Japan, the sago palm goes by several common names, including Japanese palm, funeral palm, king sago, or just plain sago palm.
The plant is not a true palm, despite its common name, but a cycad, part of a prehistoric class of plants. It produces a whorl of dark green, feather-like fronds on its trunk. The pinnate leaves are typically about four to five feet long at maturity, and nine-inches wide, reaching their greatest length when grown in partial shade.
This an interesting colocasia – not to be confused with the alocasia. Alocasia leaves are very glossy or waxy in appearance with prominent veins. They are more arrow-shaped or heart-shaped; while Colocasia has matte green leaves and the leaves are more or less round in shape.
In this garden, I also have six weeping Siberian pea shrubs with cascading weeping branches that bear pinnately compound leaves.
The leaves are alternate and about three to five inches long.
The garden beds are all freshly weeded showing some of the low boxwood hedge on the left. A couple times a year, we groom and prune the boxwood to give them a more clean and manicured appearance.
I also have these boxwood shrubs. Boxwood is naturally a round or oval shaped shrub that can reach up to 15 feet in height. I love the tapered tops.
I have smaller ginkgo trees on both sides of the footpath. The ginkgo biloba is one of the most distinct and beautiful of all deciduous trees. It prefers a minimum of four hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day. The ginkgo has a cone-like shape when young, and becomes irregularly rounded as it ages.
The leaves are unusually fan-shaped, up to three-inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three-inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze. Ginkgo leaves grow and deepen color in summer, then turn a brilliant yellow in autumn. Here, one can see the slight change in color already.
In the back of the garden, I also have these large leaf hostas. Hostas are a perennial favorite among gardeners. The lush green foliage varying in leaf shape, size and texture, and their easy care requirements make them ideal for many areas. 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.
Also in this garden – maidenhair ferns. These graceful perennials are easy to grow, long-lived, and require very little care. They come in a variety of leaf colors, shapes, and sizes. I have many, many ferns here at the farm.
This view is from the back looking at my Summer House. I am so pleased with how it has developed over the years – I really should entertain here more.
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