It's dahlia season and here at my Bedford, New York farm, we have lots of gorgeous, bright, and colorful dahlia blooms indoors and out.
I hope you saw the recent dahlia photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 - our first of many dahlia arrangements. This year, I designated a large space for growing dahlias right behind my vegetable greenhouse. Many of our dahlia tubers are from Swan Island Dahlias in Oregon, a family owned business and the largest and leading dahlia grower in the United States. Others are from Floret, a family farm and floral design studio in the State of Washington, and from The Flower Hat, a flower farm based in Bozeman, Montana. We'll have many colorful, spiky flowers from small to giant dinner-plate size blooming now through the first frost.
Enjoy these photos.
I often place cut flower arrangements here on my servery counter – the color combinations look so pretty in these glass vessels. When arranging, always strip off all the leaves that would be below the water line in the vase. This is true for all flower arrangements, not just dahlias. When leaves stay underwater, they decay and release bacteria that shorten the vase life of the flowers. And change the water daily so they look fresh and last longer.
This year, we grew our dahlias in a bed behind my vegetable greenhouse. This location gets great sun. Dahlias grow more blooms when they get at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. And because this spot is behind this large structure, it is also protected from strong winds.
The array of flower colors, sizes, and shapes is astounding. Dahlias come in white, shades of pink, red, yellow, orange, shades of purple, and various combinations of these colors – every color but true blue. In the 19th century, a London newspaper offered a pound, or a little more than a dollar, to the first breeder to create a blue dahlia—the reward was never claimed, but there have been many attempts that are near-blue. Like many flower varieties, there is also no pure black variety—only dark red and dark purple. This one is a soft pink.
Dahlias are named after 18th-century Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. He actually categorized dahlias as a vegetable because of their edible tubers. The tubers are said to taste like a mix between potatoes and radishes.
This dahlia is a special mix of white and soft lavender. The flower is upward-facing and borne on long, strong stems. The genus Dahlia is native to the high plains of Mexico. Some species can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador & Costa Rica as well as parts of South America where it was introduced.
Currently, there are about 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. A member of the Asteraceae family of dicotyledonous plants, some of its relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia.
Dahlias produce an abundance of wonderful flowers throughout early summer and again in late summer until the first frost. This large bloom is a beautiful creamy white with a hint of yellow in the center.
These tuberous plants have slender erect stems which are not always capable of supporting the large flowers, so they must be well-supported. We use strong metal stakes to keep them up through the season.
Dahlias are classified according to flower shape and petal arrangement. Here in New York, by the end of August, the flowers start to burst open with such beautiful blooms just as others have sadly past their prime.
This gorgeous dahlia is medium pink with a bright white center.
This is a single dahlia with just one row of petals surrounding the center disc. They range from a charming single, daisy-like flower to the popular double varieties which can range from the two-inch-pompons to 12-inch dinner plate size. They are divided into 10 groups: single, anemone, collarette, waterlily, decorative, fall, pompon, cactus, semi-cactus, and miscellaneous.
This is a cactus dahlia with its beautiful ‘spiny’ petals rolled up along more than two-thirds of their length. Dahlias are herbaceous perennials, but typically grown as an annual.
Pompon dahlias yield masses of intricate, fully double blooms measuring up to two-and-a-half inches across. This dahlia is a pretty salmon color.
Dahlias thrive in rich, well-drained soil with a pH level of 6.5 to 7.0 and slightly acidic.
The majority of dahlia species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars, but they are brightly colored to attract pollinating insects.
Dahlias are very attractive to bees and hummingbirds.
This dahlia is a soft, creamy pink with a dark yellow center.
Experiment with the varieties – dahlias look great arranged in different colors.
Or as a bunch of the same variety. The striking colors and forms look so pretty. The stems don’t have to be too long – we cut these to about a foot each and then trimmed them indoors to fit these vessels.
And when cutting, to prevent wilting, cut only in the early morning or late afternoon. And only cut them after they open to mature size – dahlias will not open after cutting. Enjoy your dahlias!
Clean-up continues today at my Bedford, New York farm after the remnants of Hurricane Ida barreled through the Northeast with furious, wind-driven rain, and flash flooding earlier this week.
It’s heartbreaking to see so many images of areas ravaged by this storm. In New York City, Ida halted train service, flooded apartments, and caused extensive travel delays. A record-breaking 3.1 inches of rain fell in Central Park within an hour. Tornado warnings were issued across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Fortunately, my farm escaped major damage. There was extensive runoff on the carriage roads, a good number of young trees were pushed over by strong winds, and we lost several branches, but everything here can be fixed, and my outdoor grounds crew is working very hard to get things back into shape. If you were in Ida's path, I hope you and your families are safe.
Here are some photos.
Hurricane Ida whipped through the region overnight. By the next morning, all the streams at the farm were angry, full to overflowing, and several more dry stream beds were filled.
I have four miles of carriage road at the farm and many of them suffered stormwater runoff – generated from all the fast-moving rain that flowed over the roads and into the landscape – the gravel is everywhere.
After any storm, my gardeners and crew drive around the entire property to assess the damage. Here’s Ryan picking up a fallen branch in the middle of a woodland road. Branches are moved to the edge, where they can be picked up and chipped.
Here’s more of the eroded carriage road after the rains.
Here, Ryan is securing a kousa dogwood tree that was found toppled over after the storm. These young specimens are still quite fragile and need the support of bamboo uprights until it is older and more developed.
Cornus kousa is a small deciduous tree that can grow up to 40 feet tall. It is in the flowering plant family Cornaceae. Common names include kousa, kousa dogwood, Chinese dogwood, Korean dogwood, and Japanese dogwood. It is native to East Asia including Korea, China and Japan. This is a fruit of the kousa which is edible. The soft pulp is sweet with a similar flavor to a ripe persimmon but it also has hard seeds inside.
More branches are moved to the sides of the road ready for pick up at another time.
There were great puddles of water everywhere – the rain came down fast and furious. Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a category 4 storm with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. Ida then churned inland, bringing catastrophic winds, heavy rainfall, and tornado watches, and life-threatening storm surge along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama before it moved north into our area bringing more torrential rains.
The combination of softened wood and high winds is so bad for fully leafed-out trees. This branch is broken and has to be completely removed.
Ryan braces the branch, so it stays still until it can be fully removed. Some are too heavy to carry and need to be cut into sections before feeding into the chipper.
Meanwhile, Brian carries another fallen branch to the side of the road. I can take fallen branches and boughs but broken and uprooted trees are so difficult to clean up and so sad to lose.
In the sycamore allee, many of my young London plane trees, Platanus × acerifolia, were left leaning, but all survived. They too have to be re-staked upright.
Many of these trees were leaning because the ground became so saturated from the rains.
Ryan digs the hole deeper and adds another stake to support the tree.
Now this tree is standing tall and straight once again – this time with two stakes.
And a doubled twine to secure them.
During strong rain storms, the water runoff sometimes washes the gravel off of this road by the azaleas and onto the grassy areas. We often place bales to help direct the rain water to the appropriate drains.
The rains were so strong that this bale came apart during the storm.
The low swales along the sides of the roads are a very good idea, as they prevent a lot of driveway erosion. A swale is a small channel that conveys water from one point to another. When planted with grasses or native vegetation, swales can be positioned to collect stormwater from driveways and other hard surfaces.
The Boxwood Allee drive suffered a lot of washout.
Chhiring adds soil and levels the gravel wherever the washout occurred.
But these are easy to fix after the storm – once fixed, it doesn’t even look as if a storm even hit this area of the allee.
Here is Pasang raking the washed out gravel back to the road where it belongs. There is still a lot of work to be done, but soon the farm will be back in good shape.
The storm left a mess in its wake, but everything at the farm can be repaired. My heart goes out to those who did not fare as well. Today is also expected to be very pleasant – mild temperatures, low humidity, and lots of sunshine. I hope those of you who suffered damage are doing okay and making headway with clean up chores.
When living with horses, grooming and monitoring basic vital signs are essential to their care and wellness.
Horses are amazing animals. I have always appreciated them for their beauty and their companionship. I currently have eight residents in my stable - two Friesians, a Fell pony, and five donkeys. Caring for equids is a huge responsibility, but it brings me great joy to see that they are happy and in the best possible health. Temperature, pulse, and respiration are three basic physiological parameters that can be monitored and recorded on a regular basis. It is important to know how to take these three vital signs correctly and safely. Yesterday was "TPR" day in the stable.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here are Rinze, Bond, and Banchunch grazing in the paddock. I take very good care of all the horses. They are seen regularly by a veterinarian, an equine dentist, and the farrier. I also make sure they are well monitored in between check-ups – this means keeping track of their normal behaviors and vital signs. Taking a horse’s temperature, pulse, and respiration, or TPR, can provide valuable information about a horse’s general state of well-being. It’s a quick and easy way to determine how the animal is feeling.
My stable manager, Helen Peparo, keeps a binder for each animal so she can record all the important health information in one place.
There is a page specifically meant to record TPR, which is done once a month for every horse, pony, and donkey. It is important to do this regularly to determine what is normal. At the bottom of this page, Helen indicates the normal ranges for horses.
Helen also keeps a feeding record. This page lists what each horse eats and how much.
This page is for any special medications – my horses are all very healthy and are not on any special medications.
Banchunch is my Fell Pony. The Fell Pony is a versatile working breed originating in the north of England in Cumberland and Westmorland farms of northwest England. Fells are excellent riding and driving ponies. Banchunch is safely secured to crossties before any grooming or medical exam.
Horses should be groomed at least once a day. Helen and Dolma groom the horses every morning. Here are some of the brushes they use. Daily grooming not only keeps them clean and comfortable, but it is a good way to check on the horse’s general health and well-being, the health of the skin and coat, and any other possible abnormalities.
Helen uses a curry brush to remove dirt and loose hair from the coat. It is made of rubber or soft plastic and has flexible nubs that also massage the animal.
Banchunch stays pretty still for his grooming session.
Helen uses the curry brush all over his body including the legs. Each of the horse’s legs and around each foot is also wiped with a towel, not only to clean, but also to feel for any bumps or lumps that may need special attention, as well as heat or swelling, which may indicate an injury. All of them are healthy and doing well.
Cleaning a horse’s hooves is also very important. They should be picked daily. A hoof pick is used to remove dirt, stones, and other debris – particularly in the grooves beside the frog. Regular hoof cleaning can prevent thrush, a foul-smelling bacterial infection. This hoof is very clean.
Here, Helen brushes Banchunch’s forelock, which is similar to the bangs on humans and falls forward over the front of a horse’s head. The forelock is part of the horse’s mane, the distinctive ridge of hair that grows on the top of a horse’s neck and runs from the top of the head to its withers.
Taking the temperature is the first step in the TPR process. Helen uses a digital thermometer. His temperature is 99.7 Fahrenheit, which is well within the normal range for horses and ponies.
In order to take a horse’s heart rate, Helen stands on Banchunch’s left side and places the drum of the stethoscope on the horse’s chest just under the elbow.
Helen counts the number of full beats for 30-seconds then multiplies the number by two for the rate per minute. The normal pulse for an average sized adult horse is about 32.
Next, Helen stands a few feet away and watches his ribcage rising and falling. A cycle of one rise and one fall of the ribcage constitutes one breath. Helen multiplies the number of breaths he takes over 30 seconds and doubles the amount to obtain a respiration – the number of breaths per minute. The respiration rate for a horse at rest is around 12 to 15 breaths per minute.
In addition to a horse’s normal, resting vital signs, the horse’s weight is also important to monitor. Equine weight tapes can be used to obtain an approximate weight by measuring the heart girth or barrel.
Next is Bond who has been boarding here at the farm and is very happy with the rest of the herd. Helen takes time to groom him and give him a thorough check.
Grooming can be very soothing, and for many horses, it helps stimulate circulation. For young horses, it’s a good time to practice standing still, being patient, and being touched.
Here she is brushing Bond’s long tail. The tail of the horse consists of two parts, the dock and the skirt. The dock includes the muscles and skin covering the coccygeal vertebrae. The term “skirt” refers to the long hairs that fall below the dock. On a horse, long, thick tail hairs begin to grow at the base of the tail, and grow along the top and sides of the dock.
“The ‘dent’ above the eye is called the supraorbital fossa. It normally just contains fat tissue. It can also give a rough indication of the condition of the horse. Horses in poor condition tend to have bigger ‘dents’ and conversely, fat horses have less of a dent or no dent at all. Bond is in excellent health and condition.
Helen also checks Bond’s gums. Mucous membrane color can be a quick indicator of a horse’s health. The gums should be a pink to pale pink color and moist to the touch. To take his capillary refill time, or CRT, Helen lifts the horse’s lips, presses a finger firmly against the gums, and then takes it away. She counts the number of seconds it takes for the color to return to the area. It should come back quickly – and Bond’s did.
Last, but never least, is Rinze. Because all my horses are groomed every day, they are quite used to this process. Rinze is such a good boy.
Helen goes over his coat with a horse-hair brush to remove any dead hair. The horses are just beginning to shed their summer coats. Rinze’s coat is so shiny.
A horse’s face should always be kept as clean as possible also. The face and nose are often moist, making it very easy for dirt and mucus to build up. After grooming, all of Rinze’s vitals are taken the same way as the others. I am happy to report that all the boys are doing great.
Here, Helen and Dolma head out for some exercise with Bond and Rinze before tending to the donkeys. Have a good ride!
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