Maintaining a healthy landscape sometimes means cutting down trees.
I love trees and always feel bad when trees are cut down. Trees are crucial to our environment - they provide breathable oxygen, they absorb carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gasses, and they help create an ecosystem of food for birds and other animals. However, occasionally trees need to be removed and replaced. The pear trees behind my gym building have been declining in recent years. We already removed several and last week my outdoor grounds crew removed another. I decided to replace them with a selection of Stewartia trees - I love Stewartias and already had more mature specimens growing nearby.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This latest project includes planting several Stewartia trees in an area across from my long winding pergola and behind my gym building. These trees originally arrived as bare-root specimens a couple of years ago. Bare-root trees are so named because the plants are dug from the ground while dormant, and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. I like to nurture them in pots before planting.
The first step is to place the trees around the garden bed – at least 15-feet apart. Because we also have bulbs planted in various sections of this garden, it’s also important not to disrupt any of them. If any bulbs are found, they’re gently replanted.
After placing the trees around the space, Brian turns each one, so the best side faces the road.
Then, Brian begins to dig the holes. He digs all the holes first in case the positioning of any trees needs changing.
Always have a good quality tree fertilizer on hand to mix with the soil of the new specimen being planted.
Brian removes the tree from its pot. Remember, a tree or shrub may be a bit pot bound before transplanting, that means the roots have started to curve around the shape of the pot with no where to go. If left in this condition the roots will continue to wind around and around and never spread into the new soil, so it is important to always scarify the root ball.
Using his hori hori knife, Brian scarifies the roots of this specimen. Scarifying stimulates root growth. Essentially, he breaks up small portions of the root ball to loosen the roots a bit and create some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
When planting a tree or shrub, measure the height of the root-ball to determine the approximate hole depth. Measure the diameter of the root ball to determine the width of the hole. The hole should be no deeper than the calculated depth. The rule of thumb is that the width of the hole should be a foot wider than the root-ball diameter.
Once the tree is properly positioned in the hole, Brian backfills. “Bare to the flare” is the general saying when planting trees – the top of the root flare should always be above ground.
Next, Brian gently steps around the root ball to ensure there aren’t any air pockets.
I always like young trees staked to protect them as they develop. Brian hammers a bamboo stake about a foot into the ground a few inches from the young tree trunk.
Bamboo comes in a variety of lengths and is easy to find at garden supply stores.
Brian also trims any dead or poorly growing branches.
Next, Brian ties garden twine in three places – this will ensure the tree is well supported and directed as it grows.
We use natural jute twine for many of our projects around the farm. Jute twine is a vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is 100-percent biodegradable and pollution-free.
The knots used should be very simple. I always teach every member of the crew to twist the twine before knotting, so the tree or vine or cane is not crushed or strangled. I like to tie the twine in a figure-eight formation. Each piece is tied just tight enough to keep the tree secure, but not break it.
The ties are placed at the top, the middle, and near the bottom to fully support the tree. Even if the wind blows, it will be secure. This was important to do right away in advance of Tropical Storm Henri.
These Stewartia trees are planted just behind the younger new ones and are a bit more mature. Stewartia is a species of flowering plant in the family Theaceae, native to Japan and Korea. All varieties are slow-growing, all-season performers that show off fresh bright green leaves in spring, white flowers resembling single camellias in summer, and colorful foliage in autumn. Some of the varieties in this area include: Stewartia gemmata, Stewartia x. henryae, Stewartia pseudocamellia ‘Ballet’, Stewartia monadelpha, Stewartia rostrata, and Stewartia henry ‘Skyrocket’.
The leaves of the Stewartia are alternate, simple, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, and five to nine centimeters long.
Stewartias produce woody ovoid capsules of seeds each of which has five seed chambers containing up to four seeds.
Do you know why I love Stewartia trees? Well, Stewart is my last name after all. However, there is no relation. “Stewartia” is named for Scottish nobleman and botanist, John Stuart, who had imported the plant to his personal London garden. He later served as British prime minister from 1762 to 1763. This is one of the Stewartia trees in the garden nearby. Soon, the new trees will fill out like this one, and next spring, they will bloom with gorgeous white flowers.
During my stays at Skylands, my home in Maine, beautiful flowers fill nearly every room.
I love decorating my homes with fresh, colorful blooms. In Maine, we grow all the flowers in a large cutting garden that's located in the same area as the vegetable garden. And every summer, we bring the outdoors inside by creating extraordinary floral displays that capture the attention of all who visit.
Here are some of this year's photos, enjoy - and always check out my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 for more.
These lily arrangements are the first one sees upon entering Skylands. They’re on this long table in the foyer – so bright and inviting. Gorgeous arrangements don’t always have to be giant in size – the pair work perfectly here. I grow many different kinds of lilies at Skylands and at my farm in Bedford. This year, the lilies bloomed so beautifully. Many of the gorgeous arrangements this year were made by Skylands gardener, Wendy Norling.
Here is a beautiful collection of snapdragons. Snapdragons are great for arrangements as they last quite a long time. A palette of pink, yellow, white, and orange looks very pretty against the earth tones in this room. These snapdragons are in a giant faux bois basket.
The hydrangea is among my favorite of flowering plants. It offers huge bouquets of clustered flowers from mophead to lacecap from summer through fall.
Here are more glorious pink lilies. Lily flowers are large and come in a range of colors including yellows, whites, pinks, reds, and purples. These plants are late spring- or summer-flowering. They are native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere.
Along this dining room table, small vases of rudbeckia with their bright, showy flower heads. Rudbeckia flower colors include yellow and gold, and the plants grow two to six feet tall, depending on the variety.
The Living Hall at Skylands is always used during summer months. This grand faux-bois cement table is where I like to display large flower arrangements for my parties. On this day, we had an arrangement of delicate lacecap hydrangeas. The lacecap is very similar to the mophead, but instead of growing round clusters of showy blossoms, this hydrangea grows flowers that resemble flat caps with frilly edges.
This pretty arrangement is made using asters, snapdragons, and scabiosa. Scabiosa is also known as the pincushion flower. The easy to care for plant has interesting flowers with cushion-like centers and pin-looking stamens.
On another day, stunning amaranth decorated the Living Hall. Their velvety flowers are dense with drooping tassels. Blooms come in richly saturated harvest hues, and they hold their colors and shapes even when dry.
The sunflowers also bloomed very nicely this year. Sunflowers, Helianthus, are the popular and cheerful annuals whose round flower heads look like the sun. Sunflowers come in vibrant yellow, but they’re also seen in orange, red, bronze, and even white.
Here, gorgeous lilies are placed on the coffee table of my guesthouse.
I love faux bois, which means “false wood” in French. Faux bois refers to the artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media. The craft has roots in the Renaissance with trompe-l’œil. I have many faux bois urns at Skylands. This year, we planted them with natural elements from the woodlands and created miniature forests that last all season long.
Here’s another vessel filled with beautiful moss. Moss is a slow growing wild plant that should never be harvested in large amounts – in fact, it is illegal to take any moss from national forests without permission. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish.
Some of the mosses that grow at Skylands include sphagnum moss, pincushion moss, Mountain Moss Leucobryum, plume moss, and bog moss. My gardener at Skylands, Mike Harding, created the woodland arrangements – I think they are very pretty.
On this outdoor table – colorful zinnias. Zinnias are native to Mexico and Central America. The Aztecs originally called them “plants that are hard on the eyes” because of their colorful flowers. Zinnia is named after Johann Gottfried Zinn, a German botany professor who discovered the plants and brought them to Europe in the 1700s. When cutting zinnias for flower arrangements, pick the flowers in the morning when they’re fully open. Unlike other cut flowers, zinnias do not continue to open once cut and brought indoors.
I have many lilies growing at Skylands. Some lilies can be quite tall – they can grow in height up to six-feet. My granddaughter, Jude, took a series of beautiful lily photos – the colors are so vibrant.
Here are some bright yellow lilies growing in the garden. Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs and all with large, prominent flowers. The flowers are often fragrant, and come in a wide range of colors.
When arranging cut lilies, handle them with care – they can bruise easily.
And don’t forget, lilies have heavily pollinated stamens, which stain, so before bringing them indoors, it’s important to gently pull the anthers with a tissue, or pinch them off with your fingers.
And on my birthday table, more bold yellow rudbeckia blooms are used as centerpieces. Rudbeckias are easy-to-grow perennials and include the popular black-eyed Susan.
This is my birthday cake – also decorated with bold yellow rudbeckia. My cake was spectacular – made by Chef Pierre Schaedelin from PS Tailored Events and his helpers Moises and Federico. It had yellow sponge layers filled with orange and lemon curd and then covered with a rich meringue frosting that was lightly browned. Jude also took this photo. It was a wonderful celebration and a wonderful time at Skylands.
Houseplants bring life to any room - and in any season of the year.
I love container plants, and whenever I am home I always like to keep a collection of interesting specimens on my enclosed porch or in my kitchen where I can see them every day. Most of my potted plants are kept in the greenhouse, so they can be maintained properly. Earlier this week, my gardeners brought in a small selection of potted Rhipsalis, Dracaena, Haworthia, button ferns, Echeveria, and other succulents.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I feel so fortunate to have such an amazing collection of extraordinary potted plants. Not only do houseplants enhance the overall appearance of a space, but they’ve also been known to increase creativity, reduce stress, and eliminate air pollutants. My gardeners, Ryan McCallister and Brian O’Kelly, brought this selection of plants to decorate my Winter House porch.
Whenever I decorate with plants, I use silver, copper, or glass plates, purchased from tag sales or antiques fairs, under the pots to catch any water. I find them more decorative than the clay saucers that come with the pots.
Ledebouria Socialis plants are geophytic succulents from the subfamily Hyacinthaceae. It is also known as Silver Squill, Violet Squill, Wood Hyacinth, and Scilla.
It is a popular bulb succulent that makes an excellent houseplant with its thin leaves and green and silver leopard print pattern.
Senecio is a succulent plant grown for its decorative foliage. Senecio is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family that includes ragworts and groundsels.
The leaves on succulent Senecios are generally thick and fleshy. They can be deep green, bluish, or even striped, but there is considerable variation in the leaf shape. Some are round, some are banana-shaped, and some stand upright.
Echeveria is a large genus of flowering plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, native to semi-desert areas of Central America, Mexico and northwestern South America. Echeverias are some of the most attractive of all succulents and they are highly valued by plant enthusiasts for their gorgeous colors and beautiful shapes.
The leaves are also fleshy and have a waxy cuticle on the exterior. Often the leaves are colored and a firm touch can mar the skin and leave marks. The echeveria plant is slow growing and usually doesn’t exceed 12 inches in height or spread.
Succulents are best planted in clay or terra cotta pots with proper drainage holes because the vessels dry quickly, and prevent water from building up.
Succulents grow in so many different and interesting formations. I often bring succulents into my home when I entertain – guests love seeing and learning about the different varieties.
If you like growing plants, but don’t really have the time to care for them properly, I encourage you to consider growing succulents. Succulents are so easy to maintain and are able to survive prolonged drought because they store moisture in their fleshy stems, roots, and leaves.
This is a button fern – a dependable plant that grows well indoors with little care. Button ferns are small compared to other fern varieties – they only grow 12 to 18 inches tall, making them ideal candidates for small spaces.
It has arching fronds densely covered with small, round leaflets that grow more oval in shape as it matures.
Dracaena has strap-like leaves that emerge in a fountain-like cluster from a thick woody stem. This plant can grow as much as six feet in height when grown as a potted plant. In outdoor settings, it has been known to grow up to 20 feet.
Dracaena’s narrow foliage may be completely green or may include stripes or edges of green, cream, red, or yellow.
Haworthia is a large genus of small succulent plants endemic to Southern Africa. Like the aloes, they are members of the subfamily Asphodeloideae and they generally resemble miniature aloes, except in their flowers, which are distinctive in appearance. Hawthorias thrive in bright indirect to direct light.
The plant is characterized by its rosette-shaped, tightly packed leafy clusters. Some are firm, tough, and dark green, whereas other species are softer and even translucent. Those of the firm, dark green variety are typically dotted with white spots and can turn a rich hue of purple-red when exposed to full sun.
Also on this porch – a potted rhipsalis, native to the rainforests of South America, the Caribbean and Central America. Rhipsalis is a cacti genus with approximately 35 distinct species. I have many types of rhipsalis growing in my greenhouse. Rhipsalis specimens have long, trailing stems making them perfect choices as indoor hanging plants.
Here’s a closer look. Also known as chain cactus or mistletoe cactus, the thread-like succulent stems on the cactus are narrow, green and in can grow several feet long.
Kalanchoe is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, mainly native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. This one is sitting in the corner of the porch near my desk.
The leaves are fuzzy silvery green with serrated edges. Kalanchoe grows quickly and can tolerate extended drought. It is a popular house and office plant.
The next time you want to decorate a space or spruce it up for entertaining, consider using houseplants – they are sure to liven up any room. What are your favorite container plants?
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