Outdoor summer chores at my Bedford, New York farm continue with a good pruning of the shrubs around my pool.
Around the outside of the pool fence, I have a growing hedge of two dark-colored burgundy-black leafed specimens - Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple' shrubs. I always try to incorporate unique and interesting plantings into my gardens - both these shrubs have superlative color and appealing form. They were first planted in 2018 and have done so well in this area. This week, my crew pruned them down quite a bit - some of the shrubs had grown more than a foot since spring.
Here are some photos.
When planning the gardens around my pool, I wanted to create a natural border along both sides of my pool fence, so I chose a dark purple color palette. The specimens have developed nicely and are now very productive. Here, one can see the growth since these hedges were last pruned.
The smaller shrubs are the alternating Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’. Pasang and Domi from my outdoor grounds crew do a lot of the pruning around the farm. They pruned all the specimens – cutting down more than a foot off the tops in some areas. We keep this outer hedge in line with the fence, so the taller hedge of purple columnar beech trees, Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Purple’ can also be seen.
Physocarpus is commonly called ninebark, and is an upright, spreading, somewhat coarse, deciduous, Missouri-native shrub which is closely related to the genus Spiraea. It boasts a deep burgundy foliage with ovate to rounded, usually three to five lobed leaves that are dull green in summer changing to an undistinguished yellow in fall. Then its color veers toward bronzy red by the time the leaves fall in late November.
After the white flowers of the physocarpus bloom, what follows are these seed pods – a favorite food of small birds.
Also known as smoketree or smoke bush, Cotinus is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. They are a great choice for massing or for hedges. The stunning dark red-purple foliage turns scarlet in autumn and has plume-like seed clusters, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.
The underside of the leaves is also very pretty. Their smooth, rounded leaves come in exceptional shades of clear pinkish-bronze, yellow, deep purple, and green.
For this hedge, Pasang uses his Okatsune hand pruners. Pruning shears, hand pruners, or secateurs are a type of scissors used on plants. They are strong enough to prune hard branches of trees and shrubs, sometimes up to an inch thick. Everyone on the crew has a pair.
Pasang cuts off any dead or crisscrossing branches first. The rule of thumb when pruning is to cut the dead, diseased, damaged, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted plant material. The branch on the right is dead – it is woody and hollow.
Pruning means to lop or cut off any superfluous branches or shoots for better-shape and better growth. These look fuller every year – in part because of our regular pruning.
It doesn’t take long for the ground to fill with clippings – and this is just from the front of the hedge.
Once all the pruning is done, Pasang rakes up all the trimmed branches…
… And then Domi gathers them up and loads them onto the dump truck so they can be taken to the compost pile where they will decompose for next year’s garden dressing.
Here’s a look at the top of the newly pruned hedge – so straight all the way down.
Here’s a view from the side. They’re the perfect height and still disguises the fence very well – one cannot see it at all.
Here, one can see the beautiful layers of both the inside hedge and the outside hedge. They are doing so well and are a great contrast to the bright green lawn.
This growing hedge inside the pool fence is purple columnar beech trees, Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Purple’ – these specimens are also doing very well. The pool is surrounded by about 170-trees along the inside fence line. These will grow to 40 to 50 feet in height and only 10-feet wide which makes them perfect for tight spaces and as an interesting hedge. Columnar beech trees are fastigiate meaning their branches slope upward more or less parallel to the main stem.
The deep colored, almost blackish leaves of these beech trees emerge in spring. In winter, the limbs and trunk with their smooth pale gray bark create an interesting framework. These are among of the most striking and beautiful of all columnar trees.
Beneath the hedge, I also grow Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’ – a unique perennial in the mint family Lamiaceae, with most species native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and southeastern Australia. Ajuga has lush dark burgundy-black foliage that blankets the ground when mature. Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’, also known as Black Scallop bugleweed, ground pine, carpet bugle, or just bugle, has very glossy foliage and bright blue flowers in late spring.
Another bugleweed is this ‘Chocolate Chip’ – also planted on the inside of the pool fence. Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ is spreading, miniature chocolate foliage with lacy blue flowers in spring.
At one end of the pool I have five staddle stones. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. They typically looked like giant stone mushrooms, but mine are square – a more rare and unique version. I wanted the pool to look as natural as possible where I could enjoy the panoramic views of the landscape with my family and friends. I’ve worked hard to develop the surrounding gardens and am so pleased with how well they’ve grown. This is one of my favorite summertime areas of the farm.
Colorful flowers continue to bloom in my cutting garden.
Fortunately, there are many flowering plants that blossom this time of year, including rudbeckias, phlox, balloon flowers, and nasturtiums - and my large flower garden, located just behind my main greenhouse, is filled with them. My goal for this garden was to always highlight unusual flowers from different parts of the world using seeds from trusted sources and seeds I find during my travels. I really enjoy seeing its progress from year to year.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
There’s always something to see whenever I walk through my flower cutting garden. Close to the footpath is this attractive Nasturtium. Nasturtium plants, Tropaeolum, are loved for their rich, saturated, jewel-toned colors. Planted in the spring after the threat of frost has passed, they are fast and easy to grow. Nasturtium is a genus of about 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants. It was named by Carl Linnaeus in his book Species Plantarum, and is the only genus in the family Tropaeolaceae.
These flowers can vary in shade, but the most popular versions are orange, yellow, pink, red, or mahogany. There are also varieties in subdued shades of butter yellow and cream. This variety has variegated leaves.
Here’s a closer look at the interesting leaves of variegated Nasturtium. Variegated Nasturtium leaves are circular, shield-shaped leaves that grow on a trailing plant. The leaves are fragrant, with a mustard-like scent.
Ageratum houstonianum, a native of Mexico, is among the most commonly planted ageratum variety. Ageratums have soft, round, fluffy flowers in various shades of blue, pink, or white.
The phlox is thriving in the garden. Phlox has superb heat and mildew resistance. Phlox is a tall and upright grower that’s great for the back of the border, or even planted at the edge of the garden among the shrubs. Phlox also comes in a range of colors from pure white to lavender to even red and grows happily in most parts of the country. If properly planted and sited, phlox is largely pest and disease free too – a perfect perennial.
This phlox is called ‘Robert Poore’. The deep green foliage is topped by large rounded clusters of fragrant magenta pink flowers from summer into early autumn.
Here’s another phlox variety. The flowers bear a mild fragrance and come in a wide range of colors. These perennials also attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
Growing on the fence surrounding the flower garden is this dainty perennial Sweet Pea or Everlasting Pea. It is a herbaceous climbing vine with beautiful bright flowers that grows up to 10 feet tall. This white and light pink variety is so pretty.
Here is another one in crisp white. The perennial sweet pea blooms in summer, and blooms are on long peduncles above the foliage. It climbs by tendrils and can be trellised or used to cover a fence or other structure. It also makes a nicely mounded ground cover.
Morning glories are annual climbers with slender stems, heart-shaped leaves, and trumpet-shaped flowers of pink, purple-blue, magenta, or white. The vine grows quickly—up to 15-feet in one season.
This is a balloon flower, Platycodon grandiflorus – a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus Platycodon. It is native to East Asia and is also known as the Chinese bellflower or platycodon.
Balloon flowers get their name from the unopened buds, which swell up prior to opening and resemble little hot-air balloons.
This is a double, white, bell-shaped flowers. Balloon flowers thrive in sun or partial shade. It likes well-drained, slightly acidic soil; and although the balloon flower plant will tolerate dry conditions, it prefers plenty of moisture. This cold hardy plant also does best in cooler conditions in summer, so afternoon shade is a good idea for warmer regions.
These are the showy flower heads of rudbeckia. Rudbeckia’s bright, summer-blooming flowers give the best effect when planted in masses in a border or wildflower meadow. In general, rudbeckias are relatively drought-tolerant and disease-resistant. Flower colors include yellow and gold, and the plants grow two to six feet tall, depending on the variety.
I have many, many roses in my flower garden and in various other areas of the farm. This perfect yellow rose is just opening. In the last few years, I’ve added to my collection of roses – David Austin roses and various varieties from Northland Rosarium. A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae. There are more than a hundred species and thousands of cultivars.
I also grow many alliums here at the farm and they continue to bloom so beautifully. These easy-to-grow bulbs come in a broad palette of colors, heights, bloom times, and flower forms. They make excellent cut flowers for fresh or dried bouquets. These one to two inch diameter flowers are lavender or mauve and stand above the foliage.
Alliums can grow in almost any garden soil, but need full sun and good drainage.
Since most alliums multiply naturally, they can be left untouched in the same area for years. These late summer alliums will bloom through the month.
Also growing – this beautiful purple gladiola. Gladiolus is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the iris family. It is sometimes called the ‘sword lily’, but is usually called by its generic plural name, gladioli. Gladioli are grown from bulb-like structures called corms that are planted in the ground in early spring and bloom throughout most of July and August.
This plant is Aloysia citrodora, lemon verbena – a species of flowering plant in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native to South America. Other common names include lemon beebrush. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish and the Portuguese in the 17th century and cultivated for its oil.
Just outside the cutting garden is Pulmoniaria. Pulmonaria are members of the Boraginaceae family and first cousin to other well-known garden favorites such as myosotis, brunnera, symphytum, and mertensia, the Virginia Bluebell. The name Pulmonaria come from the foliage, which is often green with white spots, resembling a diseased lung. In fact, its common name is lungwort. The silver spots on Pulmonaria leaves are actually the result of foliar air pockets used for cooling the lower surface of the leaves.
And this is a metallic colored heuchera with the most attractive marbled and veined leaves. Slender stems hold sprays of tiny pink to white bells during spring. My large flower cutting garden, which measures 150-feet by 90-feet, is growing more and more lush each year, and every bed is planted with a variety of specimens, making it colorful and interesting. What are some of your favorite summer blooming plants? Share your comments below.
My long and winding pergola is full of striking orange-colored tiger lily blooms.
This pergola, located on one side of a carriage road near my Tenant House, goes through several transformations during the year. In late spring, a palette of bold purple and white alliums covers the area, followed by the delicate shades of lavender and blue from the flowering clematis vines that wrap around each of the granite posts. Now, hundreds of brightly spotted tiger lilies line the garden bed for all to see - and they are thriving.
Enjoy these photos.
Tiger lilies, Lilium lancifolium, bloom in mid to late summer, are easy to grow and come back year after year.
Native to China and Japan, these robust flowers add striking beauty to any border. I love how they look with their bright and showy orange colored blooms.
In May, this pergola garden is filled with lots of blue and purple flowers. This palette of colors is a big favorite at the farm – it grows more colorful and vibrant every spring, and then it goes through another dramatic transformation in summer.
By early July, this pergola has thousands of waist-to-shoulder-high lily stems.
As the days progress more buds appear. This pergola gets tons of light, which is great for lilies. For best growth, plant lilies in an area where they can get at least six to eight hours of sun per day.
And here is the pergola border now – bursting with gorgeous orange. This side of my long pergola is one of the first areas I see when I drive into my property.
Tiger lilies are covered with black or deep crimson spots, giving the appearance of the skin of a tiger.
They have large, down-facing flowers, each with six recurved petals. Many flowers can be up to five inches in diameter.
Lilies are well-known for having heavily pollinated stamens, which stain. Here, it is easy to see those pollen-filled anthers. When cutting, always remove the anthers to prevent a clothing disaster – just pinch them off with gloved fingers.
The blackish, round “seeds” that develop in the axils of the leaves along the main stem are called bulbils.
In front of the tiger lilies is a border of boxwood shrubs I grew from cuttings. They’ve developed and grown into nicely sized specimens. Buxus is a genus of at least 70-species in the family Buxaceae. There are more than 300 boxwood shrubs planted here.
In this garden, we also have pops of daylilies. The daylily is a low-maintenance perennial—easy to grow, virtually disease- and pest-free, and able to survive drought, uneven sunlight, and poor soil. The daylily’s botanical name, Hemerocallis, comes from Greek hemera “day” and kallos meaning “beauty”. The name is appropriate, since each flower lasts only one day. Despite their name, daylilies are not “true lilies.” Leaves grow from a crown and the flowers form on leafless stems called “scapes,” which rise above the foliage.
There are still a few clematis also. I have always loved clematis, and over the years I have grown many varieties of this wonderful plant. When well-maintained, clematis can bloom profusely over a long season, from early summer to early fall.
Climbing up a few of the granite posts are passionflower vines. The passionflower has a wide, flat petal base with five or 10 petals in a flat or reflex circle. The ovary and stamens are held atop a tall, distinctive stalk encircled by delicate filaments. The stigmas start high above the anthers and slowly bend backward for easy pollination.
On the back side of the pergola garden we planted lots of Russian Sage with its tall, airy, spike-like clusters of lavender-blue flowers above finely textured, aromatic foliage.
At one end of the pergola, in large ornamental urns, I displayed two of these philodendrons. These upright plants have giant heart-shaped leaves and a deep green color. The name derives from the Greek words philo- or “love, affection” and dendron or “tree”.
Across from the long pergola – a stand of stately bald cypress trees, now full of gorgeous soft green needle-like foliage.
The leaves are alternate and linear, with flat blades borne on the twig that are spirally arranged on the stem.
The bark of the bald cypress is brown to gray and forms long scaly, fibrous ridges on the trunk. Over time, these ridges tend to peel off the trunk in strips.
Not far from the pergola 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.
And across the “soccer field,” where my grandson, Truman, loves to play whenever he visits, are six matched standard weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus ‘Pendula’. Weeping hornbeams can grow to be about 50-feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 40-feet. These are very rare and precious trees and I am so happy they continue to grow well here.
The entire pergola border and its surrounding gardens, trees, and other specimens provide a spectacular show every year.
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