Another good pruning job is in progress at my Bedford, New York farm - this time, on the hedges surrounding my swimming pool.
Around the outside of the pool fence, I have a hedge of two dark-colored burgundy-black leafed specimens - Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ and Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple' shrubs. Both are fast-growing shrubs that create a natural enclosure around the pool area. My resident tree expert, Pasang Sherpa, started pruning the hedges yesterday - a task I like to do once a year to keep them healthy and looking their best.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I wanted my pool area to look as natural as possible, where I could enjoy the gardens and panoramic views of the landscape with my family and friends.
Earlier this year, I planted six Ginkgo biloba Goldspire™ Obelisk trees around the pool. I also have some potted fan palms positioned along the pool’s edge.
Mixed in are some potted agaves. I always take out many of my tropical plants and display them in beautiful ornamental urns around the farm during summer.
There is also lush green lawn on all four sides of the pool. All surrounded by the necessary pool fence disguised by tall hedges. The inside hedge is made of columnar beech trees. These are fastigiate meaning their branches slope upward more or less parallel to the main stem.
On this day, Adan Morales, my mower extraordinaire, cuts the pool lawn using our STIHL RM 655 VS push mower. This 21-inch gas powered mower provides really sharp, accurate cutting and easy bagging. It’s perfect to use in this enclosed area.
I chose these Physocarpus and Cotinus shrubs for the outside. These have grown quite a bit since last year – it’s hard to see the beech trees behind them.
They’re planted alternately and close together to create a hedge and to add interest. They can grow up to two feet per year.
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 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.
In fact, the name “smoke bush” comes from this – the billowy hairs attached to the flower clusters which remain in place through the summer, turning a smoky pink to purplish-pink.
Pasang starts to prune the outside shrubs. 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 and grooming.
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.
Pasang also grooms the bottom of the hedge – shaping and removing unnecessary branches. All shrubs can benefit from pruning every other year or so to maintain their shape, improve air circulation, and encourage new growth.
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.
Here’s a look after a section of it is cut – it looks so much better. They’re the perfect height and disguises the fence very well – in fact, I instructed Pasang to cut them as tall as the fence – one cannot see it at all.
It doesn’t take long for the ground to fill with clippings.
Always work on a tarp to collect the cuttings. This makes cleaning up fast and efficient.
Here is one section of the outside hedge all done. One can see the beautiful layers of both the inside hedge and the outside hedge.
I’ve worked hard to develop the pool’s surroundings and am so pleased with how well everything has grown. This is one of my favorite summertime areas of the farm.
In order to keep my Bedford, New York farm and all its gardens, allées, and groves as beautiful as possible, I pay lots of attention to the maintenance and care of all my trees and shrubs.
In 2019, I decided to plant an allée along the carriage road through the lower hayfields. I planted a selection of London plane trees and about 100 royal purple smoke bushes, Cotinus coggygria. Over the years these trees have thrived with the smoke bushes growing about 24 inches each year. This week they were pruned and groomed and they look excellent.
Enjoy these photos.
I planted this allée in the fall of 2019. I thought it was a perfect stretch of landscape for a long allée of London planes and smoke bushes. Here it is that first year.
I wanted the allée to extend the entire portion of the road that cuts through the lower hayfields. By the summer of 2021, it looked like this. These smoke bushes can grow up to 15-feet tall and 10-feet wide. I love its upright, multi-stemmed habit. I grow many smoke bushes at the farm.
Here is the allée in June 2022 – the smoke bushes are wider and more full. Cotinus or smoke bush, is a genus of seven species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. It has an upright habit when young and spreads wider with age.
This photos was taken just last May. Under optimal conditions, smoke bushes can add about 13 to 24 inches to its height each year. The colors of the smoke bushes and the London planes behind them look striking together.
And this is the allée earlier this week before all the Cotinus was pruned. Look at all the growth.
Pasang Sherpa is my resident tree pruner. He does a wonderful job overseeing the maintenance of all the trees here at my farm. I like as much of the pruning and grooming to be done by hand, so Pasang trims every branch with his pruners – one by one.
These royal purple smoke bushes, Cotinus coggygria, have stunning dark red-purple foliage that turns scarlet red in fall.
The undersides are bright green. The leaves of smoke bushes are waxy purple and are one and a half to three inches long, and ovate in shape.
The name “smoke bush” comes from the billowy hairs attached to the flower clusters which remain in place through the summer, turning a smoky pink to purplish-pink as the weeks progress.
Notice the cut branch in the center. All the branches surrounding it are new – grown over the last 12 months. When removing amounts of wood, cut back to just before a growth node to prevent dead ends.
Look at the new growth. Cutting it back regularly can help the plant retain its most colorful foliage.
It also ensures the old stems produce plenty of flowers the following year.
Here, one can see what Pasang is cutting and what he has left to cut. He always uses a sharp and clean tool to prevent spreading disease.
Pasang stops intermittently to assess his work and to make sure the smoke bushes are level with each other.
And look at the ground – so many cut branches. As they are cut, Pasang places the branches at the edge of the carriage road, so they are easier to pick up later.
Lower to the ground at the base of the trees and shrubs are pink hydrangeas. I just planted these earlier this season.
The blooms on the compact Summer Crush® hydrangea are intense, deep raspberry pink.
And here is the allée now with all the smoke bushes pruned beautifully. After every pruning, the shrubs grow bushier with larger leaves. Wait until you see it next year!
Now that the first cut of hay is completed for the season, it's time to reseed the fields in preparation for a second cut later this year.
When I moved to this farm, I designated three separate areas as hayfields and planted them with a mixture of timothy, orchard grass, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and clover - all great for producing quality hay for my horses. Earlier this week, ahead of some expected rain, all these areas were aerated and over-seeded by my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, using good quality, high grade seed mixes.
Enjoy these photos.
This is the largest of three hayfields at my farm. I specifically wanted to use my fields to produce good, natural hay for my Friesians, Fell Pony, and five Sicilian donkeys.
In June, my outdoor grounds crew baled our first cut of hay. My foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, is our resident hay expert and has done an excellent job managing the process of cutting, fluffing, raking, and then baling the hay.
Once collected from the fields, the bales are brought to my stable hayloft and stacked.
And then it’s time to reseed the fields, so they can be cut again in autumn. Earlier this week, Chhiring took advantage of the pending rains to over-seed the areas.
First, the ground is aerated with our Land Pride tow-behind aerator. I am glad to be able to have all the farm equipment we need to care for our fields.
Here is a view of the attachment from the back. On top are weights that maintain the downward pressure of the aerator as it is moving.
The tines on an aerator are prongs that are driven into the ground to create holes that improve soil health and lawn health. These solid tines break up compaction and improve air pockets. These do not remove soil cores.
Here, one can see the holes left behind by the aerating spikes.
The aerator creates a pattern as it goes making it very easy to eee where the ground has been aerated.
My seed is from Hancock Farm & Seed Company, a 46-year old business that grows its own seed and ships directly from its Dade City, Florida facility.
Among the seed varieties we are using is this custom seed blend that includes orchard grass, tall fescue, and Timothy. Good quality grass is important for horses. It helps provide proper fiber requirements and keeps their digestive systems healthy.
This is a 3-point spreader, which can be attached to a variety of tractors to spread seed or fertilizer. Chhiring hooks it up to the center rear of our Kubota M4-071 tractor.
The spreader features an opening system with split levers that provide distribution control.
Broadcast spreaders distribute seed in a fan-like pattern in all directions and cover a wider area per pass than drop spreaders. As the tractor moves, the fan throws the seed that falls out of the bottom of the spreader.
Chhiring starts by going around this field counter clockwise from the outer edge working inward. He also overlaps his passes, so he doesn’t miss any areas. The other end of the tractor has our trusted Kubota L1154 front loader that helps us transport so many things around the farm and cuts down plenty of time going back and forth to the Equipment Barn.
Over-seeding is a process where grass seed is added to an already existing area which after germination serves to increase the density of the grass plants. This process reduces the aging process or natural decline of the turf.
One can see the spreader dropping the seed as Chhiring circles the hayfield.
Here’s Chhiring in another field. Hopefully these seeds will get a good watering with the expected rain.
It makes me so happy to be able to grow good hay for my horses. We should be able to get the second cut sometime in the end of September.
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