My flower garden continues to produce many colorful and beautiful blooms.
This cutting garden has developed so well over the last few seasons. I really enjoy comparing its progress from year to year, and seeing where I need to add more plants to improve the display. Right now, there are gorgeous poppies blooming everywhere - those colorful tissue paper-like flowers that look stunning both in the garden and in the vase.
The name “poppy” refers to a large number of species in at least 12 different genera in the subfamily Papaveroideae, which is within the plant family Papaveraceae. They produce open single flowers gracefully located on long thin stems, sometimes fluffy with many petals and sometimes smooth.
My flower garden is brimming with poppies in a variety of colors and forms. Papaver grows mainly in the northern hemisphere, including within the Arctic Circle, with one species found in southern Africa.
Poppies are attractive, easy-to-grow herbaceous annual, biennial or short-lived perennial plants. This poppy has a long stem and a delicate, crisp white bloom.
The plants typically grow to about two feet in height forming colorful flowers during spring and into summer.
Flowers have four to six petals, many stamens forming a conspicuous whorl in the center of the flower and an ovary of two to many fused carpels.
The leaves almost look like weeds when first emerging from the soil. They are lobed or dissected, appearing lacy, frilly or fern-like.
One of the most familiar of all poppies is the Oriental poppy. This perennial garden plant is a common feature of northern gardens, with its feathery foliage and orange, red, or salmon flowers that bloom in June and July. The leaves disappear in summer as the plant goes dormant, but a new set of basal leaves emerges in the fall.
Poppies grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th Century transformed bare land into fields of red poppies, growing around the bodies of the fallen soldiers. In 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were hit again as World War I raged through Europe. Once over, the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren battlefields. Today, it remains a popular bloom and an enduring symbol of remembrance.
These poppies have delicate light pink petals with darker pink centers.
Poppies require very little care, whether they are sown from seed or planted when young – they just need full sun and well-drained soil. Though it varies from one type to the next, most poppies fare best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9.
Poppies can be planted as soon the ground becomes warm and soft in spring. If there’s a frost, poppies will survive and are also able to germinate in chilly weather. Poppies should receive at least six hours of sunshine a day, but in very warm locales, a little shade in the middle of the afternoon, when the sun is most intense, is ideal.
One tip – only water once per week during weeks that receive less than two inches of natural rainfall. And don’t splash any water on the foliage; moist leaves are more susceptible to pests and diseases.
This lavender bloom has both frilly and shaggy petals adding lots of texture to the garden.
This poppy is smaller, more dainty, and more tissue paper-like in appearance. The gray tones are a favorite.
One of the more unique poppies is this pompom variety with amazing double and semi-double flowers in a delicate lilac color. The large, frilly blooms are truly eye-catching.
Here’s another in a more salmon color. Though flowers are packed full of petals, their stems are strong enough to support the weight.
And here is another poppy in light pink with a bright green center.
Poppy flowers are attractive to pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Poppies come in a variety colors including purple, white, lilac, pink, yellow, orange, red, blue, and gray.
Never eat poppies. Most poppies are toxic to varying degrees. Virtually all species contain alkaloid compounds that are poisonous and can cause terrible side effects in both humans and pets.
The sepals usually drop off as the petals unfold. The ovary develops into a spherical capsule topped by a disk formed by the stigmas.
Here is the poppy seed pod capsule, which is what’s left on the stem once the flower blooms. When the seed heads turn brown, they are cut and the seeds inside are harvested and saved until they can be planted in the garden the following year. What are your favorite poppies?
Fresh, organic, sweet figs will soon be ripening in my vegetable greenhouse.
Figs, Ficus carica, are members of the mulberry family and are indigenous to Asiatic Turkey, northern India, and warm Mediterranean climates, where they thrive in full sun. Yesterday, my gardeners planted five of my fig trees in the vegetable greenhouse where they can live all year long in a controlled setting. If you enjoy growing an unusual fruit crop that’s delicious and nearly trouble free, consider figs. Figs will grow well unprotected in zones 8 to 10, and also in colder areas if given good care and proper winter protection.
Enjoy these photos.
Before the figs are planted, Brian cleans the bed and pulls out any last remaining crops and and weeds. This vegetable greenhouse is a special greenhouse I had constructed several years ago that was inspired by Eliot Coleman, an expert in four-season farming. I constructed 16 wooden garden boxes to fit the entire length and width of the space. Raised bed gardening allows good drainage, prevents soil compaction, and provides protection for those plants that may otherwise get trampled.
The beds are already filled with good, nutrient-rich soil and compost, but to keep it at its best, Ryan also amends the soil in this box with a treatment of dolomitic pelletized limestone – a natural mineral which neutralizes acid and toxic elements, improves soil structure, promotes healthy bacteria, and enhances nutrient availability and disease resistance.
Dolomitic pelletized limestone comes in a finely ground pulverized form inside an organic binder pellet.
Here, Brian and Ryan move five fig trees into the greenhouse. This fig tree is planted in one of my Martha Stewart Round False Bottom Planters. Find two sizes – 12-inch round and 17-inch round – available through my new web site Martha.com. Be sure to check it out.
The fig tree has been sought out and cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant. Most fig tree leaves are bright green, large, singular, and well-lobed.
Ryan lines up the five fig trees in the bed and makes sure they are all evenly spaced. Fig trees need full sun to partial shade – a minimum of seven to eight hours of sun exposure is best. They also like soil with good drainage – this greenhouse will be just perfect.
Next, using a serrated edged knife, Brian carefully loosens the root ball from its pot. This is one of my Faux Bois planters, also available in different sizes through Martha.com.
Here is the fig tree root ball completely freed from its pot and ready for planting.
Brian digs a proper hole for the fig tree that is two to three times the size of the root ball.
Next, he places the tree into the hole to see if it is the right size. It must be as deep as it was in the original pot – planting a tree too deep can kill it.
To help the roots get established, Brian scarifies them. 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.
Brian places the tree back into the hole – now it is just right. He makes sure it is straight and turned with its best side facing toward the center of the greenhouse.
And then finally, Brian backfills the hole and tamps the soil down lightly to ensure there are no air pockets.
Here he is backfilling another hole and stopping for a quick photo.
Once all five specimens are planted, Brian rakes the bed so the soil is level and tidy.
Fig ‘GE Neri’ is known as one of the largest fruiting figs, with fruit the size of a tennis ball. This rare Italian fig tree variety has one crop of fruit a year that starts ripening in late summer and continues through early fall. The figs are crimson on the outside with reddish inner flesh that’s very sweet.
Fig ‘Letezia’ is family heirloom fig, named after plantsman Steve Castorani’s mother, Letizia. It is a rare Italian fig that’s hardy to zone 6. It makes a nice ornamental shrub since it’s well branched with large leaves when mature. The medium-sized fruit has light brown skin and delicious, honey-colored inner flesh.
Ficus carica ‘Brunswick’ is an attractive, self-fertile and heavy cropping fig. It is very hardy, and quite popular for growing.
‘Brunswick’ produces pear-shaped skinned fruits with a sweet flavor and yellow-red flesh. These need more time to ripen.
This leaf is from a ‘Chicago Hardy’ fig. A healthy “Chicago Hardy’ can produce bushels of plump, delicious figs that are perfect for peeling and eating right off the tree in late summer to early fall. It has large dark green leaves that are four to 10 inches long.
Fig ‘Petite Negra’ is another amazing fruiting variety with large, dark green leaves.
It produces medium-sized plump black juicy figs at a young age. An important tip – never pick figs that are still green; always let them ripen fully on the tree before picking as they do not ripen any more once harvested.
These trees will do so well here in my vegetable greenhouse. And with good care and a bit of time, these trees will produce lots and lots of delicious sweet fruits. I can’t wait. What are your favorite fig varieties? Share your comments with me below.
Clematis are among the most decorative and spectacular of all the flowering vines, and mine are blooming so beautifully this season.
I have always loved clematis, and over the years I have grown many varieties of this wonderful plant. When I purchased my Bedford, New York farm, I knew I wanted to build a long, winding pergola where I could grow lots of clematis. After the pergola was constructed, I concentrated on creating a palette of blue-flowering cultivars, and each year the floral display gets better and better.
Enjoy these photos.
There are several different varieties of clematis planted along my winding pergola, but each pair of posts supports the same kind.
Wire is wrapped around each post, so the climbing tendrils of the clematis vines could attach easily. The uprights for this pergola are antique granite posts from China originally used as grape supports. They’re perfect as posts because they don’t rot over time like wood does. A friend of mine acquired a lot of stone from this valley and I purchased a couple hundred of these posts. I only wish I had bought more of them.
Clematis is a genus of about 300-species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine.
Clematis are native to China and Japan and are known to be vigorous, woody, climbers.
Clematis leaves grow in pairs along the stems. The clematis leaf shapes vary with different varieties, but knowing how they grow can help differentiate them from other vines.
Most species are called clematis, but it has also been called traveller’s joy, virgin’s bower, leather flower, or vase vine. It’s also been called “Old Man’s Beard,” because of the long fluffy seed heads that look similar to an old man’s beard.
The standard clematis flower has six or seven petals, measuring five to six inches across. Colors range from lavender to deep purple, white to wine red, and even a few in yellow.
For this area, I chose various shades of purple, blue and lavender.
Some of the flowers are very light colored – almost white – with interesting centers.
Many clematis are lightly scented. Flowers vary in shape and sizes. They can be flat, tubular or bell-shaped and can be as small as one-inch wide.
Some clematis cultivars will bloom in partial shade, but to really thrive, they need at least six-hours of sun each day. Just think, “head in the sun, feet in the shade.” The vines like sun, but cool, moist soil.
Once established, clematis should be watered about an inch or so weekly, and more deeply during dry spells.
Some of the cultivars grown here include ‘Parisienne,’ ‘Blue Angel,’ ‘Jackmanii,’ and ‘Eyers Gift.’
Known as the “Queen of the Climbers”, Clematis plants will train onto trellises and fences, or arch gracefully over doorways.
It can take several years for a clematis vine to mature and begin flowering prolifically. To shorten the wait, purchase a plant that’s at least two-years old. Clematis also prefer soil that’s neutral to slightly alkaline in pH.
This is Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’, which has slightly fragrant, bell-shaped flowers that bloom from summer to fall.
The timing and location of clematis flowers varies – spring blooming clematis flower on side shoots of the old season’s stems. Summer and fall blooming vines flower on the ends of only new stems.
Across the carriage road from my pergola, I also have some clematis vines planted at the base of several bald cypress trees. On these trees, we used jute twine to secure the climbing vines.
It is important to understand how each variety blooms in order to properly prune them. They should be cut back to about four or five-inches from the ground in late winter or early spring the first year after it is planted – to promote a bushier, stronger, tighter growth habit.
Clematis plants are also heavy feeders and benefit from a low nitrogen fertilizer such as 5-10-10 in spring, when the buds are about two-inches long. Alternate feedings every four to six weeks with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer and then continue this alternate feeding until the end of the growing season. The blooms appear constantly for many weeks making their everblooming nature a must-have in any garden.
What are your favorite clematis varieties? If you don’t already have clematis in your garden, I hope this inspires you plant one, or two, or three…
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