Looking back over the seasons of a garden is both beautiful and useful.
On this blog, I share many photos of my gardens through the year - when the plants come to life in spring, when the flowers are in full bloom in summer, when the colors of autumn peak, and when snow covers the landscape in winter white. Documenting a garden's seasonal transformations helps me see what is growing well, or not, and where more plants may be needed, but more so - it's interesting to watch the same area evolve over time, and to take note of its many wonderful changes.
Enjoy these photos of my sunken Summer House Garden.
I began planning this formal garden more than 10 years ago. The focal point is the great old ginkgo tree at the back of the space that is original to the property. Over time, I’ve planted American and English boxwood, smaller ginkgo trees, smoke bushes, Siberian weeping pea shrubs, peonies, hostas, lilies, alliums, and so much more. Yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew raked and blew all the fallen leaves from the area, exposing beds now ready for their winter sleep.
This is one of six weeping Siberian pea shrubs with cascading weeping branches. One can see its interesting habit. It has already dropped all but a handful of its leaves.
I have low boxwood hedges, teardrop shaped boxwood shrubs, and surrounding the garden on three sides is tall American boxwood. I love how it encloses the space. And because the Summer House faces a rather busy intersection, the wall of boxwood provides a good deal of privacy.
The autumn leaves are cleared. The beds will soon be top dressed with composted mulch and the boxwood covered in burlap or netting.
And here is a view looking south at my Summer House. The former owner of my farm, Mrs. Ruth Sharp, occupied two houses on the property. She called this house the Summer House, where she stayed during warm weather. What is still called the Winter House had a better heating system. It was where Mrs. Sharp was comfortable during the cold months. I kept the names of the buildings, although major changes were made to both. Today, the Summer House serves as a library and entertaining space.
Winter officially starts in 33-days, just a little more than a month from now. This is what the garden looks like when all the sensitive European boxwood is covered in protective burlap. The tall American boxwood is wrapped in netting, so the branches do not splay under heavy snowfall.
And do you recognize the center footpath? It is completely blanketed in winter white. The sun dial is still at the back, all covered with snow. And the giant ginkgo stands tall behind it.
It’s a different look in spring. In April, the beds are filled with Leucojum vernum – the spring snowflake, a perennial plant that grows between six to 10 inches in height.
The plant produces green, linear leaves and white, bell-shaped flowers with a green edge and green dots. Don’t confuse them with Snowdrops – those bloom much earlier. The Snowflake is a much taller growing bulb which normally has more than one flower per stem.
The netting around the American boxwood is gone and all these evergreens are lush.
This is the time the first tree peonies start to open. Tree peonies are larger, woody relatives of the common herbaceous peony, growing up to five feet wide and tall in about 10-years. They are highly prized for the prolific blooms.
It’s also when we see trout lilies open in this garden. This is ‘Pagoda Dogtooth.’ It produces up to 10 clustered, 12-inch arching stems that bear yellow, nodding flowers with reflexed petals.
And here, all the hostas start to unfurl. Hostas are a perennial favorite among gardeners. The lush green foliage varying in leaf shape, size and texture, and their easy care requirements make them ideal for many areas.
This is the garden in late June. Growing beneath the ginkgo is a beautiful chocolate mimosa tree, a fast-growing, deciduous tree with a wide, umbrella-shaped canopy.
It has beautiful bronze-green, fern-like leaves appearing in late spring and then a deeper rich chocolate-burgundy color in summer. It shows off delicate, pink, pincushion-like blooms later in the season.
And here are the seed-bearing puffs of the smoke bushes at their peak. These billowing puffs float over the leaves of the purple dark Cotinus – a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. I have many smoke bushes around the farm – it is among my favorite small trees. These can grow to a moderate size – up to 15-feet tall and 10-feet wide.
The ginkgo biloba is one of the most distinct and beautiful of all deciduous trees. The ginkgo has a cone-like shape when young, and becomes irregularly rounded as it ages.
And just last week, the very same garden was filled with fallen leaves in yellow, brown, and gold, mostly from the ginkgo and silver maples above.
The trees are bare, and the hedges and shrubs covered in leaves.
The green ginko of June becomes the golden yellow ginkgo of October. This ginkgo was the last to lose its foliage in the garden.
This time of year, all the ginkgo fruits fall from the trees. Inside is a single hard-shelled seed enclosing an edible kernel. The kernels are often roasted and used in Asian cuisines. I collect them and share them with those who enjoy cooking them.
And now the last of the weeping Siberian pea shrub leaves are just waiting to fall too… and then the garden sleeps through winter, until spring, when everything comes to life once more.
Whenever guests are here at the farm, they always take time to visit with the animals - my dogs, kittens, horses, donkeys, chickens, geese, and my peafowl.
Peafowl are very curious and social birds - they usually travel in groups, enjoy foraging, and often play together. They live in a very safe and comfortable pen near my stable, where they get lots of attention. Occasionally, I let them out of their enclosure for a short while to roam the area and explore. Fortunately, they are also very loyal and tend to stay close to where they are well-fed and well-protected from predators.
Enjoy these recent photos.
I keep all my birds in large, protected enclosures because of the predators that sometime wander through the property, such as coyotes. The birds feel safe in these spaces, but can view all the activities at the farm.
Peafowl are smart, docile and adaptable birds. They are also quite clever. It is not unusual for peafowl to come running when the food appears.
In all I have 16 peafowl – juveniles and adults. I also have three peachicks. Within a year, peacocks are almost completely mature. Two year olds resemble adult males, but their tails are still short and need time to develop. They become sexually active around the age of three. Peahens develop faster than peacocks and can mate as early as one.
And although they are large and quite heavy for birds, peacocks can fly, but not for very long periods of time or for long distances.
Peafowl are ground feeders. They do most of their foraging in the early morning and evening. As omnivores, they eat insects, plants, grains, and small creatures.
I give all the birds fresh produce every day. This peacock is snacking on a newly opened pumpkin.
I also give my peafowl a special game bird food mix fortified with vitamins and other nutrients.
Peafowl are members of the pheasant family. There are two Asiatic species – the blue or Indian peafowl native to India and Sri Lanka, and the green peafowl originally from Java and Burma, and one African species, the Congo peafowl from African rain forests. Here is one of my blue peacocks – it is no longer breeding season, so his tail is short. It will grow full feathers again next spring when mating season starts.
Both male and female peafowl have a fan-shaped crest on their heads called a corona. It may take up to one year for a corona to reach full size.
White peacocks are the result of leucism or albinism. While leucistic white peacocks are far more common than albino peacocks, both types are rare.
Peacocks and peahens are alert and curious animals – can’t sneak up on any of them.
Because most of these birds have been raised here at the farm, they’re accustomed to the various noises.
Peafowl are pretty tolerant of cooler weather also. Their feathering and ability to regulate body temperatures help them to stay warm. They do have a heated coop, where they can take shelter during unpleasant conditions.
Peafowl will look at you in the eye; however, if you stare at them or seem aggressive in your body movements, these birds will feel threatened. Talking softly and keeping eyes averted tells them you are not a predator.
Peafowl have acute hearing, but can be poor at discerning from what direction certain sounds originate.
Like many birds, peafowl enjoy roosting at higher levels. In the wild, this keeps them safe from predators at night.
And look closely at its feet. A peafowl’s legs are very strong. They have three toes on each foot facing forward, and one facing backwards. They also have sharp, powerful metatarsal spurs that are used for defense. Also, as they develop, males will tend to have longer legs than females.
As beautiful as peafowl are, they don’t make very melodious sounds. Peafowl have 11 different calls, with most of the vocalizing made by the peacocks. And, with their sharp eyesight, peafowl are quick to see predators and call out alarms. Oftentimes, I can hear them from across the farm.
They are put indoors every night – to keep them extra safe.
I try to visit them at least once a day to check on their general health and well-being. They are all very content here at the farm.
I always call out to them whenever I drive by… and oftentimes, they answer. And remember, only the males are peacocks. The females are peahens, and both are called peafowl. Babies are peachicks. A family of peafowl is called a bevy. And a group is called an “ostentation” or a “muster.”
Another task is done. Next year's garlic crop is now planted.
Although garlic can be planted in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked, fall planting is recommended for most gardeners. This allows extra time for the bulbs to grow and become more flavorful for the summer harvest. Every year, we plant a big crop of garlic from Keene Garlic, a family owned farm in Wisconsin that sells certified organic and naturally grown gourmet bulbs for both eating and planting. Garlic is great for cooking and very good for your health. It is well known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and carries many antioxidant properties. Knowing that I also grow the garlic myself makes it even more special.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
It’s always exciting to get a delivery from Keene Garlic filled with bags of fragrant garlic bulbs for my garden. I have been planting Keene Garlic for several years and am always so pleased with their growth and taste. Here are just some of the different varieties we are planting this year.
Each bulb is carefully broken to separate all the cloves. For the best results, plant the largest cloves from each bulb and save the smaller ones for eating.
When planting garlic, look for the largest most robust bulbs. Each bulb contains at least four to six cloves – some even more. Among this year’s varieties – Asian Tempest – Asiatic is very hot when eaten raw and sweet when baked. It tastes rich, garlicky, strong, and robust with easy to peel jumbo cloves.
The German Extra Hardy Porcelain garlic is large-sized and medium flavored. Because of its large root system, this hardneck is extremely hardy and often withstands freezing and thawing cycles when other garlic varieties don’t.
Nootka Rose is known for being a long storing garlic. This type is great baked, roasted, and nicely blended with a variety of dishes.
Ryan prepares the labels. It’s good to keep varieties identified, so favorites can be grown again the following season.
All the variety names are written on white labels and then covered with transparent tape and secured to the markers.
For the preparation process, Ryan gathers fish emulsion, isopropyl alcohol, a strainer and some plastic containers. Fish emulsion is an organic garden fertilizer that’s made from whole fish or parts of fish. It’s easy to find at garden centers or wherever gardening supplies and fertilizers are sold.
Ryan soaks the garlic in isopropyl or rubbing alcohol for about 20-minutes. This helps to sterilize the cloves. If you don’t have alcohol, you can also use hydrogen peroxide or vodka. Then drains.
Next, he creates a solution of fish emulsion…
… and a bit of baking soda and water for each container.
Ryan fills the containers with the baking soda water to ensure all the garlic is covered. This will give the garlic a fertilizer boost and rid them of possible diseases, which could have been carried by the garlic. It also increases the size of the bulb by giving the plant food before putting it to bed for the winter.
The cloves are all left to soak in the baking soda and fish emulsion mixture for at least 30-minutes or up to overnight. Then they are drained and rinsed thoroughly before drying.
Once all the garlic is put through the preparation process, the cloves are returned to their mesh bags for easy transport to the garden bed – this year located in the far southwest corner of my vegetable garden. Extra bulbs were left whole and brought down in case needed.
Josh secures twine to ensure the rows are perfectly straight. This is a guide for all the other rows in the bed. Ryan already determined how many rows would fit in this bed and how many garlic cloves would be planted in each row.
Ryan positions each clove. When planting multiple rows of garlic, be sure the rows are at least one-foot apart.
It is also important to give each clove enough room to grow and develop. They should be planted at least several inches from each other.
The majority of garlic in the US is planted from mid-October through November before the ground freezes.
To make the holes for planting garlic, Josh uses a dibble or a dibber. The T-grip on the dibber allows the planter to apply enough pressure to create a consistent depth for each hole.
Cloves should be at least three inches deep.
Josh gently pushes the clove to the bottom of the hole.
And then backfills with soil.
Josh and Phurba are fast planters. The garlic crop will tolerate some shade but prefers full sun. This garlic will be ready to harvest mid-July to August.
Each marker is placed at the end of the row for easy identification.
Finally the beds are raked and then given and good drink of water and that’s it – we wait until next year to harvest. If you’ve never grown your own garlic, give it a try – it’s so easy and so rewarding. Go to the Keene Garlic web site to learn more!
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