Another outdoor chore is checked off the list - my crew is getting so much done.
My Bedford, New York farm sits on 153 acres of gardens, pastures, and woodlands. Every year, I work hard to design new garden spaces and enhance existing ones. I take into consideration a plant's growing needs and mature size and plant accordingly. Down by my tennis court, I already have a collection of wonderful white hydrangeas growing on one side. I decided the area would look even better with hydrangeas planted around the entire perimeter... and it does.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
My tennis court in Bedford is tucked away in a far corner of my farm. The court is surrounded by the same type of fencing as my perennial flower garden. And like all the other structures on the farm, it is painted Bedford gray.
The surface of this court is gray clay, a wonderful surface to play on.
On one side of the court behind and next to the observation pergola, is a selection of beautiful white hydrangeas including Pee Gee hydrangeas.
Recently, I instructed my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew to plant more white hydrangeas around the entire court. Here, my foreman Chhiring Sherpa removes the sod from the areas to be planted.
Two foot wide strips of sod are removed and rolled up in sections for easy carrying. It may not look it, but a section of sod can weigh between 15 and 30 pounds per piece, depending on the moisture content of the soil.
Cesar carefully loads the bucket of our tractor with sod, which is always repurposed elsewhere on the farm when possible.
The flowers start out lime green, then turn white in the summer and eventually to an antique white in the fall.
Along the strip where the sod was removed, holes are dug in an assembly line fashion that is quick and efficient.
Fertilizer is sprinkled generously inside the hole and on the surrounding soil.
A good fertilizer made especially for the type of plant is used. This Scotts Miracle-Gro Evergreen, Flowering Tree & Shrub fertilizer is fortified to help with transplant survival, increased water and nutrient absorption, and to encourage vigorous root growth and lush foliage.
Chhiring scarifies the root ball to stimulate growth.
Chhiring uses a Hori Hori knife, one of our favorite tools for the garden. It’s great for digging holes for transplants and bulbs, dividing plants, pruning, weeding, and so much more.
And then Chhiring plants the hydrangea similar to the way it was planted in the pot. Hydrangeas have shallow root systems that spread out broadly near the surface of the soil. Planting them too deep can bury the stems, which can promote root rot.
The hole is backfilled with the existing soil as well as new composted soil made right here at my farm.
I also added a selection of First Editions Diamond Rouge hydrangeas, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Rendia’, which is a small, bushy, deciduous shrub that produces large, rounded flower heads that change color over the season – creamy white in summer, changing to pink later in the season, and then wine red in fall.
Each plant is positioned thoughtfully before it is planted – the best side always faces out.
After everything is planted, Chhiring gives each specimen a good drink.
The entire perimeter is then dressed with mulch also made right here at the farm. It is delivered from my compost yard on our trusted Kubota M4-071 tractor bucket and then spread in an even two to three inch layer.
Chhiring is careful not to bury the plants too deeply.
What do you think? I am very pleased with how it all turned out. I am sure they will flourish here by my tennis court where they will get full sun.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, it's time to "prune after bloom" the roses - meaning deadhead and trim all the faded flowers.
There are different pruning strategies for different times of the year, but overall the goals are the same - to keep the plants looking fresh and open, promote new growth and re-flowering, and to improve the overall health of the plant. Deadheading is one of the easiest forms of pruning - as blooms fade, just cut off the flower stems below the spent blossoms and above the first set of full, healthy leaves. Yesterday, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, and our NYBG intern, Matthew Orego, pruned, groomed, fed, and watered the rose garden behind my greenhouse.
Enjoy these photos.
Just a few weeks ago, this garden looked like this – full of fragrant blooms. I planted more than 120 roses in this space and they’re all doing very well because of the nutritious soil and diligent maintenance.
Here, I have floribunda roses, hybrid tea roses, and shrub roses – mostly all soft creamy pink to lavender and yellow colors.
Look at the gorgeous, fragrant blooms – some were as big as the palm of one’s hand.
Hybrid tea roses, also called large-flowered roses, usually have only one flower per stem and tend to flower in three flushes from summer to late autumn. Floribundas or cluster-flowered roses have many flowers per stem and tend to repeat-flower continuously from summer to late autumn.
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.
The leaves of the rose are described as “pinnate” – meaning there is a central rib and then leaflets off to each side, with one terminal leaflet. Rose leaves can have anywhere from two to 13 leaflets.
And rose stems are often armed with sharp prickles – they aren’t thorns at all. Unlike a thorn, a prickle can be easily broken off the plant because it is really a feature of the outer layers rather than part of the wood, like a thorn.
And depending on the variety, some can have more prickles than others.
Now, most of the blooms are faded, leaving plants looking more like this – a clear sign it is time to “prune after bloom.”
It’s time to prune them lightly and selectively to shape the bushes and control any unwanted growth. Ryan removes old and dying flowers from the plant, which encourages the shrub to flower again sooner by diverting the plant’s energy from seed head to more development.
Ryan also removes any suckers which have grown. Rose suckers are unauthorized branches that grow from the rootstock of a rose plant, rather than the flowering part. Ryan snips the sucker from the base.
Rose suckers can have different colored stems and less prickles than the main plants. Notice the reddish tint to this branch.
And when pruning, always cut at a 45-degree angle to help water from sprinklers or rain to run off of the shoot and avoid bacteria or fungi from growing.
As Ryan prunes, Matthew follows, raking the cut rose stems from each row.
Next, Ryan feeds the roses. On this day, Ryan sprinkles cup fulls of Epsom salt, a mineral compound of magnesium sulfate, which helps to improve nutrient uptake, bloom quality, and disease resistance. It also helps produce more lush, green leaves and more roses.
Reddish new growth on roses is normal for many varieties, including hybrid tea roses. The leaves have high levels of anthocyanins, a pigment molecule that causes red foliage in developing plants.
When the leaves are young, chlorophyll levels are lower. They increase as the leaves grow and develop under sunlight.
As the plant continues to grow, the leaves change color and become more green.
Finally, the entire garden gets a good watering. It is important to give roses one to two inches of water each week from early spring through fall and more when it is very hot and dry.
Around the perimeter, I planted boxwood I nurtured from bare-root cuttings. This rose garden looks great – pruned and groomed. Keeping up with plant maintenance will keep them healthy, prevent disease, and encourage beautiful, abundant flowering.
It's that time of year again, when the fast growing hornbeam hedges around my farm need to be pruned and groomed.
Over the last couple of weeks my outdoor grounds crew trimmed the tall hornbeam hedge in front of my main greenhouse. They also tackled the long hornbeam hedge that runs from my Summer House and along the road behind my Winter House as well as the hornbeam shrubs. Botanically known as Carpinus betulus, the hornbeam is a fast-growing deciduous tree. In fact, it can grow about four to five feet per year. I keep a close eye on all the hornbeams - it’s crucial to prune them regularly, so they never look too overgrown and unruly.
Enjoy these photos.
This tall hornbeam hedge grows along one side of the parking lot directly in front of my main greenhouse. It is quite pretty here but serves primarily as a privacy and noise barrier from the road. It is ready for its pruning. Carpinus betulus is a hornbeam native to Western Asia and central, eastern and southern Europe, including southern England.
This hedge is behind my Winter House and Summer House. It, too, has grown quite a bit over the months. Because hornbeams grow so quickly, it is important to trim and sculpt them regularly. We do this task every year around this time.
Another view of the same long hedge behind my home shows the new growth on top.
All of the hornbeams are planted in a very straight line just a couple feet apart. The sturdy branches grow outward and slightly upward.
The English hornbeam is related to the beech tree, with a similar leaf shape. On the hornbeam, the leaves are actually smaller and more deeply furrowed than beech leaves. They become golden yellow to orange before falling in autumn.
The crew does most of the hornbeam pruning by hand. Here is Pasang pruning the front face of the hedge behind my Winter House. Everyone uses Japanese Okatsune shears specially made for trimming hedges. The shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes. Notice the handles – they are short to allow access to tight areas.
The shears allow the crew to sculpt and groom as well as prune the foliage. I like to use a traditional English style of pruning, which includes a lot of straight, clean edges. A well-manicured hedge can be stunning in any garden but left unchecked, it could look unruly.
Although slower, this method of trimming by hand ensures careful precise, clean cuts.
It is also more exact, and that’s important when sculpting formal hedges.
Looking up, one can see what has been pruned and what has not yet been cut.
Here’s a view from the side. It’s a big difference, but this shows the growth from the past year. These hornbeams are so healthy and lush.
Fernando sits in the Hi-Lo ready to move teammates safely from place to place.
To keep the hedges straight on top, I instruct everyone to use landscaper’s twine to create a guide. It’s an easy way to make sure everything is cut properly.
Here’s Phurba trimming the top of the hedge behind my Winter House.
And look at all the cut leaves – these are raked up as they work, so cleanup is easier at the very end.
And here is a finished hedge – trimmed beautifully.
Here it is from the other side. Because this one is planted on a gradual slope, it needs to be pruned using a step method.
And everything is perfectly straight from this angle also.
Here are the shrubs in front of the Summer House. Deer do eat hornbeams, but since the entire property is completely fenced, it isn’t a problem here at the farm.
A younger hedge is also groomed across the parking lot right in front of my glass greenhouse. We planted this hedge in the spring of 2019 – it has grown quite a bit. An identical one is on the other side of the greenhouse entrance.
Pruning and grooming the hornbeams is a big task – it takes about two weeks to get all of them done around the farm, but once they’re finished they look so terrific – thanks to my hardworking crew!
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