Here at my Bedford, New York farm, I have several allées of trees - they look so beautiful and dramatic along the carriage roads, between the horse paddocks, and beside the antique fencing.
In landscaping, an allée, or an avenue, is traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each side. In most cases, the trees planted are the same species or cultivar, so as to give a uniform appearance along the full length of the allée. One allée is planted along the carriage road to the woodland. I started with a selection of London plane trees and then planted about 100 royal purple smoke bushes, Cotinus coggygria. Next, I added crepe myrtle, Lagerstroemia. This week, I decided to plant dozens of bright and colorful hydrangeas from the Endless Summer Collection by Bailey Nurseries.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I started this allée in the fall of 2019 and it has developed so beautifully over the last five years.
To create this allée I chose to plant two rows of London plane trees – 46-trees in all. When selecting a location, always consider the tree’s growth pattern, space needs, and appearance. London planes are easy to transplant. They can also develop massive trunks with spreading crowns, so they need lots of space.
The bark is unique, gray-brown. When mature, flaky scales shed to expose mottled peeling patches of white, gray, and green.
The London plane tree, Platanus × acerifolia, is a deciduous tree. It is a cross between two sycamore species: Platanus occidentalis, the American sycamore, and Platanus orientalis, the Oriental plane. This very large tree with maple-like leaves grows to roughly 75 to 100 feet with a spread of 60 to 75 feet. London planes grow in almost any soil – acidic or alkaline, loamy, sandy or clay. They accept wet or dry soil and grow best in full sun, but they also thrive in partial shade.
In between the trees, I chose to plant Cotinus, also known as smoke bush or smoke tree – a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. These were all purchased as small whips – slender, unbranched shoots or plants. I like to nurture them for a year or two in pots before placing them in the ground – this way they are planted as bigger, stronger specimens.
These smoke bushes have stunning dark red-purple foliage that turns scarlet in autumn and has plume-like seed clusters, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to the branch tips.
Recently, we received a large delivery of pretty hydrangea varieties from the fifth-generation, family and brand owner
Bailey Nurseries in St. Paul, Minnesota. I knew right away, a collection of these would be great in the allée.
The hydrangeas were lined up perfectly and evenly spaced in front of the smoke bushes on both sides.
Hydrangea leaves are opposite, simple, stalked, pinnate, and four to eight inches long. They are also toothed, and sometimes lobed.
The blooms on this compact Summer Crush® hydrangea are intense, deep raspberry pink.
Many of the potted hydrangeas are blooming right now. When mature, these hydrangeas will reach 36-inches tall with a spread that’s 18 to 36-inches wide.
Holes are dug for each plant – as always, at least twice the size of the plant’s root ball.
And a handful of fertilizer is sprinkled in the hole and on the surrounding soil.
For these we’re using Scott’s Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed, which is an all-purpose plant food containing bone meal, earthworm castings, feather meal, and kelp to support root development and strength.
As with any plant, the root ball is teased to stimulate growth. This root ball is not root bound, so the soil is soft and easy to scarify with the Hori-Hori.
In the ground, the plant should sit at the same depth it was in the pot.
Then Josh backfills, tamping the soil lightly at the end to ensure good contact.
Remember, perennials grow slowly the first year, faster the second year, and then usually reach full size in the third year.
Look at them after they are planted. These productive plants will flourish in this garden and make nice additions to the beds.
This allée looks better and better every year. I am so proud of it.
A well-designed garden or allée will provide many years of enjoyment.
When it comes to bagels, what's your fancy? Do you prefer the seedy, garlicky everything classic? Or the flavorful and lightly sweetened cinnamon raisin? No matter what variety you like best, I think most will agree - there's nothing quite like a good, fresh, and warm out-of-the-oven bagel.
Alex Tzelios is the proud co-owner of Bagel Corner in New York City. He has one shop in Wantagh and another in the Bronx. He also has Rolen Bagels in Riverdale. Alex says he is constantly trying to improve the businesses. His bagels, mini bagels, bread twists, bialys, and flagels are all made on the premises from scratch. And he offers a wide variety of traditional and unique spreads which he personally taste tests - "if I can't eat it, I won't sell it." Recently, he came up to my farm with platters of bagels and everything that goes with them. It was a big treat for me and my entire crew.
Enjoy these photos.
Here I am with Alex and his beautiful family – his wife Yesenia and their daughter Alexia. They brought bagels and “schmear” for everyone. And at just the right time – my crew was hungry!
This is one of three establishments Alex co-owns. He was a self-employed general contractor for 20-years before buying two declining bagel shops in 2016. After several years of hard work to turn them around, he opened a third location in Wantagh, New York.
The bagels include all the traditional kinds plus French toast, rainbow, whole wheat everything, and egg everything.
All the bagels and other baked goods are made from scratch.
Here are all the kneaded, shaped doughs.
Early every morning, Alex and his team of 14 make hundreds of bagels for the breakfast rush.
After boiling, they are baked in this rotating oven.
Here’s the everything bagel. An everything is baked with a mix of toppings including garlic flakes, onion flakes, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and kosher salt.
These are poppy seed bagels – still warm from the oven.
And here is a batch of sesame.
A bialy is a round, flat, cross between a bagel and an English muffin. It’s made from flour, yeast, water, and salt, and has a crunchy crust on top and a chewier bottom. These are similar in shape and size to bagels, but they’re not boiled before baking and have a depression in the center instead of a hole that’s filled with seeds.
Some of the cream cheese spreads include cinnamon raisin, mango, walnut raisin, nutella, lox with capers and bacon, strawberry, mango and bacon, and vegetable.
And here’s Alex’s bacon, egg, and cheese bagel. He fills it with a three-egg omelet, five slices of cheese and a thick pork bacon.
This one is strawberry cream cheese – with fresh fruit – on a whole wheat bagel.
And this is a whole wheat flagel with sunflower seeds.
Bagel Corner also has fresh pastries including rich orange pie.
Alex brought one or two of everything.
And a tray filled with fillings – butter in center, capers, lox, onions, tomatoes, and several cream cheese flavors – plain, blueberry, strawberry, olive, lox spread, scallion, and vegetable. There was something for everyone.
I served everyone a bagel with their choice of filling. Chhiring selected pumpernickel with lox, tomato, capers, and plain cream cheese.
Here’s Phurba biting into a cinnamon raising with the same lox and tomatoes…
No talking at all here – just chewing. Bagel Corner was a big hit with the crew. Thanks Alex. If you’re in the New York City area, check out Bagel Corner!
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, we're always working off a long list of gardening tasks. This time of year, these projects include potting plants in outdoor ornamental containers.
During the warmer months, I always display lots of potted plants around my home - on the terrace parterre, in the courtyard behind my Winter House, on the stone ledges around my carport, along the carriage roads, and various other locations. Last week, my gardeners planted a collection of Agave bracteosa, or Squid Agave to display around my pool. Agaves are succulents, meaning they store water in their fleshy leaves, enabling them to thrive in arid and semi-arid regions.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Every spring, I take out many of my outdoor ornamental urns and fill them with plants. They do so well outside in the summer months. On this day, my gardeners are planting these round urns with lush, green agaves.
Here are Ryan and Josh carrying one of the very heavy round bowl planters poolside.
Ryan assesses each plants’s size and form and places one next to each ornamental urn ready for planting.
Some of the urns are larger than others, but all have drainage holes at the bottom.
Ryan brings a collection of wooden shims which are used to raise the pots off the ground just enough for the water to properly drain.
He places several shims of similar size under each pot. I have shims of some kind under every pot here at the farm.
Next, he places a shard at the bottom of each planter. It keeps dirt from falling through the hole while making sure there is still room for proper drainage.
Saving the shards from broken pots and using them to cover drainage holes is a great way to repurpose those pieces.
Agave plants have rosettes of fleshy leaves, some soft and smooth, while others have sharp spines.
Agaves form so-called offshoots. These offshoots are connected to the mother plant by a stem but form their own roots. Ryan removes the “babies” from their mother and saves them for replanting.
In the pot, Ryan places a layer of weed cloth in the bottom to protect the vessel itself. This will also make it easier to remove the plant next autumn, when it is put back in the greenhouse for the cold season.
Ryan fills the container with a fast-draining potting soil that holds moisture but drains well. Then he sprinkles a generous amount of all-purpose plant fertilizer from Scott’s.
Agave leaves are filled with gel allowing the plant to survive in extreme dry conditions for a period of time.
Agave prefers a sunny location with at least six hours of direct sunlight. Full sun plants always do so nicely here by the pool. The tough skin of the leaves is able to withstand even harsh solar rays without burning.
Here are two planters already done – they will fill out these pots well during the summer.
In total, there are seven of these containers around the pool. They look great near my newly planted Ginkgo biloba Goldspire™ Obelisk trees.
I purchased six of these trees. Ginkgo Goldspire™ is a highly ornamental, non-fruiting male tree originating in Italy. It has a very upright, tight fastigiate habit, and the foliage tends to be smaller than other species.
New foliage on the Ginkgo Goldspire™ emerges a rich shade of green, fan-shaped, and slightly curled. It keeps its color through summer, then turns buttery shades of yellow and gold in autumn before dropping.
Here’s a view of all six. The term “obelisk” refers to the tall, four-sided, narrow tapering which ends in a pyramid shape at the top.
At north end of my pool I have these staddle stones – the top of one is in the foreground. 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.
Here’s a look from the other end. When I built this pool, I wanted to make sure it had unobstructed views of the landscape beyond. I think the potted agave and all the surrounding trees and hedges will look so pretty through the season.
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