For impassioned gardeners, it's so rewarding to plant interesting specimens and watch them grow and flourish.
Yesterday, I received a large assortment of beautiful plants grown by Monrovia, a wholesale plant nursery specializing in well-nurtured shrubs, perennials, annuals, ferns, grasses, and conifers with several nursery locations across the country. Soon, we'll be adding beautiful lilacs, holly, peonies, and other lush evergreens to my Cantitoe Corners gardens.
Enjoy these photos.
As a serious and diligent gardener, I am always looking for ways to add more beauty and texture to all my garden beds. I was so excited when these plants arrived from Monrovia.
Once plants arrive here at the farm, we always organize them in rows according to type so they are easy to see, count, and access when it is time to plant. Creating a garden takes time. Add a few specimens every year and keep track of what grows well and what doesn’t.
I grow many berries here at the farm – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, and currants. These additions will ensure even bigger, sweeter summer harvests.
I love lilacs and have an allée dedicated to white, and shades of purple, blue, and pink colored flowers. This is Lavender Lady Lilac, Syringa vulgaris ‘Lavender Lady’.
And this is Betsy Ross Lilac, Syringa x oblata ‘Betsy Ross’. It’s an early spring bloomer with very large, sweet-smelling, pure white flower panicles.
Little Darling® Lilac
Syringa ‘SMSDTL’ also features large clusters. The dark-purple buds open to lilac-hue flowers. And, it blooms twice – heavily in spring, with a second, lighter bloom set in fall.
Gold Coast® English Holly, Ilex aquifolium ‘Monvila’ is a small evergreen shrub with many branches of dense, small, toothy, dark green leaves edged in bright golden yellow. This is a male form, so it has no berries, but it will act as a pollenizer for other female English holly varieties.
Red Beauty® Holly, Ilex x ‘Rutzan’, has bright red berries and glossy, dark green foliage.
Luxus® Compact Japanese Holly
Ilex crenata ‘Annys5’ looks very similar to boxwood and can make a nice replacement option. It has dark green foliage and a naturally dense, rounded shrub form with leaves that keep their color year-round.
I am also very fond of peonies – herbaceous, tree and Itoh peonies. This is Magical Mystery Ride Itoh Peony,
Paeonia x ‘R6P5’. This peony flower is just beginning to open, but when blooming its petals range from peachy orange to creamy white and fade to pink towards the edges.
Itoh peonies have finely divided leaves which grow close to the ground in an elegant mounded shape.
This is Paul’s Gold Threadleaf False Cypress,
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Paul’s Gold’. With its year-round golden green foliage and tight growing habit, this conifer adds an excellent contrast to darker green shrubs and trees.
If you’re looking for an excellent tall hedge plant, consider Hicks Yew, Taxus x media ‘Hicksii’. Its long, upright-growing branches and dense, glossy, dark green foliage naturally form a narrow, columnar habit and can provide good privacy screening where needed.
Dense Spreading Yew, Taxus x media ‘Densiformis’, is an excellent low spreading plant for a hedge or border.
Another yew is the Emerald Spreader® Japanese Yew. It is a cold hardy, evergreen shrub that works well as a ground cover, border, or a low hedge.
Many may recognize the foliage of arborvitae. This Monrovia exclusive is Tiny Tower® Green Giant Arborvitae Thuja x ‘MonRig’. It is great for its upright, more compact habit and lively green foliage.
Tight Squeeze™ Western Red Cedar is a low maintenance conical tree with shiny foliage that retains its green color well in the winter.
Magnolias are stunning in any color. This is Black Tulip™ Magnolia, Magnolia x soulangiana ‘Jurmag1’, the darkest, most dramatic tulip magnolia, with rich, deep burgundy-red six-inch-wide blooms that appear before the foliage emerges in early spring.
Yellow Bird Magnolia, Magnolia acuminata ‘Yellow Bird’ has bright canary yellow flowers that appear later in spring after the danger of frosts. If planting in multiples, try to find those that are early, mid- and late blooming, so there is color all season long.
Dozens of beautiful stone pavers that once covered my former East Hampton terrace have new purpose here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Now that I have a new and giant half-acre vegetable garden closer to my home, I needed to figure out what to do with the smaller garden down by the chicken coops. Last year, we used it to grow all our pumpkins. Once they were all harvested, I decided I wanted this space to be a more formal flower cutting garden, where varieties would be organized in sections and size, color, and bloom time would be planned appropriately to maintain a continuous supply of flowers throughout the season. So far, we've tilled the soil, planted a selection of herbaceous peonies, and yesterday, completed the new bluestone footpath down the center of the garden.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This was my vegetable garden in 2016 – in a fenced in space down by my chicken yard.
The garden produced bounties of delicious vegetables for many years, until I decided to create a larger raised bed vegetable area closer to my Winter House.
Last summer, this garden was used as our pumpkin patch. It produced a wonderful harvest of cucurbits – pumpkins, squash, and gourds.
Earlier this year, once the ground was warm enough, we went to work to transform the space once again. The entire enclosure was cleared, cleaned and then Pete rototilled the soil twice.
And then amended the soil with compost.
Along the fence, we planted sweet peas.
On both sides of the center footpath, we planted herbaceous peonies. None of the work interfered with the plants.
I wanted to create a stone footpath. Doing this would look neat and tidy, but also provide good, sturdy, and hopefully dry footing for anyone entering the enclosure. Pete secures landscaping twine from one end to the other on both sides to ensure the finished path is completely straight and matches the measurement of the bluestone pavers.
Using a hoe, Pete removes any leftover weeds, or small rocks from the area.
Pete drops stone dust in the path. Stone dust is a non-porous material, which is good to use under stone. It will stop heavy rain water from seeping below and reduces the risk of shifting or damaging the pavers.
Next, Pete uses the back of a landscape rake to spread the stone dust. It is the perfect width of the path.
… and then he turns it over to level the area. The razor-back aluminum landscape rake has a wide head to level the dust quickly and smoothly.
Before carrying any stone over to the path, Pete measures again – every piece must be 19-inches across.
Once it is brought to the location, Pete carefully lines up the stone paver over the space…
… and then gently drops it in place.
Each piece must be positioned so it is straight with the twine and spaced evenly with the preceding piece of stone.
Pete uses a fork to make minor adjustments to the stone. These pavers are very heavy, so using the right tool is key to avoiding injury.
Bluestone is a natural stone typically found with a blueish color and veins of grey and brown. The colors vary depending on where it is mined. Its durable composition makes it popular for use as stone steps, pool surrounds, terraces, paths, etc.
Here, Pete uses his hand to move extra stone dust underneath, so it is completely secure.
After the stone is in place, Pete steps on it and tests its sturdiness – no teetering allowed.
Here, Pete drops the last paver at the east end of the garden. It fits just right.
I am so pleased with how it looks. This is the full length of the new footpath. The twine farthest left and right marks where the peonies are planted. There are also three hose bibs in this garden for watering.
Outside the gate, Pete spreads native washed stone gravel. It looks great. Follow along and see the rest of the transformation. You’ll love it.
Tulips are among the most popular of all garden flowers - grown for their graceful leaves and bright, cheery blooms.
Yesterday was "Tulip Day" in New York City's Union Square. A pop-up field of 200-thousand tulips were displayed for visitors to create their own bouquets. The event was hosted by Royal Anthos, a Dutch trade association for flower bulb companies, the European Union, and the Netherlands Consulate General of New York. It's part of an initiative to honor the 400-years since the first Dutch settlements were established in the city. My tulips aren't blooming just yet, but to join in the celebration I decided to share some photos of the tulips I've grown over the years.
Enjoy these photos.
Every year, I always plant a variety of tulips in my garden. Tulips are bulbous plants of the genus Tulipa, in the lily family, Liliaceae. The flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly colored.
Tulips have a fascinating history. Although closely associated with Holland, tulips were first cultivated in Turkey. The name tulip is believed to be derived from the Turkish word for turbans, “tulbend,” because of their resemblance. They gained popularity in Europe in the 17th century, peaking in 1636 to 1637. Now, the Netherlands is the world’s largest commercial producer of tulips, with around three billion exported each year.
And do you know… tulips were once as expensive as some houses? In the late 1630s during the Dutch Golden Age, tulips were more popular than ever before creating a ‘Tulip Mania.’ This however, did not last long. After a year, prices had skyrocketed so high buyers could no longer afford them.
There are currently more than 3,000 registered varieties of tulips – separated in divisions based on shape, form, origin, and bloom time.
These are crisp, white tulips. Tulips have been hybridized in just about every color except blue. Most tulips have one flower per stem, but there are some multi-flowered varieties.
I have grown solid colored varieties as well as multi-colored types. Tulip bulbs should be planted in full sun to partial shade. Too much shade will diminish blooming in spring.
The broad, strappy leaves of tulips have a waxy coating that gives them a blue-green color. There are usually two to six leaves per plant.
Here is an image from above. Typical tulips have bell shaped flowers with three petals, three sepals, and six free stamens.
Tulips need well-drained soil. Sandy soil amended with some organic matter is perfect. They also prefer a slightly acidic soil pH of 6.0 to 6.5. I am so fortunate to have such great soil here at the farm.
Here is a bright yellow tulip with double flowers.
Inside this one is a touch of soft yellow.
And look how stunning they are planted en masse. Most tulip plants range between six to 24 inches tall.
When in bloom, I always enjoy cutting flowers and bringing them indoors to decorate my home.
When cutting, select those that are just about to open fully, when they have about 75-percent of their full color.
These yellow tulips with bright red streaks are striking for cut arrangements.
I displayed these in my sitting room on a table. Keep cut flowers in a cool area as heat reduces the bloom time.
These tulips were displayed in my entrance hall. Tulips follow the sun even when they’re in a vase. Watch them. Tulips also continue to grow even after they’ve been cut.
I also display flowers on the counter in my servery, where I can see them every morning on my way to my kitchen.
Last November, we planted several beds of tulips in my new 1/2-acre vegetable garden. They will all bloom before we plant the vegetables.
Tulips grow best in zones 3 to 8 where they can get eight to 12 weeks of cold temperatures while under the soil.
Here they are now. Tulips usually begin emerging from the ground in late winter or early spring. The beds are filled with healthy bold green tulip leaves. In a few weeks, these beds will be overflowing with colorful tulip blooms – wait and see!
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