Here at my Bedford, New York farm, I have so many peonies! I cannot wait for them all to bloom.
I adore peonies and have been growing them for quite some time. I have a long tree peony border planted under the semi-shade of giant sugar maples. I have a giant bed completely dedicated to pink and white herbaceous peonies across the carriage road from my home. I have tree peonies and Itoh peonies in the formal sunken garden behind my Summer House. Late last year, we planted 75 bare root peony divisions in what will be my new cutting garden adjacent to my chickens. And this week, I decided to add a selection of peonies to the flower garden just outside my main greenhouse - a couple of them have already started to show off their gorgeous blossoms.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Earlier this month, I received a large assortment of plants from the wholesale nursery, Monrovia. Among them, a lovely selection of peonies in white, yellow, apricot, coral, and various shades of pink.
I decided they would all look best in my perennial flower cutting garden. Every year, I add more and more plants to this space that would look pretty both outdoors and as cut flowers inside my home.
Before starting my busy day, I placed every potted peony where it should be planted. Peonies should be spaced about three feet apart where they can get at least six hours of full sun daily.
The peony is any plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Peonies are one of the best-known and most dearly loved perennials – not surprising considering their beauty, trouble-free nature, and longevity.
Here is a flower bud just days from opening. This is a double peony called ‘Paul M. Wild.’ In this garden, we are adding both herbaceous and Itoh peonies. Itoh peonies are hybrids of herbaceous peonies and tree peonies. Dr. Toichi Itoh, a Japanese botanist, was the first person to successfully combine the pollen from a tree peony with the ovary of an herbaceous peony in the 1940s.
The leaves of many peonies are pointed with a shiny, deep green color – some with a tinge of dark purple.
Each hole is at least twice the size of the plant. Peonies are best planted in rich, well-drained soil.
Once the holes are dug, the potted plants are placed into them to ensure they are the right size. These holes are about a foot-and-a-half deep and wide.
Our NYBG gardening intern, Matthew Orrego, sprinkles a good amount of fertilizer in the hole and on the surrounding soil. I always say, “if you eat, so should your plants.”
For these plants, we’re using Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Rose & Bloom fertilizer which contains micronutrients and natural ingredients, to nourish above and below the soil. Itoh peonies are sensitive to high levels of nitrogen, so when fertilizing in spring and summer, be sure to use a fertilizer that contains a low level of nitrogen.
Matthew mixes the fertilizer with the existing soil in the hole.
Next, he gently releases the plant from its container – these peonies are in excellent condition.
And uses a Hori Hori knife to make intentional root cuts that will encourage growth. He does this to the sides all around the pot…
… and then to the bottom of the root ball.
Here he is placing the peony into the hole – the exposed bottoms of the stems should just be level with the ground.
Matthew then backfills the hole and tamps down to make sure it is packed in firmly.
Some of the varieties planted in this garden include this herbaceous ‘Shirley Temple’ double peony with white blooms and a hint of rose surrounded by lush glossy green foliage. (Photo by Doreen Wynja for Monrovia)
This is ‘Bartzella’ Itoh peony. It features extra-large, vibrant yellow blooms. The outer layers are a lighter lemon meringue color, becoming a more rich yellow toward the center. And tucked within the fluffy blossoms are flares of red. ‘Bartzella’ also has a slightly spicy aroma. (Photo by Doreen Wynja for Monrovia)
The ‘Julia Rose’ Itoh peony shows gorgeous, large, double flowers in soft apricot with blended reddish purple tips and yellow centers. (Photo by Doreen Wynja for Monrovia)
And ‘Paul M. Wild’ is a herbaceous peony with velvety, ruby-red, fully double blooms. (Photo by Doreen Wynja for Monrovia)
This peony is the first to to start blooming. The ‘Pink Ardour’ Itoh Peony has large, semi-double flowers in bold pink, with a dark yellow stamen in the center.
When properly planted and cared for, these fragrant specimens can live for 100 years or even more. Soon, my farm will be filled with more blooming peonies than ever before – I’ll be sure to share photos!
As a passionate gardener, it's always such a treat for me to visit a well-stocked nursery that deals in beautiful and unusual varieties of plants.
Last week, on Arbor Day in fact, I took some time from my busy schedule to stop in at Select Horticulture Inc. in Pound Ridge, New York and check on their current inventory. Select Horticulture Inc. offers an extensive collection of premium quality trees and shrubs including large sizes, unusual and rare specimens, with both stand-alone and mature espaliered options. I'm always searching for interesting specimens to add to my gardens, and I always find something at Select Horticulture Inc.
Enjoy these photos.
Select Horticulture Inc. has locations in Lancaster, Massachusetts and here in Westchester, New York right off route 137. It is owned by Scott Richard and Jim Freeborn who are often at the nurseries ready to answer any questions.
It was such a beautiful day and a perfect morning for a plants adventure. Here I am with Scott and my head gardener, Ryan McCallister.
The nursery has rows and rows of beautiful and well maintained specimens, which can be seen from the road.
Scott drove us around and showed us the spring inventory. Every row of trees and shrubs is neat, tidy, and every item properly identified.
There are lots of lush evergreen shrubs in all different sizes. It is nice to see such a well organized nursery.
Scott and Jim use gravel underneath many of their plantings to help keep the areas dry and easy to move through.
And every tree is connected to an extensive water irrigation system. There are multiple stakes in each root ball that connect to the water source. With warmer weather on the way, Scott’s team checks all the trees to make sure stakes are properly inserted.
Scott showed us this row of espaliered apple trees – each grafted with about six different apple varieties. Espalier refers to an ancient technique, resulting in trees that grow flat, either against a wall, or along a wire-strung framework. I was tempted to get one, or two, but I didn’t… this time.
Here’s a lovely Japanese maple getting transported for delivery to its new home.
In this row – Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Dark Alexandrina.’ This is a dark flowered saucer magnolia which has large fuzzy flower buds up to an inch long.
Hard to miss this row of giant columnar Carpinus betulus Frans Fontaine – a dense hornbeam with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit.
Standing in front are Pinus Thunderheads, medium-sized evergreen conifers.
These are Styrax japonicus MS, or Japanese snowbells, compact, deciduous flowering trees with horizontal branching and rounded crowns.
These giant trees are loaded for delivery. These trees are very well-supported for transport. They should arrive at their destination in perfect condition.
I love these Ginkgo biloba Goldspire Obelisk trees. These feature narrow upright tower forms with flat tops. The distinctive bright green Ginkgo foliage turns golden-yellow in autumn. I decided to purchase a selection – wait and see where they’ll be planted.
Prunus avium Regina Cherry is a dark sweet cherry bred in Germany. The fruit is dark red with reddish flesh and a sweet tart flavor.
Pyrus calleryana Chanticleer is also known as a Callery ornamental pear. It is an upright-pyramidal tree that is much narrower than others of its kind. The glossy heart-shaped leaves turn deep purple in fall.
When selecting any new planting for a garden always be sure to consider the plant’s preferred hardiness zone, its care requirements, and the specimen’s size at maturity.
Here’s another specimen heading home – it was one of several evergreens.
Prunus serrulata ‘Kanzan,’ is a flowering cherry cultivar. It was developed in the Edo period in Japan and is a deciduous tree that grows up to 30-feet tall. It blooms with clusters of large, double deep pink flowers in spring.
And of course, here’s a beautiful Picea orientalis ‘Skylands.’ Do you know why this is one of my favorite trees? Its name is “Skylands” after all – the same name as my beloved home in Maine. If you’re in search of good quality trees or shrubs, and live in or around Pound Ridge, New York, or Lancaster, Massachusetts, be sure to visit Select Horticulture Inc. You’ll learn a lot and most likely find something you love to take home. Thanks for the time, Scott – see you soon!
Every spring, we harvest bunches of delicious asparagus. Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis, are the edible shoots, commonly called spears, that rise early in the season from underground stems called crowns. These perennial plants require patience and at least a few years to become well-established. I made sure an asparagus crop was planted when I first bought my farm. I also now have a large asparagus bed in my new vegetable garden. And while we're careful not to harvest too much too soon, this patch is already proving to be very productive.
Enjoy these photos.
I’ve been enjoying homegrown asparagus for many years. The asparagus crop in my flower garden is already more than 10-years old and well-established.
When I created my new half-acre vegetable garden last year, I made sure one of the biggest beds was earmarked for asparagus.
These are asparagus crowns from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Each of these is about a year old. Asparagus crowns usually come in bundles of 10 to 25 bare-root plants.
Asparagus has modified adventitious roots that swell to store food and to support the plants.
Asparagus grows in trenches like these. Depth of planting is critical. If too shallow, the plants will produce a large number of small spears. If planted too deep, the spears will be large, but few in number. These furrows are at least eight-inches deep and a foot wide.
Asparagus roots grow very deep because they can survive very long in the soil.
Here they are lined up in the trench. Last spring, we planted two varieties – ‘Purple Passion’, which produces attractive purple spears with a mild, nutty flavor and are reputedly sweeter than most other asparagus varieties. And ‘Millennium’ – a productive plant that produces high-quality spears that are tender, green, and delicious.
Asparagus needs lots of room to grow. The crown and root system can develop to an enormous size – about five to six feet in diameter and 10 to 15 feet deep. When planting, the roots should be splayed to direct the root growth outward and not downward.
Once all the crowns are positioned, the trenches are covered with several inches of soil. As the weeks progress and growth appears, the rows are backfilled a bit more making sure the tips of the shoots are all but completely covered.
Asparagus beds require consistent soil moisture during the first growing season. Once established, the plants are relatively low-maintenance.
By June, the bed is full of growing young ferns. This fern production is crucial to the success of a developing asparagus patch. The number of spears produced each year and the overall health of the plants, is affected by how many ferns are left to mature.
The bigger the ferns, the more food is created to fuel the following year’s spear production.
First spears can appear within a couple of months after establishing an asparagus patch, depending on soil temperatures and moisture, but they should be left alone, so the plants could start to develop and become more established.
And here is the bed last August. The asparagus ferns are more than four-feet tall. The food produced travels back down to the crown and the roots of the plant in fall as the fern dies back. The carbohydrates are held in the dormant crowns through the winter.
And then earlier this month, the heads of stronger, more robust spears poked out of the soil.
‘Purple Passion’ asparagus is nuttier, sweeter, and more tender than other green varieties because it has about 20-percent more sugar in its stalks. While the stalks are purple on the outside, the inside is the same as a green spear.
‘Millennium’ asparagus is high yielding, long lived, cold hardy, and adaptable. The best time to harvest is when the asparagus spears are about six to eight inches tall. Harvesting can be done by breaking the spears off by hand near the soil level.
This is an earthenware cloche specifically for growing white asparagus. The plants are the same, but the spears of white asparagus are blanched, or kept from light while growing. Crossing fingers they’re white under there.
It’s widely thought that thin asparagus are tastier, based on the notion that slender spears are younger. However, thick spears are already thick when they poke up from the soil. The two are just different varieties. I love both kinds of asparagus, but I do find that fat stalks tend to be a little more succulent.
An asparagus bed should receive a minimum of eight-hours of full sun per day and be well-drained.
With room to grow, and a little patience to start, one can enjoy homegrown, delicious and nutritious asparagus for at least 15-years.
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