The season's burlap project at my Bedford, New York farm continues in front of and around my Winter House.
It's a race to get all the "burlapping" done around the boxwood and the ornamental urns - winter officially begins in less than a week and the days and nights are getting much colder. I've been covering these shrubs and hedges with burlap for many years to protect the branches from splaying and even breaking from the snow and ice. I also feel it is important to protect the stone planters that are out in the elements all season long. Every year, our wrapping methods become easier and more streamlined, giving me peace of mind during the cold weather months. This week, my outdoor grounds crew covered the boxwood surrounding my herbaceous peony bed and all the ornamental containers around my home.
Here are more photos of our "burlapping" process, enjoy.
Here at my farm all the activity this week is around my Winter House. My gardeners are busy dressing the many garden beds with mulch and the outdoor grounds crew is rushing to get all the boxwood and stone urns under burlap. This is my terrace parterre. The metal supports for the burlap frames are up and these stone planters are about to be covered.
Pete cuts the burlap pieces for the containers. When we can, we reuse burlap from seasons past; however, it is also available in giant rolls of 40-inches or 60-inches wide. Also called hessian, burlap is made in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India from jute, a tall, grass-like plant grown for its strong fibrous stalks.
These planters are already covered in thick industrial plastic. Pete then blankets it with burlap and starts with small stitches and knots at the top and the bottom just to keep the fabric in place.
Then he sews the burlap along the open edge to close it completely.
The burlap is also sewn at the top where the burlap is pulled taut.
Here is the planter completely covered. It will stay here for the duration of the season until it is in uncovered and planted again in spring.
I have many urns around my home. It is easier to cover them than to move them indoors. These two urns on the terrace outside my Winter House kitchen are next.
And here they are all covered. Depending on the size of the vessel, it takes about 20-minutes to cover one of these ornamental containers.
Here are Pete and Fernando tackling the big stone birdbath in the courtyard behind my Winter House.
Fernando works on top and Pete sews the sides. There is a lot of tucking involved, and a lot of stitching and knotting, but my crew has been covering these containers with burlap every year for quite some time – they are all excellent burlap sewers.
To sew the burlap, we use jute twine. It is all natural and the same color as the burlap. We also use five-inch and eight-inch long craft needles specifically made for working with jute.
Here is the top all done.
And in just a few minutes, the entire piece is finished. Many ask if it is truly necessary to cover these birdbaths and planters – after all, they are always outdoors. But because stone, cement, and clay-based materials can crack from exposure to the winter elements, it’s important to protect them.
Here are two more urns located in the same courtyard. The burlap is sewn tightly, but with some space for air circulation.
By lunchtime, Pete and Fernando are working along the carriage road next to my winding pergola. Here is one of six giant square stone planters I purchased earlier this year. First it is carefully covered in plastic.
Then the planter is measured and a piece of burlap is cut to size. Burlap is so useful for many gardening projects – it is inexpensive, biodegradable, and the color and texture of burlap is so pretty to use.
Pete makes small stitches and knots to keep the burlap in place. I remind the crew to wrap them like they would gifts – make the folds tight and even as possible.
Pete also makes sure the burlap protects as much of the bottom as possible.
Pete also runs twine underneath the piece to prevent the wind from blowing the burlap off the urn. And underneath all the vessels are shims or small bricks, which keep the urns raised and away from any water or melting snow on the stone surface or ground. All these burlap covers must last through the season without anyone having to redo them.
Here it is all done. These look like pieces of art along the carriage road.
Meanwhile, here’s one side of the boxwood hedge surrounding the herbaceous peony bed – now enshrouded in burlap. We use the same hoop house framing here as we do for the Boxwood Allée. The frame is at least a foot taller than the tallest shrub to protect any heavy snow from weighing down onto the tender foliage.
Here’s a view from the inside – covered all the way around. With the burlap secure, any snow that accumulates will sit on top or slide down the sides.
Phurba and Pasang are now onto the tall boxwood shrubs in front of my home. These boxwood plantings are covered directly with the burlap – no framing. They covered a group of boxwood and are sewing the opening closed.
All the burlap does block views of the landscape, but it is comforting to know that come spring, the many shrubs and hedges will look lush, green, and just as beautifully shaped as they did before they were covered. There is still so much “burlapping” to do around the farm, but the team has made lots of progress.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and everyone here at my Bedford, New York farm is getting into the holiday spirit.
I just love how my home looks during the Christmas season - adorned with festive lights and ornaments inside and out. This year, I put up shooting stars on several of the outbuildings and decorated my front entrance with two beautiful evergreen trees, lots of bright lights, and giant silvered-glass kugels from my old Martha by Mail Collection.
Enjoy these photos.
Even the horses are decked out in holiday hats. Here’s Bond, one of four handsome Friesians here at Cantitoe Corners. The Friesian Horse originated in Holland, where it was put to work in the fields. Nowadays, Friesians are used in dressage competitions and as carriage horses because they are so handsome and nimble. I love these stately equines and find them to be gentle and responsive.
And can you guess who this is? This is Geert, one of two 12-year old Friesians that came here last year from Britswert, Netherlands.
Our holiday decorating usually begins outdoors. Every year, we take out several shooting stars and hang them on some of the outbuildings here at the farm.
After checking that all the LED lights work on the star, Pete puts one up on my Gym Building. It is hung securely to a screw eye just under the roof line.
Fernando watches carefully from the driver’s seat of our trusted Hi-Lo.
This area is the front entrance to the farm, so I also wanted to display a couple of festive Christmas trees here. And here’s a tip… I used heavy cut sections of a log as the bases. And to prevent the trees from falling off of them, Pete inserts a metal rod into the log to use as a dowel.
The metal rod is a few inches long – strong enough to join and secure the tree to this base.
And then he makes a hole in the bottom of the tree’s trunk.
This tree is now very secure on its base and stands tall in the driveway.
And here are the two trees flanking a gym window and the doors below.
And here is the star. Another tip… if one needs to use extension cords to connect outdoor decorations, use supplies that match the exterior of the building. We’re using grayish-tan extension cords, so they are not seen against the siding. Also be sure any electrical supplies are safe to use outside.
And we can’t forget lights on the trees. All of my outdoor decorating lights and supplies are always stored neatly in bins, so they are easy to find and put up year after year.
Here is Pete putting up the strings of lights – the more the merrier.
This year, I also decided to take out some of the giant silvered-glass kugels from my old Martha by Mail Collection to hang on the same trees. Do you have any? The mirrored shine of traditional kugels first produced in Germany during the early 19th century, comes not from silver or mercury, but from a coating of reflective material sprayed to the inside surface of clear glass.
Because the kugels are fragile and quite heavy for ornaments, I wanted them secured to the branches with strong wire.
Fernando carefully places each kugel strategically on the tree – none of the ornaments should bang or touch each other, and be sure they don’t weigh down the branches too much – place them deep into the tree, so they are well-balanced.
Meanwhile, my shooting stars are placed on other outbuildings. Here is one above the Hay Barn.
This shooting star was hung above the sliding doors of my Equipment Barn.
By night fall, the lights look so beautiful. I love the way the taillights swoop down the side of the building.
These bright stars can be seen from across the pastures. Do you know what a true shooting star is? A shooting star is actually a small piece of rock or dust that hits Earth’s atmosphere from space. It moves so fast that it heats up and glows as it moves through the atmosphere. Astronomers call them meteors. Most meteors burn up before they even reach the ground.
The star looks so pretty illuminated above the two lighted trees. If you haven’t yet put up your outdoor holiday decorations, there’s still time – it is now 11-days before Christmas.
Everyone loves a delicious, healthy home-cooked meal - even our pets.
Every few weeks, I set aside time to make my dogs, Crème Brûlée, Bête Noire, Empress Qin, and Emperor Han, a good supply of food. Preparing my own dog food has many benefits - fewer preservatives and additives, more varied and better ingredients and, of course, more of what I know my dogs will enjoy. I also know the food is from wholesome, organic, reputable, and local sources - that is very important to me. Last weekend, along with the help of my housekeeper, Elvira Rojas, and my longtime driver, Carlos "Uno" Villamil, we made a giant batch - filled with quality meats, quinoa, lots of nutritious vegetables, and even some delicious yogurt I made too.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Are you hungry, Empress Qin? My dogs can smell all the delicious food being prepared just for them. I enjoy cooking for my dogs because I know exactly what they’re getting.
First, I cut up heads of broccoli and boil them until tender.
Look at these bright orange carrots. My dogs love carrots. They are low in calories and high in fiber and vitamins. Occasionally, crunching on raw carrots can also be good for their teeth.
I used about four bags of frozen peas. Green peas are a good source of the B vitamin Thiamin, phosphorous, and potassium. Don’t overcook them – they only take a couple of minutes. Here, they are mixed in with the broccoli and chunks of the last pumpkin we grew this season.
This is the cooked salmon. And watch out for bones. While some of the bones will be ground in a processor, it is a good idea to always carefully check for potentially dangerous bones.
As each food is prepared, it is placed into one of several stainless steel bowls.
Look how much we’ve prepared. I vary the food every time I make it based on what I can use from the gardens and what I already have on hand. I also added venison here, which is deer meat.
Sweet potatoes are also great for digestive health because they’re high in dietary fiber. They’re low in fat and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, and manganese, and they’re rich in the powerful antioxidant beta-carotene.
Quinoa is an amazing gluten-free superfood with high levels of essential amino acids. It is a high protein grain type food, so give it in small amounts. When preparing homemade diets, be sure it is well-balanced. Research what your pet needs.
Everything is well mixed. It looks good already!
All the food is also run through a food processor. Here is Elvira mixing the processed food before it is put into containers. This step of running it through the food processor may seem extraneous; however, I have found that my dogs prefer their food ground rather than in big chunks.
For my dog food, I use quart-sized containers. This step of filling the containers is done in a production line process, so it can be completed quickly and efficiently. Can you guess how many containers we filled? I always do a mental calculation to determine how many containers we need to put out on the counter. Here, the quarts of food are also left to cool a bit before securing the lids.
I estimated 44-plastic containers, and we filled just under 44-quarts in all! Each lid is marked with the contents and the date it was prepared. If planning to freeze, only fill up to the first line around the container so it has room to expand.
Here is one container of food ready to serve.
Enma starts with a scoop of high quality kibble – the blue is Emperor Han’s bowl.
I also recently made a big bowl of yogurt. This is the saved whey. Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is very nutritious. Enma added just enough to each bowl to moisten the hard kibble.
And then she adds a couple heaping spoonfuls of delicious home cooked food.
Everything is mixed equally into the bowls along with any added supplements.
And if I have any at the time, each dog gets a spoonful of my homemade yogurt. Many dogs are actually lactose intolerant, but yogurt is much easier to digest and my canine foursome loves it.
It’s meal time! My dogs eat two meals a day – one in the morning and one in the evening. Splitting meal times is good for their digestion. Cooking for one’s dogs is a personal choice, but if you have time, and are interested in giving it a try, I know your pets will love every meal. Here’s Crème Brûlée starting her dinner.
And Emperor Han – he is such a good eater. He is always the first to finish.
My dogs love their food and always lick their bowls clean.
… And then it’s time for a nap. I’ll see you soon, Bête.
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