The stewartia tree is an excellent, small to medium-sized, deciduous garden tree. It is also one of my favorites.
The Japanese stewartia, Stewartia pseudocamellia, is native to Japan, Korea, and the southeastern United States. It is a slow-growing, all-season performer that show off green leaves in spring, white flowers in summer, and colorful foliage in autumn. It also has attractive exfoliating bark, which peels away in strips of gray, reddish-brown, and orange. Recently, my outdoor grounds crew planted an 18-foot stewartia tree gifted to me by our friends at Select Horticulture Inc. in nearby Pound Ridge, New York because its root ball was misshapen and as a result had grown crooked, making it difficult to sell. But it looks great here at my farm across from my winding pergola and just next to, of course, my stewartia garden.
Here are some photos.
Here it is arriving at the farm. I was so exited to get a call from Scott Richard, co-owner of Select Horticulture, asking me if I wanted this Stewartia tree. I said yes right away. I love stewartias – after all, my name is “Stewart.”
After driving around looking for the perfect spot, I decided to plant it just down the carriage road from my flower cutting garden where I can see it every time I leave or return home. Here, the sod is being removed from the area. This is done with our Classen Pro HSC18 sod cutter. This sod cutter is so easy to maneuver and so sharp.
And then our trusted Kubota M62 tractor and backhoe are used to remove the soil.
The sides are dug manually so they are sightly slanted.
Here is the root ball of the tree. One can see how the trunk was growing out of it. The root ball itself is also malformed.
Always remove any tags that are on a tree. If left too long, these tags will eventually cut into the bark and potentially cut off the flow of nutrients.
The hole is dug deep. For any tree, the rule of thumb for planting is to create a hole that is two to three times wider than the root ball, but only as deep as the root ball.
Our Hi-Lo is then brought over to support the tree while the crew gently guides it into an upright position.
The tree is held in place with the wide straps until it is ready to put into the hole.
The crew cuts the bottom of the wire cage leaving the top of it intact.
Wire baskets were designed to support the root ball during loading, shipping, and transplanting.
The straps are attached to the wire cage for lifting. And then slowly, the tree is moved into the hole.
The crew rotates the tree so its best side faces the road and checks that it is straight. When moving heavy trees, only hold it by the base of the trunk or the root ball – never by its branches, which could easily break.
Once the tree is in, the remainder of the cage was cut and the entire piece removed along with the burlap. Some cut the cages and leave them in the ground, but I prefer to remove them completely, so there is nothing blocking the growing roots.
It is very important to feed the plants and trees. A generous amount of fertilizer specially formulated for transplanted specimens is sprinkled around the tree and the surrounding soil.
The hole is backfilled and tamped down thoroughly to remove any air pockets and to settle the soil. And remember, don’t plant it too deeply – leave it “bare to the flare.”
The leaves of the Stewartia are alternate, simple, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, and five to nine centimeters long.
The bark of the Japanese Stewartia is multi-colored and peels away in strips.
When fully mature, the Stewartia can reach up to 30- to 40-feet tall.
Here it is from another side. It looks perfect in this location – as if it has always been here. I am looking forward to watching it flourish.
My busy work schedule is always filled with business meetings, events, and speaking engagements.
Earlier this week, I was invited to speak at the Greenwich Historical Society's Spring Fete: A celebration of Contemporary Design, Lifestyle and Entertainment. I, along with my friend renowned interior designer Stephen Sills, were honorary chairs of the event. At the "Designer Breakfast", I spoke about my personal design style and shared stories about projects at my Bedford, New York Farm and at Skylands, my home in Maine. I also interviewed Stephen about many of the design choices he has made over the years - for his beautiful home and the homes of his clients. More than 75-guests were in attendance. Proceeds from the fundraiser support educational and gardening programs for area students and teachers. It was a very delightful and successful event.
Enjoy these photos.
The Greenwich Historical Society was founded in 1931 to collect and preserve the history of Greenwich, Connecticut. Today, it also strives to interpret that history to strengthen the community’s connection to the past, to each other and to the future. It delighted to be invited to speak at their annual Spring Fête.
The morning began with with some photos. Stephen and I took this snapshot with members of the event board – Catherine Tompkins, Lauren duPont, Susannah Heyworth, Alexandra Kittle, and Erica Maher Silverman.
The “Design Breakfast,” included a buffet of delicious bites.
These are mini frittata bites with tomato, basil, and mozzarella.
There were also frittata bites made with spinach and feta.
There was an assortment of tea sandwiches – balsamic roasted pear with brie and balsamic glaze, cucumber and Boursin, and deviled egg salad with mango chutney.
And there was an assortment of freshly baked cranberry, blueberry, and chocolate chip scones.
The table included trays of sweets including lemon blueberry, chocolate chip, and raspberry mini tea cakes.
… and fresh fruit skewers. There was something for everyone to enjoy.
My neighbor and fashion designer Andy Yu was also in attendance wearing one of his handmade and personally designed coats.
The event was held at the historic back-country barn at Highland Farm. This structure contains much of the original exterior and interior including the hay bale tracks in the ceiling and beams. Every seat was filled.
Tori Mellot, Style Director for Frederic Magazine, gave us a lovely introduction.
I started with a brief presentation of my design style. I talked about my Bedford farm, its history and how the 153-acre property has evolved over the years.
I also spoke about Skylands, my beloved home in Maine. This photo shows me in front of Skylands next to the 1958 Edsel Ford Roundup my daughter, Alexis, gifted me when I purchased the home. Skylands was originally designed by architect Duncan Candler for Mr. Ford.
Next, I interviewed Stephen about his exquisite home and gardens. Stephen and I have known each other for many years. You can also listen to my podcast where Stephen and I talk about art, design, and gardening.
We talked about Stephen’s book – Stephen Sills: A Vision For Design, Rizzoli 2022. If you don’t already have it and are looking for excellent design ideas and inspirations, get a copy!
This is a photo of Stephen’s home, which he recently renovated. I envy his gardens and parterres.
After our discussion and presentation, the floor was opened for questions from the audience.
Each guest was given a canvas tote bag containing Stephen’s book, magazines, and a Greenwich Historical Society coffee mug. It was a wonderful and very successful event.
Time to bring all my beautiful potted plants outdoors for the season.
I have a rather sizable collection of tropical specimens at my Bedford, New York farm. During the winter, they are all stored in special greenhouses. Once the warm weather arrives, they are all brought out for display - some go to my home in Maine, and the remainder of the plants are placed in various locations here at Cantitoe Corners. It is a big undertaking to move all these plants when the weather changes. Thankfully, I have the help of a strong outdoor grounds crew and some heavy-duty farm equipment to get the job done.
Enjoy these photos.
This is the inside of one of several plastic hoop houses where most of my tropical plants are stored during the cold weather. They actually spend about seven months of the year in these temperature-controlled shelters, but they definitely thrive.
This smaller hoop house was actually moved last year to a better location near my tropical and citrus hoop houses. Old tree stumps and spare boards are used to make use of as much of the vertical space as possible.
All these structures are built using heavy gauge American made, triple-galvanized steel frames and polyethylene panels. Inside, these houses have high ceilings to accommodate the growing plants.
Every year, the tropical plants are taken out of storage, cleaned up, and repotted if needed, and then moved to their warm-weather locations. Here’s Pasang pulling out one of the potted palms.
Heavier plants such as these agaves are pulled out by tractor.
Agaves have rosettes of succulent or leathery leaves that range in size from a few inches to more than eight feet in length depending on the species.
I am especially fond of the blue agave. Do you know… tequila is distilled from the sap of the blue agave? Agave tequilana has sugars named agavins, mostly fructose, in the core of the plant that are suitable for the preparation of alcoholic beverages. In fact, the blue agave is an important economic product of Jalisco, Mexico, where tequila is produced.
The crew is always very careful when moving these container plants. I also have a large variety of special planters – antiques and reproductions, planters made of stone, lead, fiberglass and resin, and in a wide array of shapes and sizes.
One by one, the plants are carefully brought outside.
As the plants are removed from the hoop house, they’re grouped by type. Here are several potted bird’s nest ferns. Bird’s-nest fern is a common name for several related species of epiphytic ferns in the genus Asplenium.
The bird’s nest fern is known for its tropical fronds that grow out of a rosette in the middle of the plant which closely resembles a bird’s nest. It is also occasionally called a crow’s nest fern.
The foliage of philodendrons is usually green but may be coppery, red, or purplish with parallel leaf veins that are green or sometimes red or white. Shape, size, and texture of the leaves vary considerably, depending on species and maturity of the plant. I have many philodendrons that are growing so well here at Bedford.
This is a Bismarkia palm, Bismarckia nobilis, which grows from a solitary trunk, gray to tan in color, and slightly bulging at the base.
I go through all the potted specimens and decide where they will be displayed for the season. I always try to vary their locations.
This is Oxalis triangularis, commonly called false shamrock. It is a species of perennial plant in the family Oxalidaceae.
The trifoliate leaves resemble a shamrock and can be green to variegated to deep maroon in color. The leaves close up at night or when disturbed.
The large plant on the floor is a staghorn fern. The staghorn fern is an unusual and attractive epiphyte that thrives in the tropics. I adore staghorns and over the years have collected quite a few of these magnificent specimens. Staghorn ferns are called Platyceriums. They are Old World tropicals native to Africa, northern Australia, and Southeast Asia.
This day was rainy, so the plants got a good drink once outside.
The tall plants are Stephanotis floribunda, or Madagascar Jasmine, an evergreen woody vine. It is a climber that can grow to more than 20 feet with glossy, leathery oval leaves and clusters of pure white, waxy, fragrant flowers. Looking closely, one can see a fruit on one of the plants. Stephanotis vines also produce an inedible fruit, which looks much like a mango.
Moving these tropical specimens is a tedious task, but by the afternoon, most of the potted specimens are outdoors.
It’s amazing how many plants can fit inside the durable hoop houses. I am so fortunate to be able to store all these plants during the cold season, and then enjoy them all around my farm from now until November.
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