Here at my Bedford, New York farm, most of our spring-blooming bulbs are finally planted.
Every autumn we plant thousands and thousands of bulbs. A majority of them are daffodils. When I moved here, I established a long daffodil border along one side of my property. This border extends from my Summer House behind the stable and down to the north end of my Linden Allée. When the flowers are in bloom, I carefully assess what areas need more flowers and color, and then we plant in those spaces. This year, I selected bulbs from one of my favorite sources, Van Engelen Inc., a wholesale family-run flower bulb business located in Bantam, Connecticut. The varieties we got include 'Watch Up,' 'Frosty Snow,' 'Pink Wonder,' 'Edinburgh,' and 'Zinzi.'
Enjoy these photos.
This is one section of my long daffodil border in spring. It stretches down one side of my farm and erupts with gorgeous swaths of color every year.
My gardeners and I always take photos of the flowers in bloom, so we can see what areas need planting in the fall. In this photo, one can see the areas to the left of the border could use more bulbs.
I order lots of bulbs in batches of 50, 100, 500, and a thousand. Bulbs need to be packaged very carefully to ensure they are kept in the best conditions during transport. Van Engelen uses netted sacs as well as paper bags and plastic pouches depending on the bulbs’ humidity needs.
I plant all different kinds of daffodils from crisp white to bright yellow. This is Narcissus ‘Zinzi.’ This daffodil has a snow-white perianth framing a flat, irregularly split, golden-yellow corona edged in pinkish-apricot. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
Narcissus ‘Edinburgh’ is has a four inch-wide, greenish-white perianth and a big yellow split corona with a frilled, wavy orange-pink rim. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
This year, I also added Narcissus ‘Pink Wonder’ – this flower features three ivory petals overlaid with gently frilled, split corona petals that subtly blend from apricot-pink to golden-apricot with a striking chartreuse-yellow center. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
Narcissus ‘Frosty Snow’ opens sparkling snow-white with a flanged, cup-shaped, lemon-yellow crown that matures to white with a yellow rim. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
And Narcissus ‘Watch Up’ has sweetly scented, upward-facing blooms with large, four and a half inch-wide, greenish-white flowers and funnel-shaped trumpets that open yellow and mature to white. All these varieties will blend in so nicely with the existing ones. (Photo courtesy of vanengelen.com)
For food, we use a natural and organic fertilizer that is specifically recommended for all bulbs, including daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, and tulips. We also combine it with bone meal fertilizer from ground-up animal bones. It is used to increase phosphorus in the garden, which is essential for plants to flower.
Ryan sprinkles a generous amount of fertilizer over the entire area. It is so important to feed any plants and trees that are planted. As I always say, “if you eat, so should the plants.”
There are several different tools one can use for planting bulbs. Using an auger drill bit attachment specifically for this task, Brian makes the holes – counting them as he goes.
Daffodils are medium-sized bulbs, so the holes are spaced about six-inches from one another on all sides. And the general rule of thumb for planting spring bulbs is to plant them two to three times as deep as the bulbs are tall. This means most daffodils will be planted about six inches down.
Brian makes all the holes first before planting. If planting a lot of bulbs, this is a good way of keeping track of all the bulbs and their varieties.
This is a daffodil bulb. Daffodil bulbs are round in shape with a pointed tip which is where the shoot will appear. Look closely and see the small roots on the underside of the bulb. Daffodil bulbs are usually around two to three inches in diameter. All bulbs should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place until they are planted. These bulbs are in good condition and ready to plant.
Brian places the bulb into the hole. Always plant with the pointed end faced up. If it is planted upside down, the flower will still grow, but it will likely take longer.
Here is one bulb in its hole several inches deep.
In production line fashion, Brian fills the holes in sections to ensure the varieties remain together.
Sometimes, daffodil bulbs may divide and produce bulblets. This bulb has one bulblet on its side. Some bulbs could produce two or even three bulblets.
Whenever possible, plant the bulb and its bulblet as is; however, if it does not fit into the hole, it is okay to separate the bulblet from the parent bulb and plant them in different holes.
After all the bulbs in the area are placed into their designated holes, Brian backfills with a soft rake.
This border looks more lovely every year. I am always eager to see it filled with color in spring. Just wait and see it with me. I’ll be sure to share photos. What bulbs are you planting in the garden?
Stalls in my stable are now equipped with innovative mat flooring systems that provide more supportive and even surfaces for my horses.
I share my Bedford, New York farm with four Friesians, five Sicilian donkeys, and one Fell pony. All of my equines reside happily in my large stable. My stable manager, Helen Peparo, and I are always on the lookout for sensible, easy-to-use products and supplies that keep my horses in good health. Recently, we decided to improve the comfort of the stalls by adding thick wall-to-wall waterproof mat systems by StableComfort™. These easy-to-install padded mats offer cushioning and insulation, save on the use of wood shavings, and are easy to clean.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The stalls in my stable are walled in beautiful mahogany and outfitted with durable, safe gates, and feeders. The concrete floors, however, only had one layer of rubber matting and my oldest horse, Rinze, and two others needed a bit more cushioning for their legs and joints.
These are StableComfort™ mattresses – part of a flooring system specifically developed for horse stalls. The systems decrease leg fatique, reduce chances of possible tissue fluid accumulation, and provide a good barrier from the cold, damp floors.
The premium pads provide another layer. All the elements of these flooring systems are environmentally friendly and made from recycled materials.
After the stalls were completely emptied and cleaned, Pete measures the space.
And then he measures the mattresses. These mattresses are made, so they can be molded to fit perfectly in the stall.
Once the mattresses are inside, the individual cells can be cut to release the crumb filling and fit the dimensions of the space.
More crumb filling is emptied on top of the mattresses to fill the grooves of the mattress cells – nothing is wasted.
The crumbs are made from recycled tires. Everything is waterproof.
Using a broom, Pete carefully spreads the crumb filling into all the grooves.
Next, sheets of premium pad are put down on top of the mattresses.
Here, one can see the thickness of these padded sheets. Each of my Friesians is about 1500-pounds and need good, thick padding. These new flooring systems will be much more comfortable.
Here is a look at the layers on the stall floor – the mattress, the crumb filling, and the pads create about a four to six inch cushion. This is on top of the rubber mat that was already in place.
Next, Pete and Doug trim the existing mat, so everything is even.
Then a piece of mahogany wood is installed in the threshold of the stall to prevent any of the mats from moving.
The same is done at the rear entrance of the stall.
Any excess pad is trimmed carefully with a utility knife.
The top layer is a waterproof cover. This is a single piece of latex sheeting that is placed over the entire floor system. Once in the stall, it is pulled tight over the floor so it is flat and level.
Here, Doug secures mahogany trim over the edge of the flooring material. Mahogany wood has a straight grain, good density, extreme durability, and is resistant to rot. It is excellent material for horse stalls.
Trim is pushed down snug and installed all around the room over the top cover, so it remains taut.
Any excess top cover is then also cut.
And here is the finished edge. It looks so neat and tidy, but also so much more comfortable for my dear horses.
Here is the other side. This surface raises the floor, but is just as easy to keep clean.
And it should decrease the amount of wood shavings needed. Plus, the mattress pads allow for longer resting time when the horses are lying down.
Bond and Rinze will both be very happy on their new stall floors – maybe almost as comfortable inside as it is outside in their pastures.
Whether you're preparing a holiday dish or rushing to make a quick weekday meal, fresh herbs make any recipe stand out.
Herbs are one of my favorite things to grow in the garden. Every year, I grow lots of parsley, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, dill, basil, oregano, sage, chervil, and more. They're easy to grow and they're prolific - almost every herb is a cut-and-come-again variety, meaning one can harvest from the same plant more than once. Herbs can also be grown in raised beds or in containers, from seed or by transplanting. And, many herbs last until the first hard frost. Here at my Bedford, New York farm, we were still picking various herbs from the garden just last week.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I am so pleased with my new raised bed garden. We had such a wonderful summer – so many delicious and nutritious vegetables and herbs grew here this year.
If you follow my blog regularly, you may have seen how I designed and planned this half-acre garden. It is located closer to my home just south of the stable in a pasture that was once used by my donkeys.
Our summer crops are done, but the weather was still quite mild last week, so many of the herbs were still doing well. These cuttings are parsley, cilantro, sage, chervil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and fennel.
Here is sage. Salvia officinalis, the common sage or sage, is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region. It is popular in fall and winter cooking and baking.
This year, I planted herbs at both ends of each bed in my garden. Here is the sage growing at the end of one of our center beds, where we also grew beans, cucumbers, and sunflowers. Sage should be planted in well-draining soil and in full sun.
Oregano is also an herb from the mint, or Lamiaceae family. Oregano is strongly aromatic and has a slightly bitter, pungent flavor.
Oregano leaves are generally oval, dark green, and positioned in opposite pairs along the stems. Some varieties have fuzzy leaves.
I always grow parsley – I use it in my daily green juice. Parsley, or garden parsley, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It’s great in sauces, soups, and stews. It may be finely minced and rubbed on meats before cooking. It is often added to pesto and salads and it is commonly used as a garnish.
This is curly parsley. It is a bit more bitter than flat parsley, and has a light fragrance.
Over the summer, our curly parsley grew so well. Everyone who visited the gardens admired our crop of curly parsley.
Thyme, Thymus vulgaris, is an herb rich in vitamins A and C. The flowers, leaves, and oil are commonly used to flavor foods.
Here is our thyme growing in the bed. The flowers are tiny, tubular, and colors vary from white, pink, and purple. The flowers of thyme are rich in nectar and attractive to bees and butterflies.
Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis L. is an evergreen bushy shrub which grows along the Mediterranean Sea, and sub-Himalayan areas. It is widely used as a spice when cooking, especially in Mediterranean dishes.
Here is our rosemary planted around the asparagus bed. Everything was so prolific.
We also grew dill. Dill, Anethum graveolens, is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. Dill has a distinctive taste which is likened to fennel and celery. Closely related to parsley, its fresh aroma is popularly used with fish and seafood dishes.
The leaves of fennel are almost identical to those of dill. Fennel plants, which are native to the Mediterranean basin, have a bulbous base that can be eaten like a vegetable, feathery fronds that are used as an herb, and seeds that can be dried for a spice.
And then there is cilantro. Some love it and some hate it. Of course some of this dislike may be preference, but for those whom the plant tastes like soap, the issue is genetic. Some individuals have a variation in a group of olfactory-receptor genes that allows them to strongly perceive the soapy-flavored aldehydes in cilantro leaves. I love cilantro and often call it coriander. Cilantro is the name for the leaves and stems of the coriander plant. When the plant flowers and turns to seed, the seeds are called coriander.
Another popular herb in my garden is basil. Basil is an herb in the mint family that is in season primarily June through September. It adds flavor to meals, and its nutrients are said to have some health benefits, such as reducing stress and supporting the cardiovascular system. Sweet basil plays a role in many Mediterranean, and particularly Italian, cuisines.
Basil is a tender plant that can be sown outdoors once temperatures warm up in early summer.
Now, the garden is nearly all cleaned up for the season. We’ve already started planting our crops in the vegetable greenhouse. But come spring, we’ll be out here again, tending the beds for another year of delicious, natural foods.
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