1 The vegetable garden continues to grow beautifully in its new location. In this corner are all of the brassicas, like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

2 The cabbage heads are forming nicely. This one is Jersey Wakefield, a favorite for US gardeners since the 1840s. It quickly produces large, dense heads that have a sweet flavor, making it a popular cabbage for coleslaw.

3 This rather pretty cabbage is called Super Red. It forms dark red 3-5 lb. heads that have a tender and crisp texture and a slightly peppery taste.

4 And this is broccoli Gypsy that forms nicely domed and uniform heads.

5 Do you know why these leaves are clipped? This is a cauliflower plant and to keep the heads nice and white and to prevent them from developing an off flavor, the leaves are folded up and over the cauliflower head and fastened in order to protect it from sunburn.

6 This is cauliflower Snow Crown and this process is known as blanching.

7 This quadrant of the vegetable garden is where many varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are to be planted. To help prevent weeds, the raised beds were shrouded with sheets of black plastic mulch.

8 To plant, an X is cut in the plastic using a sharp knife.

9 The X is folded open.

10 Because tomatoes need to be planted deep, Wilmer used a bulb planting tool to remove the soil. The soil was transferred to the black bucket.

11 When the hole was deep enough, the tomato plant was lowered into it and the hole was filled in with the reserved soil.

12 Any branches below the soil line were gently removed with clippers. Tomatoes are planted deep to encourage extra roots to sprout along the buried stem. Extra roots strengthen the plant so that it can support more fruit and make it better able to survive hot weather.

13 After the tomatoes, Wilmer moved on to the eggplants and peppers. Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers have similar growing requirements, so it makes sense to partner them in the garden.

14 Again, the plastic is cut with a sharp knife.

15 Peppers don't need deep planting, so Wilmer used handheld bulb planting tool.

16 The plant was placed in the hole and filled in with soil.

17 Peppers are in the Capsicum family and as I have mentioned, we grow many varieties both sweet and hot.

18 One rainy afternoon, Ryan planted several iron urns to adorn the property. He always starts the container planting process by placing a shard of pottery over the drain holes to prevent the soil from draining out.

19 He filled each container with a good-quality growing mix.

20 Each urn got a sprinkling of Osmocote, very good plant food.

21 These are the fill-in plants: Pilea glauca, 3 kinds of oxalix - Sunset Velvet, Zinfandel, and Triangularis - and lysimachia

22 Ryan grew this matching pair of agaves from tiny pups off the parent plant. They've grown nicely!

23 He carefully trimmed away the lowest leaves using a sharp knife.

24 To plant with the agave, Ryan chose Pilea glauca 'Aquamarine', whose matted trailing leaves spill and tumble over the edge of containers. It also crawls as a groundcover.

25 It was a good choice!

26 Wilmer went to work on a different, rather stunning agave.

27 He added oxalis trangularis, which has purple triangular leaves with a pinkish flower.

28 Ryan trimmed another agave, also grown from a pup. In doing so, he found another baby to plant.

29 Ryan rooted the dichondra that he planted around this agave. Dichondra has elegant silver foliage and a wonderful trailing habit.

30 Wilmer then planted elephant ear Black Magic in an upright urn and surrounded it with Lysimachia, or golden creeping Jenny, a low-growing, evergreen groundcover with golden-yellow leaves, making for a very nice contrast.

31 Wilmer found a spiny agave.

32 He surrounded this agave with oxalis variegata 'Sunset Velvet', which has orange yellow leaves on compact plants that bear yellow flowers.

33 Ryan planted one last urn with a mix of succulents and oxalis triangularis.

34 Here are those urns looking great on a low stone wall.

35 Another view

36 More urns - This wall surrounds a parking area at the main entrance to the farm.

37 The mixed succulent urn

38 And the spiny agave urn with an added reddish succulent

39 You may wonder how all of those heavy urns are set in place. It takes man-power and good transport, like this dump truck.

40 We also use the loader of the John Deere.

41 For really large urns and rather spiny plants, it's best to move them with the Hi-Lo.

42 The Hi-Lo's telescoping arm gets the plant in near position.

43 The massive cement urn is moved further along using metal pipes upon a wooden board.

44 Rolling into position

45 Because I have such a large collection of tropical plants, it takes many trips to the tropical greenhouse.

46 The truck is backing up to the courtyard on the street side of my home.

47 The urns are slid off the truck using a wooden plank.

48 Two men moved these plants were moved into position.

49 And now for the Bismarckia palms.

50 The courtyard is still a work in progress, but it's coming together.

51 Ryan spent part of yesterday morning planting the herb garden on the terrace. Over the winter, he sprouted sage, thyme, chives, basil, and more.

52 He laid out the sage plants in one section.

53 Laying out the plants beforehand really speeds up the planting process.

54 Meanwhile, Chhewang planted the four small urns on the terrace with matching agaves.

55 Ryan then planted around the agave.

56 He used more succulents that he rooted over the winter.

57 Another beautiful urn.

58 I am happy to see that the Papaver rhoeas, or corn poppies are doing so well this season.

59 Also called field poppy, Flanders field poppy, and Shirley poppy, they are delightful in the garden with their delicate tissue-paper blossoms.

60 They are growing in the long pergola bed along with nepeta, or cat mint, and purple-flowering clematis.

61 A striking clematis - Each post of the pergola has a clematis growing upon it.

1 This is Cindy and Steve, who have been guiding the operations at Triple Chick Farm for the past 20 years. Their commitment to excellence, aesthetic beauty, cleanliness, and safety are renowned.

2 Cindy gave us a tour of the growing facility. Triple Chick Farm has been an operating farm on Mount Desert Island for many generations. It is a certified organic farm dedicated to producing healthy, organic food.

3 I was astonished at the size of this spinach leaf!

4 Amazing lettuce - Triple Chick Farm lettuce is renowned for its quality and variety.

5 Rainbow Swiss chard grown at Triple Chick is especially tender and mild.

6 The lettuce thrives in these greenhouse raised beds.

7 More lettuce varieties - Their vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruit are grown on fields and in greenhouses completely free of chemicals.

8 Beautiful fluffy fennel

9 Cucumber plants are grown in containers.

10 These peppers and tomato seedlings were ready for planting.

11 These raised growing tables make farming easy!

12 Incredible lettuce!

13 More spinach

14 Giant leaf lettuce

15 Ruffled lettuce

16 When one crop is finished, its bed is cleared and planted again. This is recently transplanted lettuce starters.

17 This is a tomato greenhouse. The tomato vines are held upright by the hanging string supports.

18 Another greenhouse with a variety of crops

19 And another all cleared and getting ready for planting a new crop

20 These tomato seedlings are ready for transplanting.

21 And so are these peppers

22 On the mornings when the farm stand is open at Triple Chick, their best produce is selected and hand-picked for sale.

23 These are zlata radishes.

24 Baby carrots and rainbow chard

25 Richard was prepping the vegetables for sale.

26 I purchased 4 giant heads of lettuce.

27 More of what I bought including radishes and beets

28 Our next stop was Surry Gardens, where there are 9 greenhouses to stroll through, as well as 12 coldframes, all filled with colorful bedding plants, herbs, and vegetable seedlings.

29 This is the spectacular Surry Gardens in the Downeast Maine region where Acadia National Park and my home, Skylands, is located.

30 Surry Gardens has a huge selection of trees, perennials, fruit trees and shrubs, roses, vines, water plants, bedding plants, vegetable starts, and herbs.

31 I was very impressed with their stunning hanging baskets, like these filled with intensely blue lobelia. An annual, lobelia comes in a mounding type called edging lobelia and a cascading variety, like this sapphire one.

32 A beautiful combination of lobelia and bright pink petunias, a nearly fail-proof annual with great cascading qualities and seemingly endless color choices.

33 Another combination of lobelia, petunia, and verbena, a spreading plant ideal for cascading over retaining walls, pots, baskets, and window boxes.

34 Pink petunias, a smaller petunia look-alike called million bells, and verbena

35 Another combination of petunia, million bells, and verbena

36 And another color combination of the same flowers

37 Yellow million bells with pink petunias

38 Trailing nasturtiums

39 Petunias, million bells, verbena, and ornamental sweet potato vine

1 This is the really fun cover of our latest book, Martha Stewart's Favorite Crafts For Kids, which focuses on craft projects that children, aged three to twelve, can make with their parents.

2 Cardboard Schoolhouse: This cardboard schoolhouse is easily constructed and folds away for easy storage.

3 Cardboard Barn: We set up a cardboard living room, classroom, and barn, but there is no end to the possibilities of this project. It’s fun to fill your cardboard world with a combination of dollhouse pieces, toys you scavenge from other games, and handmade accessories and other details.

4 Embroidery Martha: Cross-stitching is easier and faster than it looks - if you can sew on a button, you can do it. I love this cross-stitched portrait that one of our very talented crafts editors, Silke Stoddard, made. Can you recognize me?

5 Cross Stitch Family: To begin, use graph paper to plan your portrait from head to toe, then thread a needle and start stitching. To capture someone’s personality in cross-stitch, extra details are key.

6 Origami Finger Puppets: Origami finger puppets are a snap to create with squares of paper and a set of markers. If you start with origami paper, which comes in convenient squares, you won’t even have to do any cutting.

7 Pipe Cleaner Squirrel: This fun-filled book makes good use of many household objects and common materials. Our pipe cleaner pals project teaches how to create monkeys, squirrels, chameleons, and tigers with colored pipe cleaners and a few dabs of glue.

8 Egg Pigs: Did you know you can use hollowed-out eggshells and a few crafts supplies to make a barnyard full of pigs, cows, and chickens?

9 Egg Cows: Brown eggs are a natural starting point for animals with dark fur or feathers, and tiny speckled quail eggs are sized right for baby cows.

10 Stuffed Animal: Imagine if hand-drawn monsters and woodland creatures could jump right off the sketchpad. With this project, children can set their own artwork free!

11 Stuffed Animals Group: Young crafters shouldn’t worry about perfection - these playful characters are meant to be one-of-a-kind.

12 Pom-Pom Owls: These owls are put together with a useful little tool called a pom-pom maker, available at crafts stores or online. In the book, you will also find pom-pom bunnies and bumblebees.

13 Shell Koalas: Save shells found along the shore during summer beach trips, then transform them into creatures of all kinds - turkeys, giraffes, poodles, and cute koalas.

14 Rice Krispie Bugs: With a little creativity and some edible embellishments, crisped-rice treats become charming party favors.

15 Snow Globes: These homemade snow globes are a perfect way to display and preserve a young artist’s masterpieces molded from bakeable clay.

16 Popsicle Stick Popsicle Stand: Wooden craft sticks stand in for logs and boards in this old-fashioned ice-pop stand. The book features a whole town’s worth of craft-stick creations.

17 Popsicle Stick Cottage: Toy animals roam free at this rustic popsicle stick cabin.

18 Pirate Ship: This three-masted uses strips of a mesh fruit bag for its ladders. Our toy boat tutorial includes instructions for building a sailboat, tugboat, and motorboat, as well.

19 Marble Run: Many children enjoy tinkering with machines, taking things apart, and learning how stuff works, just for fun. This Peg-Board Marble Run embraces that curiosity; the clacking gumball machine runs without electricity, all with parts found in the kitchen and toy box.

20 Cornhusk Dolls: These beautiful cornhusk dolls evoke an earlier time, of life on the prairie or deep in the big woods.

21 Beaded Jewelry: Sweet daisy chains, made into necklaces, bracelets, and rings from dainty seed beads, provide a wonderful activity for slumber parties.

22 Flip Flops: A quick and fun summer project, embellished flip-flops dress up even the most plain-Jane rubber sandals.

23 Accordion Boxes: Small cardboard jewelry boxes are a natural choice for containing whatever tiny treasures children happen to gather - stamps, buttons, stickers, and such. These accordion boxes give their collections a home of their own.

24 Button Bobby Pins: Collect colorful buttons in a variety of shapes and sizes, then match them with coordinating bobby pins. To gift this project, simply stamp a friend’s name on a piece of card stock, cut a slit, and insert the bobby pin.

25 July 4th Rockets: Our lively candy-filled rockets make playful favors for Fourth of July parade-watching parties. Like so many other projects in this book, they are easy to put together with just a few basic supplies.

26 Safari Terrarium: This safari terrarium provides a close-up look at exotic wildlife right at home. The environment is completely enclosed; once you’ve achieved the right level of moisture, it will almost take care of itself. Good sources for the materials and animals include museum and zoo gift shops, hobby stores, garden centers, and online retailers.

27 Crystals: Growing tiny salt crystals into gigantic ones is fascinating to observe and record. You’ll need patience for this monster salt crystals project - it takes several days, but it’s well worth it.

28 Duct Tape Crafts: Boys and girls alike need something sturdy to hold their allowance as well as holders for pencils, keys, and portable devices. These duct tape accessories stand up to just about any amount of wear and tear. I love experimenting with different colors and folded designs.

29 Treasure Chest: This wonderful treasure chest project is the perfect way to recap and reminisce a summertime beach vacation. Here, canceled stamps, available from hobby shops and online, are used to make a nautical scene on the inside of a box lid.