Early July Around the Farm
I hope you all had a pleasant Fourth of July holiday. I had a fun and restful time at my home in East Hampton. I returned from Turkey last Wednesday afternoon. The next day, Thursday, I was busy preparing for my new television season, which we begin taping this week. On Friday, I spent the entire day with Chef Pierre, preparing some final menus for my upcoming entertaining book. It’s been a long time in the works and I cannot wait for it to be in print. It’s going to be a really beautiful volume. In between all that, there is always time to tour around the farm.
1 I asked Shaun to pick me very thin stalks of rhubarb for a special dessert for the new entertaining book photo shoot.
2 He also picked an assortment of fragrant herbs - thyme, sage, basil, and tarragon.
3 Meanwhile, Pierre was cooking feverishly in the kitchen, creating beautiful menus for the new book.
4 Photographer - Frédéric Lagrange - was busy photographing each plate.
5 Frédéric is an excellent fashion, travel, portrait, and lifestyle photographer. http://www.fredericlagrange.com/
6 One of his well-used cameras that he takes on his world travels.
7 The vegetable garden is strong and healthy.
8 This curly leaf is kale - Winterbor
9 Thankfully, the tomatoes are growing beautifully this year.
10 This is an heirloom variety called True Black Brandywine.
11 The cabbages are forming nice heads.
12 These are stalks of Brussels sprouts - Bubbles.
13 The eggplant patch
14 This white variety is eggplant - Casper.
15 And eggplant - Diamond
16 Sweet Pepper - Yankee Bell
17 The edible pea pods are still growing like crazy.
18 A thick row of Swiss Chard - Ruby Red
19 A row of garlic
20 The flowers of garlic - Chrysalis Purple
21 Recently planted rows of radish - French Breakfast, lettuce - Merlot Batavian, radish - Early Scarlet Globe, and celeriac - Boule de Marbre
22 Gyurme mowing the lawn
23 Rufus, Clive, and Billy are enjoying the cool and clear day.
24 This is a seed head of a tree peony.
25 These are the flowers of an Ohio buckeye.
26 Large, showy, upright flower clusters produce fruits with husks that have thick, knobby spines. Usually a single, rounded, shiny brown seed is produced in each fruit.
27 Purba and Gelbu have just done the weekly cleaning out of the hen houses. The used wood shavings are taken to the compost area.
28 New wood shavings have been put down.
29 Three very happy hens busy at work.
30 These two hens look quite cozy.
31 Eggs just don't come any fresher.
32 Gorgeous trumpet lilies in the cutting garden
33 Stunning pink and white trumpet lilies
34 Clusters of magenta flox
35 The showy flower heads of rudbeckia
36 And the stunning blooms of echinacea
37 Fragrant lavender - look closely - honey bees galore
38 A clear blue hydrandea
39 It's also a good year for hydrangeas.
40 The hydrangeas are growing next to my 'stone yard.' All the stone used on the property is stored here - marble, granite, slate, etc.
41 These are the granite posts used for all of my pergolas.
42 Wooden stakes neatly stacked
43 A view of the cutting garden and the chicken coops beyond
44 180-degrees in the other direction
45 A carriage road leading into the woods
46 With very little rain lately, the streams are very dry.
47 Hundreds of little fish are caught in this standing water.
48 Another dried stream bed
49 I'm impressed with how quickly this line of metasequoias is growing.
50 Hmmm...an animal bone. Deer? Coyote?
51 Wind in the willows - I wish you could hear how great it sounds.
52 Wild raspberries are ripening in the woods - good food for birds and other small animals.
53 Two rows of edible grapes growing - call it Martha's Vineyard!
54 We've added a fourth bee hive and all looks good.
55 Lots of honey bee activity
56 Because of the lack of rain, the sprinklers are being used all around the farm.
57 I'm concerned that the boxwood allee gets plenty of water so it doesn't turn brown.
58 Between myriad other chores, Shaun prunes back the lower branches of a maple tree.
59 My large Asiatic lily garden
60 The blooms are just beginning to open.
61 The apple espalier with ripening fruit
62 Not too much more to go!
63 The gravenstein espalier trees also look great!
64 In the basement, Annie, my wardrobe stylist, is steaming a blouse.
65 She's getting a summer wardrobe ready because we start taping next week for my new television show.
Thanks so much for giving us a peek into your world. Living large!
Posted by: ~liz | July 6th, 2010 at 12:41 am
Everything look's great and the amount of work being done!! Summer is my favorite time of year! About the Martha's Vinyard.. lol That's my home town!! Edgartown, Martha's Vinyard to be exact!! Nice try though!! lol http://www.meandmartha.net
Thank you for the wonderful picture's!
Dan Viger
Hollis Center, Maine.
Posted by: Daniel Viger | July 6th, 2010 at 1:18 am
Enjoyed this post as always
Posted by: Vidya | July 6th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Thank you for sharing your farm. It looks splendid! You have enough variety to fill up a supermarket! Bet you don't need to go shopping for vegetables. I love the blue hydrandea. What a lovely colour.
Posted by: Phillippe | July 6th, 2010 at 3:32 am
By the way, how many people you have working in the farm? You must need an army!
Posted by: Phillippe | July 6th, 2010 at 3:33 am
Well, Martha, your farm looks great, as usual. I don't see how you can bear to leave it for anything. No country you visit can compare with all that beauty right at your finger tips.
Gloria!!
Posted by: Gloria | July 6th, 2010 at 4:06 am
Once again, thank you for sharing your wonderful farm grounds! Ralaxed and full of beautiful images I will start my day!!
Posted by: Cynthia | July 6th, 2010 at 5:59 am
Oh, so much going on and so much to look forward to! I cannot tell you how many of us are longing for the new entertaining book! It will be a classic Martha Stewart volume and one to cherish. I love your lily garden with its Prairie influence and the long line of metasequoias, which will be so dramatic once it has filled out. I'm sure you are experiencing this sun-drenched heatwave as we are here in Toronto. Stay cool! (Figuratively and literally!)
Posted by: Andrew Ritchie | July 6th, 2010 at 7:42 am
I am always in awe of your beautiful farm. Your gardens are a thing of beauty. I am curious though as to what you do with all those lovely vegetables. Surely you can't personally use all of them. However, knowing you and your caring attributes for humanity, I am certain they are put to good use.
Thank you for sharing your life with us.
Posted by: Esther | July 6th, 2010 at 8:01 am
Martha, hoping the best for the farm. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | July 6th, 2010 at 8:26 am
What a beautiful farm. Puts my four little tomato plants to shame. I work 12 hour shifts as a nurse and between work and watering my flowers and the tomatoes it's about all I've done around the house this summer, I do share in a local CSA but it has none of the amazing varieties you can grow. It is a delight to share your farm and live vicariously through your photos thanks for taking the time to share it with those of us who admire such beauty. What a harvest you must reap, if you feel like sharing you have my email !
Posted by: Isabel | July 6th, 2010 at 8:33 am
Thanks again for sharing; letting us 'peek' in on your farm is still my favorite of all on your blog.
Posted by: Esther | July 6th, 2010 at 8:43 am
I love your posts and slides. The photography is beautifully done. I can almost smell the grass and trees! I go to your 1982 Entertaining regularly for menu ideas and recipes or to just look at the pictures. I can barely wait for your new book to inspire me and give me visual pleasure. For those of us who do not have cable TV I hope you keep your blog open so that we can still keep up with your many fascinating experiences. I will miss seeing you on TV.
Posted by: Judy | July 6th, 2010 at 9:06 am
Oh Martha, Our Fourth was far from restful with friends, family, food, and fun adding to the mix. Sadly, I missed our grandson, Ethan who was not here as family was haying and did not take time to travel the 500 miles. Corrine made deviled eggs and brought to Chucks
ranch in White Earth Valley. Gary commented
"potato salad and deviled eggs" are a combination that he loved. ENTERTAINING taught me much and the new book will do the same.
Posted by: ann | July 6th, 2010 at 9:11 am
Thanks for your delightful farm photos. The photos of the hen houses reminded me that, unlike factory farms, your farm is built and maintained to support the health of all your animals and plants. Your farm is a wonderful example of how to farm working with nature, rather than against it. I'm sure your animals all appreciate you!
Posted by: SA | July 6th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Hi Martha,
I am happy to hear that you survived your travels and took time out to enjoy your East Hampton home over the weekend. You are always so busy so a little R & R is a good thing. I don’t know how you cope with time changes when you travel. I would still be catching up on sleep!
~
Your gardens are fantastic – I just never get tired of seeing your property in all the seasons but of course when everything is in full bloom is the best. I would be in salad and veggie heaven with all the vegetables you grow! On her blog, Alexis often mentions the goodies she got from ‘Martha’s garden. Vegetable gardens are the one thing I miss the most about not living up north. Your lilies are gorgeous too and I can’t wait to see how your Canna lily does. One of mine has bloomed 3 times but the two I put outside are not faring quite as well. (Could you send me some of your black gold! Lol) Thanks again for another great tour! Trish
~
P. S. Also if I may, Happy Belated Birthday (the 3rd) to Jan Erickson – I hope it was fun!
Posted by: Trish | July 6th, 2010 at 10:18 am
I love seeing the photos of your farm!! You've been inspiring me for years!! In fact, after subscribing to your magazine, I purchased an 100-year old Victorian and remodeled it top to bottom. I included hardwood floors, stained glass windows, French Country kitchen, claw-footed baths, etc. Your creativity and innovation led me to also create a four-square garden complete with fruit trees, grapes, raspberries, currants, herbs, roses, fish pond, chickens and xeri-scaping. All on .13 acre in the heart of Salt Lake City!! I bought that house in 1999 and sold it in 2005....it has many happy memories and I look forward to your next book. All the best!!
Posted by: Rose | July 6th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
how wonderful being surrounded by so much beauty and fresh wholesome foods on the farm
Posted by: Wendy | July 6th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Hi Martha!
It's my first post on your blog and it's thanks to one of your fans and followers Trish, that I'm here. I am very excited at your new entertaining book. When will it be out? I have all of your books and they are well-used in this house! family dinners, cooking for a crowd and much entertaining with recipes that work! Good luck!
Posted by: Christian / @vfbr2001 | July 6th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
I never get tired of looking at pictures of your farm - and I can't imagine why I feel so much healthier just looking at your vegetable gardens, but I do!
Posted by: Donna | July 6th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Martha, when I clicked in through Twitter, I thought, "65 Photos! It will take forever".
Well, as I was approaching the end, I was sorry it was ending.
We are about the same age and your hard work has made your dreams come true.
I enjoy all your work, eagerly await the Hallmark programs, and admit to more than a tiny bit of jealousy.
Some of your ideas and ventures blow me away.
Go for it! Never let ayone talk you out of what you want to do.
We love you.
Posted by: Beth | July 6th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Martha,
Wow, what a great job you have done with all of this. Thanks for sharing. I get the organizing tips from your website and follow you on twitter. You have accomplished much as a woman. Our family has a huge garden including hydrangeas, vegetables, apple tree, cherry tree, raspberries, tomatoes, lavender, lilies, and much more. My mom and sister just love spending all their free time gardening. Cheers!
Posted by: Marita | July 6th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Your vegetable garden is huge! I'm curious about what you do with all that produce.
Posted by: Betsy | July 6th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
.
Magic of Summer
.
Bird songs filling the air waves, Incy's up the spout,
Fledglings starting to find out what it's all about:
A basket full of rhubarb, tarragon, basil and thyme;
Curly leaf kale, heirloom tomatoes called Brandywine.
All the tomato varieties are growig superbly this year
Up through their tri pole supports lots of fruit adhere.
Cabbages are smart they know to quit while they're ahead.
Bubbles Brussels sprouts are quite at home in their bed.
There is Casper the friendly white eggplant in the patch,
And Yankee Bell sweet pepper for which there is no match.
The staked edible pea pods are merrily growing like crazy,
Row of Ruby Red, and garlic with coming flowers look lazy.
Stagger planted radish and lettuce keep the kitchen at bay.
A caballado of Rufus, Clive and Billy enjoy the cool clear day.
Seed heads five pods each of the tree peony, full of treasure.
Ohio buckeye showy clusters produce fruit beyond measure.
New wood shavings happy hens cogitating as they squat,
Preparing the secret of the coop,doesn't get any better than that.
Fragrant lavender - look closely - there are honey bees galore,
Stunning blooms of flox, echinacea, trumphet lillies and more:
A good year for hydrangeas growing next to the 'stone yard;'
Chicken coops are nestled beside the tall trees standing guard.
The cutting garden hides behind the beautiful rail fence,
A carriage road to the woods,in the shadows an old friend,perchance:
Dry streams, hundreds of little critters trapped, if I had a wish,
I would beg Martha to dig a little pond and save the wee fish.
The wind in the willows with it's magical unforgettable sound,
Perhaps Mr Toad and Mole are hiding and smiling
underground.
Martha is working on a Vineyard with rows of edible grapes,
Wild rasberries, four beehives, lots of bees for blooms of all shapes;
The espaliered apples look enticing, cheeky and oh! so healthy,
They send a message while clinging fervently "reach out and touch me."
.
.
with love to all. celia.
Posted by: celia stock | July 6th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Wow, and I thought my garden was big. Your vegetable garden is huge! Gorgeous photos!
Posted by: Jodi | July 6th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Hi Martha, Welcome back home! Thanks for another fantastic blog! I can hardly wait to see your new entertaining book and see your new Hallmark TV Shows! Your beautiful farm looks like the weather finally cooperated in your area. I love all of your photos, especially #s 23, 28, 29, 34, 38, 49, 53, 55, 57, 62 & 63! It's obvious your great gardening crew has done an especially great job! It's finally warming up here and dry for a change! My green beans are finally about 6 to 8 inches tall and my tomatoes finally have some blossoms! Stay cool in this hot weather! I'll bet all of your animals only like to go out at night- too hot for them. Hope you had a fun 4th of July. Love, Jan P.S. Thanks Trish for your kind thoughts! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | July 6th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Great that you had a chance to enjoy some leisure time at your East Hampton home. The farm looks wonderful and i love Martha's Vineyard!
Posted by: sherey | July 6th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Dear Martha,
How can I transform those peony seed pods into a new plant? Is it a viable endeavor?
-Olympia
Posted by: Olympia | July 6th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Just out of curiosity, what is Annie, the wardrobe stylist, wearing on her feet?
Posted by: Elizabeth Gage | July 6th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Martha, I am always grateful to you for sharing your beautiful properties with us especially your farm. Thanks for showing more of your cutting flowers.
Photo #20 of the garlic stalk with the flower was gorgeous! I've been focused lately and passionate about fresh garlic and garlic scape. I think you have garlic scape there. The flowers become clusters of what look like small garlic cloves, Cheryl Rogowski calls them "garlic pearls". They all are great for cooking. Cheryl is a farmer in Pine Island, NY who was a MacArthur Genius Award recipient as a farmer. Through her CSA she taught me a lot about unusual greens from her farm.
I think the other local farmers are happy she introduced scape to her farm customers. Now garlic scape sells for $18 a pound, instead of them just drying up with the stalk it became another source of income. I've been experimenting with it. Added to soups and sauteed veggies, it works as a nice flavor enhancer. I hope you'll save and harvest the scapes and try them for yourself.
Posted by: Nikki | July 7th, 2010 at 12:22 am
Thank you for sharing pictures of the farm... looks idyllic and I can only imagine the fresh smells. Congratulations!
Posted by: Glen Salo | July 7th, 2010 at 12:26 am
So pleased you are including a special recipe for rhubarb. I had a patch where bugs did not touch the plants. It was fabulous. I hope one day you run a contest whereby someone wins a day with MARTHA STEWART at the house/farm. Oh, wouldn't your fans be so thrilled just to enter. We'll all keep our fingers and toes crossed in hopes that you run such a contest/prize. Thanks
Posted by: http://twitter.com/Geotravel | July 7th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Thanks so much for posting the pics, especially the garden shots. I was worried about the size of my plants here in KY. I'm new to gardening. But seeing yours mine seem ok....*fingers crossed*
Posted by: SisterP | July 8th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Boy howdy them is some fine fine garden pics.
Makes me want to plant a garden and then eat the vegetables on a table outside in the sun
Posted by: Anne | July 8th, 2010 at 11:52 am
HI MARTHA,
I love your AWESOME garden. My back yard is small so we grow are veggies in pots. Our tomatoes,potatoes and peppers are small but they taste great.
Thanks for all your great ideas. ( FAN )
Posted by: Aicia Holloway | July 12th, 2010 at 2:33 am
Hello Martha, Your pictures of your garden are spectacular, but my favourite is the CASPER eggplant. Very hard to find in Canada where I live, we had to drive around for about 12 hours in another province one year before we found a small farm that grew them and the also called them casper. My family grew up with the white eggplant in italy. Love it, love your blog, keep doing what you are doing.
Posted by: Connie. G | August 10th, 2010 at 10:36 am