A Very Rainy Week at the Farm
On my previous farm blog last week, I wrote how the weather has been really cooperating and how well the gardens are responding. If only it had stayed like that! Several days ago, it started raining and it continued to rain day, after day, after day! Last Thursday, I Tweeted that I fear for my garden this season – very, very wet!!! The cabbages have drowned. Well, as it turns out, not all the cabbages in the vegetable garden have drowned, but it seemed like an eternity before the sun started to shine again. Here are some photos taken between rain showers.
1 The azalea bushes outside of the summer house are putting on a magnificent display.
2 The tree peony bed, which was transplanted from my home on Turkey Hill, is blooming away.
3 We had great success moving these rather temperamental transplants.
4 The holes here in Bedford were dug in advance, waiting for the tree peony plants.
5 As soon as the peonies arrived, they were quickly planted, watered, and fed well.
6 Every single plant survived and is thriving.
7 New boxwood and a new path outside of my home
8 My mother's memorial red maple has really grown in the past four years.
9 The plaque at the base
10 Looking across the farm towards the equipment barn and the allee of pin oak
11 The road leading to the stable is flanked with boxwood and red horse chestnut trees. That large rock is my mounting block, also brought here from Turkey Hill.
12 Hello little chipping sparrow! I love your trilling songs.
13 Thick and lush hosta with ostrich ferns behind
14 A beautiful allium bloom
15 The allium border next to the pergola - Allium are standouts in the early spring-summer garden.
16 Droplets of rain clinging to the feathery needles of bald cypress
17 A delicate California poppy - A mystery plant, this poppy may have been brought to this garden by a burrowing squirrel.
18 Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty' - a brilliant hybrid of several Asian Mayapples
19 A very sweet bergenia cordifolia
20 The delicate flowers of a double-file viburnum look very similar to the flat flowers of the lacecap hydrangea.
21 The double-file viburnum is a really impressive-looking shrub.
22 In the same garden is another type of viburnum that has snow ball type flowers.
23 A closeup of those blooms
24 Spanish Bluebells, or Hyacinthoides hispanica, grow nicely in both sun and deep shade.
25 Rain drops on hosta
26 Bartok explored the gardens between rain showers.
27 It looks as though the petals of this bearded iris were drawn on with pen and ink.
28 Sasa enjoying the outdoors
29 More azaleas blooming down near the Japanese maple grove
30 A fragrant display of pretty lilac
31 Gray skies over Bedford
32 The standard lilac trees are blooming well.
33 Wisteria standards blooming near the pergola
34 My Har-Tru tennis court is open for the season.
35 With so much rain, the underbrush deep in the woods is quite verdant.
36 In preparation for planting pole beans, Ryan soaked the seeds to soften them a bit.
37 Trionfo Violetto - purple pole bean turns green when cooked
38 Bobis a Grano Nero - pole bean - 6-7" long stringless green beans
39 Santa Anna - deep green pole bean 8-9" long
40 Meraviglia di Venezia - yellow roma type of pole bean 10+"
41 Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco - pole type shell bean for soups/fresh cooked beans
42 Anellino Giallo - curved yellow pole bean
43 Smeraldo - flat roma type of pole bean
44 Borlotto Lamon - 'The' bean for pasta fagiolo
45 Franchi is the oldest family run seed company in the world. http://www.growitalian.com/
46 In fact, Giovanni Franchi the current Mr. Franchi's great, great, great, great, great grandfather, started selling seed from his horse drawn cart at the local market piazza the same year that Mozart wrote his first mass!
47 We decided to plant the climbing pole beans along the garden fence. Ryan prepared the narrow bed.
48 Ryan used a dibber to make inch-deep holes.
49 One seed per hole.
50 Cover the holes.
51 Label the row.
52 The peas planted last month are growing well along their fence supports.
53 It's always amazing to see how tendrils attach themselves.
54 I'm happy to see that the fava beans are nice and strong.
55 And look how large the gooseberries are getting!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
The peonies are lovely and I'm anxiously waiting for them to bloom in Bucks County PA. At this writing they remain fat round tight balls, almost ready. So much rain here lately I actually had to squeeze (gently) water from peat pots of tomato plants before putting them in the ground. The best part about this weather is weeding. Every one comes out of the ground so easily and always root intact.
Posted by: Patty | May 23rd, 2011 at 12:44 am
Loved all the photos. Thank you for sharing that.
Posted by: Karen | May 23rd, 2011 at 3:49 am
Martha, everything is so, so very beautiful!!!!!
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | May 23rd, 2011 at 5:40 am
Lovely images! Yes, it has been very rainy here in NY. I hope things begin to dry up soon. The sun has been so elusive this Spring. Have a wonderful day.
Posted by: Al | May 23rd, 2011 at 7:43 am
Martha.
What a wonderland you have created, you must feel so happy wandering around with your camera, just beautiful.
Posted by: Aussie gal | May 23rd, 2011 at 8:59 am
Hi Martha,
Maybe it’s a good thing you can’t hear me oohing and aahing over your pictures but nonetheless, that’s what I’m doing. I especially like #1 - the color of those azaleas is gorgeous! We’re in a drought here in Florida but the rains should start coming soon, usually in June. One summer we had rain almost every afternoon but not so much last year when we really needed it. Your peonies are something else and it’s great that you were able to transplant them from Turkey Hill. Everything grows so nicely at Bedford and I’m sure your beans will too. You have a really nice variety. Trish
Posted by: Trish | May 23rd, 2011 at 9:08 am
Hi Martha, Thank you so much for this beautiful recent tour of your phenominal farm! I've already gone through this fantastic tour twice and will enjoy seeing it over and over again! All of your photos are magnificent and even though you've had wet weather just like we do, all of your flowers look beautiful and the peas look wonderful!! Seeing your peas doing so well reminds me of my Dad who worked for a pea seed company and we got to have samples all the time-delicious! I love seeing Ryan plant those pole beans. Sure would like to try some of those new ones. Still can't find yours at Home Depot. Beautiful photo's of Bartok and Sasa-both looked darling! We did have dry, warmer days most of last week, but we are back to showers for the next ten days or so and back in the 40's and 50's again. Need to check The Daily Wag next-all three dogs are checking out the allium at your farm-fun!!! Hope you have a warm, dry week and have a great day again today! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | May 23rd, 2011 at 10:06 am
The sky, the weather, the photos....look like here in Oregon! Always a celebration when the sun is shining!
Clayvessel
Posted by: Clayvessel from Pie in the Sky | May 23rd, 2011 at 10:23 am
Isn't it such a shame when you wait all year for a plant to flower and then it is spoiled by rain. My beloved peonies were washed out this year...oh well there is always next season.
I love the California poppy, aren't mystery arrivals fun.
Posted by: SilverMagpies | May 23rd, 2011 at 10:43 am
Martha, the farm looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | May 23rd, 2011 at 11:12 am
Love your blog Martha. It's a good thing to read up on what is going on. Thank you.
Benigna Marko
Posted by: Benigna Marko | May 23rd, 2011 at 11:46 am
Last week was very rainy here, also...this week is not beginning too great either. With all the rain, your gardens look beautiful and not washed out at all. I always enjoy the photos of your property! It looks so peaceful...
Posted by: Judy | May 23rd, 2011 at 11:51 am
Hi, there, Martha,
I'm so excited! Because you take such great care with your closeup pictures of plants and their identifications, I caught myself recognizing plants at my local nursery that I would have otherwise walked past. Their shape and texture caught my eye. Thank you!
Posted by: Bobbie B. Benton | May 23rd, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Amazingly gorgeous photos of your plants and flowers. Your mother's memorial red maple tree looks beautiful. Blessings
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | May 23rd, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Beautiful pictures Martha, so colourfull, just amazing
Posted by: Pia Lindqvist | May 23rd, 2011 at 4:35 pm
I love beans but not sure I could figure out what to do with all the varieties you are growing. We are pretty much dryland pinto bean country that are harvested with machinery. Sort the rocks off before cooking. Pole beans are interesting but do look as if they may require more work.
The blossoms are very inviting and would make a person want to walk the gardens every day.
Posted by: Margie | May 23rd, 2011 at 6:15 pm
I can't get enough of your farm! LOVE LOVE LOVE these photos. Beautiful to look at and an inspiration for our own gardens (You know. The ones without our own Sean!)
Posted by: stephanie | May 23rd, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Thank you for sharing. I just loved the photos and really liked the one of your mother's memorial. Your mother touched many hearts and even though many of us never knew her we still felt like we did know her. Keep the pictures coming.
Posted by: Mayvis Schwab | May 23rd, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Yes, it's so wet in the East! What do you do about slugs? I found two on my pole bean seedlings today. How does your gardening team combat these slimy pests?
Posted by: KCK | May 23rd, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Martha.....I've been looking for a purple martin bird community on your grounds. I so enjoy my martins every year. I also have 2 bluebird families nesting on my property. A mockingbird is nesting, and he loves to sing to me every time I'm outside gardening! and last but not least are zillions of hummingbirds feasting on my front porch!
Posted by: Kathleen Humphrey | May 23rd, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Now it needs to stop raining...everything looks quite healthy and will be spectacular when the sun returns! Too much rain and cool weather here in Vancouver, BC as well but my boxwood is flourishing with abandon!
Posted by: sherey | May 24th, 2011 at 11:20 am
Thank you, these pictures are wonderful.
Posted by: Annie | May 24th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
i love the photos, especially those of the flowers! thanks!
Posted by: rose barin | May 24th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
A gorgeous garden!
Posted by: Charo | May 24th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Wonderful photos Martha! The rain is driving me crazy, but finally, the last 3 days have been mostly sunny with only some periods of rain on Sunday and Monday. Today the skies are blue and the sun is pouring onto my cedar deck. As I sit here in my Muskoka (Adirondack) chair, I admire the beautiful trees and Trillium flowers growing in the yard. Sweet bliss! I think I'll call over some of my girlfriends tonight and have a little party in the backyard - wine and cheese, yum!
Posted by: Vesna | May 24th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
wow, that is just gorgeous! I have noticed the farms around where I live, it seems the corn just sprouted OVERNIGHT!!! all of a sudden there are flowery bushes about and the fields are full. this is my favorite part of the year.
Posted by: How to Macrame | May 26th, 2011 at 5:37 pm