Planting the Terrace at Skylands
Skylands, my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, is a magnificent place and one of my favorite areas is the grand terrace with its fabulous views. This commanding space deserves amazing plantings and every spring, one day is devoted to filling the many urns I have collected over the years. You may recall from a recent blog, that many plants were taken to Maine by trailer, from my greenhouses in Bedford. Skylands also has a greenhouse where many other tender tropical specimens are protected throughout the long and frigid winter. Planting the terrace is satisfying work and my Memorial Day guests were very happy to pitch in.
1 Here I am planting kalanchoe beharensis - Velvet Elephant Ear - a slow growing succulent tree-like shrub with large, undulating leaves which have a soft, velvety texture.
2 A native of Madagascar, kalanchoe beharensis is frost tender and spends the winter in the greenhouse at Skylands.
3 Jensen and Mike, part of the Skylands crew, carrying a kalanchoe onto the terrace.
4 To save on potting soil, in large urns, fill the bottom space with upside down empty plastic pots and set your plant material on top of them.
5 Here's the finished pot accentuated with bright alocasia - elephant ear plants.
6 I then got busy and planted a long cement trough planter.
7 These are some of the succulents that Shaun grew this past winter in the Bedford greenhouse.
8 It takes many plants to fill this a trough this size.
9 I think this will fill in very nicely.
10 Hannah planted dracena in a couple of urns which are a reproduction of one of several designed by British garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.
11 Kevin walking to the terrace with some pots of scented geranium.
12 After finding Francesca nibbling on a kiwi vine, I explained to Kate how Francesca blogged about eating medicinal styrex bark last week.
13 This is one of a pair of glazed terra-cotta sphinxes designed by Emile Muller, which guard the entrance to the house.
14 Kate choosing her plant material
15 Hannah and Kate working on another planting
16 Nicely done!
17 Planting another Gertrude Jekyll reproduction urn. Gertrude Jekyll was one of the twentieth century's most important British landscape designers and writers.
18 Kevin planting a tropical called cordyline.
19 Ian was busy with this palm surrounded by scented geranium.
20 To protect these rather porous and fragile pots, I lined them with garbage bag liners so they wouldn't soak up too much water.
21 The garbage bags have drain holes at the bottom and are neatly tucked inside the pot and after planting, are no longer visible.
22 Ryan helped me plant this large urn, a creation of sculptor and potter Eric Soderholtz, with alocasia.
23 Scented geraniums made a nice contrast with the purple cordyline.
24 Here I am planting a couple of other great urns, at the entrance to the terrace pergola.
25 Ian working hard
26 This fun sedge is called fiber optic grass.
27 This grass has long, slender green stems and tiny, round silver blooms at the very end.
28 I love the purple veins and stems of this alocasia.
29 A perfect pot for this bromeliad
30 With many hands and lots of work, the terrace is really looking great!
31 Another view
32 And another
33 And another view
34 If only you could see the view!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Martha, everything looks so beautiful. How great to have all of that help to get things in order. If I had that kind of help, I'd be living in my very old house instead of just wishing I could. Would you like to send them on down?
Do the vines on the walls not harm them? What kind of vines are they?
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | June 6th, 2011 at 12:19 am
Come to my house Martha!
Posted by: BluBabesCreate | June 6th, 2011 at 12:23 am
WOW! what a nice job! Nice to see kevin getting his hands dirty! LOL
http://www.themalemartha.com
I brought back some GIANT elephant ears from the Biltmore Estate, The now flank my walk way to the rear of my home. Tropical plants and succulents give a great contrast!
Dan Viger
Hollis center, Maine.
Posted by: Dan Viger | June 6th, 2011 at 12:53 am
I love the fiber optic grass and used it last year, only to find that it freely reseeds and is very hard to remove from all the places I did not want it, even in containers. Your looks lovely with the other plants!
Posted by: Christa | June 6th, 2011 at 1:07 am
The terrace looks fabulous with the new potted plants. Nice addition, and may you enjoy your time there this summer! Love it.
Brenda
Posted by: Brenda Knowlton | June 6th, 2011 at 3:39 am
...wowowowowow...I would say 'lucky ducky' but I know that you worked very hard for the lifestyle you've attained...so, I'll just call you a ducky with great taste...
Posted by: Monica | June 6th, 2011 at 6:44 am
I love the beautiful images of the planting work that you did at your estate. The sphinxes by Emile Muller are exquisite, and they look right at home placed at your entryway.
Posted by: Al | June 6th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Hi Martha!
I love following your blog and viewing all of the great pictures you post! I am a very amateur gardener and farmer and love the ideas I get from watching you! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Chelsea | June 6th, 2011 at 9:45 am
Hi Martha, It certainly would be great to see the beautiful view from your stunning terrace there at Skylands. but seeing the terrific urn planting project is absolutely fantastic, also! What a great group you had doing all of that work to get the terrace ready for many more trips to Skylands this year! I just love viewing the planting project and learning new ways to save planting soil and fill those beautiful urns. I have some big pots I got from your earlier online project selling section back in the early 2000's and was filling them with styrofoam and now I can use those plastic pots I also have to save planting soil. Great idea! I see that you still have moss on the terrace and I still have some in the shady areas of my yards. Can't wait to see all of those terrific plants tne next time you go to Skylands-I know they will be beautiful! Hope you are having fun at Home Depot in Toronto today! Off to see The Daily Wag's 'Exploring Bar Harbor'! Have another great day! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | June 6th, 2011 at 10:23 am
Wow, Martha...that was a lot of planting! It looks so beautiful already, just imagine in a few weeks how everything will fill out. Amazing! I love your terrace with the views, and the urns are spectacular.
Posted by: Judy | June 6th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Martha and crew,
Who bribed who. I am thinking everyone found it a treat and relaxing day. Did Hannah's feet get cold? Is there a large coat closet for such occasions or Hannah just didn't read the memo going out to all potential pot planters to take layers of clothing.
Posted by: Margie | June 6th, 2011 at 10:49 am
Martha........How lovely. I make great use of the optic grass in planters. I love to watch when a breeze blows.
Posted by: Sharon | June 6th, 2011 at 11:28 am
Martha, thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | June 6th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Hi Martha,
The terrace looks so nice with all the planters filled. A lot of your plants sound familiar; some don’t so it’s nice to learn about those. You’ve given me lots of ideas too. I have a plant similar to the cordyline Kevin planted but I never thought about putting my geranium next to it. I think I will get some more planters and redo a few things. I always like your old TV shows when you filmed what you were putting in pots on the terrace or back porch at Skylands and Paw Paw and Zu Zu would be guarding the door to the house.
~
I came across an article about Bridget Moynahan who is in Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck and remembered her from your show. I watched it again and it happened to be the same show with Kirk Douglas which reminded me about his book that I never purchased but will. It is kind of funny the way one thing leads to another. Anyway, that was a great show with you in the audience taking questions and talking about your trips to France and Russia.
~
It looks like you’re having nice weather in Toronto at the Home Depot – 75 degrees. With humidity in South Florida, forecasters say it feels like 89. I agree and my grass is browning out with no rain in sight! Trish
Posted by: Trish | June 6th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Thank you again Martha!
I read you on my lunch time, it's a great escape!
Posted by: annie | June 6th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Martha I love the terrace!! Something about all that stone, pottery etc.! So gorgeous! Looks like you had a very fun day. I love gardening, planting and working outdoors and its seems like its your passion too! So much fun to make a space look beautiful!
Posted by: Frances | June 6th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Your terrace looks amazing. I have elephant ears and succulents in my patio. You inspire me all the time. Thanks.
Posted by: Komali Nunna | June 6th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
I would love to know how you start the moss that grows between the stones on your terrace. I have a similar patio and need to fill the gaps between the stones. Any help?
Thank You,
Jenny Steffens
http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com/2011/05/outdoor-patio-furniture-rediscovering.html
Posted by: Jenny Steffens | June 6th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Absolutely Beautiful! My wife and I are going to Bar harbor this weekend and it's a joy knowing that this place exists nearby. I am so glad that Skylands is taken care of this way and the details to gardening and the house are being taken care of like someone like you. Thank You!!!!
Brian
Posted by: Brian | June 6th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
The terrace looks superb and soon you will be hosting Summer parties there...and the guests will be able to take in the incredible view.
Posted by: sherey | June 6th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
LOVE the statues!!!!! BEAUTIFUL!
Posted by: stephanie | June 6th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Your blog is really wonderful. It' reminds me of the old style of your magazine, with great features and images of YOU making things wonderful. I wish you would go back to that, making it more Martha-y, and Martha on the cover. Anyway— congrats on a great blog Martha & Laura.
Posted by: Barbara Gookin | June 6th, 2011 at 8:28 pm
Amazing Ms. Stewart you to truly go above and beyond. Love the Velvet Elephant Ear.
Posted by: Michael Conley | June 6th, 2011 at 9:33 pm
No one could possibly have loved and cared for Skylands the way you have, Martha. It's truly heartwarming to see how excited you are each time you are there- and the way you never fail to appreciate and treasure every magnificant detail of the grand estate. I try to picture what life might have been like during the summertime in the nineteen twenties and thirties when the Fords were in residence. Cocktails first, with live music and dancing under the stars on the terrace; and later, delectable meals for the invited guests in the elegant dining room... You can almost feel the ghost of years past in your photos. Thank-You for sharing.
Posted by: Kate | June 7th, 2011 at 1:06 am
Rockefellers are so fortuante that you took this place off their hands and are making it wonderful
Posted by: ann | June 9th, 2011 at 10:02 am
Thank you for the pictures of Maine and Skylands. My husband and I love Maine and especially the park. I am caring for my parents and we have been unable to make the trip, so the pictures in many ways have been a comfort to me and a solace. I can go there in my mind. Hope to try again in late summer to make the trip, but every day is a different issue with parents 91 and 92! Thank you Martha and Laura!
Posted by: Laurie Thoner | June 12th, 2011 at 11:09 pm