Cabbages and Kings Garden Tour
There have been many garden tours on my property in the past given by my head gardener, Shaun Kass, but this tour was a bit special for him. Cabbages and Kings is a garden tour group that includes not one but two of Shaun’s former teachers. Dr. Richard Lighty was his professor for plant genetics and Rodney Robinson taught him landscape architecture. The group drove up from Philadelphia for the day to visit my and two other local gardens. Fortunately, the rain and sudden cold subsided, making it a beautiful day for a garden tour!
1 Russ Jones, my gardener Shaun Kass, Dr. Richard Lighty, Rodney Robinson, Steve Hutton, Anne Hutton, Sally Lighty, and (not shown, as he was photographing) Rick Ledownski
2 The tour began at my main greenhouse.
3 Shaun Kass, my head gardener, began with an overview of his background. He has been working for me since 2009 and has a degree in Ornamental Horticulture. He also graduated from the Professional Gardening Training Program at Longwood Gardens.
4 Everyone was quite taken with my collection. Rick Lewandowski and Rodney Robinson took photos of my Bat Flower, shown here standing with Russ Jones.
5 Bat Flower, or Tacca chantrieri, is a stunning exotic plant native to the jungles of Southeast Asia.
6 Onto the headhouse, where Shaun handed out maps of the gardens on my property.
7 Here's a map of my property and the locations of my gardens.
8 A garden tour would not be complete without stopping in my vegetable garden.
9 Shaun went over what we typically have growing in the garden, like these patches of basil and parsley.
10 The group inquired why there weren't any tomato plants. Shaun explained that the tomatoes we had were affected by blight from the large amount of rain this summer.
11 Still growing in the autumn weather are my lettuce patches, where you can see arugula, cabbage, spinach, and other leafy greens growing. Ryan, my other gardener, weeds in the background.
12 Anne examines the soil.
13 After the vegetable garden, they looked at my collection of citrus plants that are currently outside of the headhouse.
14 The group was especially interested in one of my more unusual citruses, the Buddha's Hand. It is named as such for it's uniquely shaped fruit and also because it is traditionally used as a religious offering in Buddhist temples.
15 The fruit resembles a closed hand before it matures, but will turn yellow and the "fingers" will spread out.
16 Another beautiful species is this Striped Lemonade Lemon, with its magnificent green streaks on the peel.
17 Dr. Lighty wrote down some of the names of citrus plants in my collection to research them later and suggested a few other species for Shaun to consider.
18 The pergolas outside the headhouse and elsewhere on my property are made with these beautiful Chinese Granite posts.
19 Rick and Russ stopped to talk to Ryan.
20 Walking down the carriage road away from the garden, Shaun points out the Clematis Arbor, bordered by Rose of Sharon bushes. They discussed the problems of wilting Clematis plants.
21 On the other side of the Clematis Arbor, orange and yellow lillies are planted in front of the Tenant House. They bloomed brightly earlier this summer.
22 On the other side of the Rose of Sharons is the Southeast Paddock. This Weeping European Hornbean tree is not doing as well as hoped. It has not yet recovered from being transplanted.
23 This beautiful Weeping Copper Beech, however, is doing better.
24 Along the path to the Winter House, there are espaliered apple trees of different varieties.
25 On the patio in front of the house, Shaun planted parsley, rosemary, and chamomile, making it easy to pick fresh herbs while cooking in the kitchen.
26 Next to the entrance of my kitchen is a large Weeping Katsura, which is native to Japan and China.
27 Vivaldi came by to say hello everyone.
28 Flanking the walkway is a type of agave. The sharp tips of this cactus were used by Native Americans as sewing needles.
29 Layered shrubs make for beautiful landscaping in front of my house.
30 Dr. Lighty commented on the new growth on the top of this tree, the Norfolk Island Pine. Shaun had carefully removed the top because it had been damaged during a storm.
31 On the other side of the Winter House is my tropical terrace, a place where I like to place my more exotic tropical plants in the warmer months.
32 In front of the summer house is a group of Yellow Magnolia trees. At this time of year, they produce brightly colored fruit.
33 Dick and Rick talked about Autumn Flowering Witch Hazel.
34 And of course, my beautiful peony garden with a boxwood border. They will not bloom until the spring.
35 Walking down to the stable, Shaun pointed out the paulownia trees (on left). This tree is very fast growing and rot resistance, and is frequently used for reforestation.
36 Looking east from the stable on of my favorite places on my property, the boxwood allee.
37 Sally and Anne stopping to say hello to one of my horses.
38 Betsy, my stable manager, was out for a ride with Rutger and stopped to meet the group.
39 Betsy answered questions about the stable and the horses.
40 Anne was especially fascinated by the Friesian breed and how beautiful they are!
41 The next stop on the tour was a walk through the Pinetum, my collection of various species of pines, and showed them the hoop house. He told them about how we will be building an additional one for this winter.
42 He pointed out the different types of pines and the latest additions I purchased from Hardscrabble Farms.
43 The last stop of the tour was my coldhouse, a place for me to grow vegetables through the winter.
44 Shaun explained what had already been planted, including a variety of leafy greens and tomatoes.
45 After a lovely tour, the group was off to two more gardens in the area.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
I KNOW the group had a great time, getting to see all of that beauty on your farm.
But, I have a question, just how cold is it in your cold house during the winter. Is there any heat in there, at all?
The reason I ask is...Last winter,I had some plants in a makeshift structure with layers of plastic and sheets of insulation over it, and the plants froze and died.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | October 12th, 2011 at 12:24 am
Nice photo !!
Posted by: Kimiko | October 12th, 2011 at 3:05 am
Shaun Kass has done so well and these photos show it.
Posted by: ann | October 12th, 2011 at 4:09 am
Hi, Martha,
It's great you, Shaun, and the team had the opportunity to show the results of all your hard work to other professionals in the industry. The timing of the tour was interesting. Everything looked great in spite of the recent storms; however, will they return to enjoy your property in full spring and summer bloom? I particularly enjoyed seeing the beautiful rendering of the landscape plan.
Thank you!
Posted by: Bobbie | October 12th, 2011 at 4:31 am
What a treat for everyone. This was no doubt one group of visitors who could appreciate all the nuances that go into your various "areas". And the head gardener to lead teachers though his work has to be "heady".
Your gardens are well documented but still, to see them in the grand picture is so rewarding. Just a tad overstated as I have done NO work in your gardens just enjoy them.
Posted by: Susan | October 12th, 2011 at 6:06 am
You have a gem in Shaun!
Posted by: Jayne | October 12th, 2011 at 7:49 am
The gardens are inspiring! What an intriguing name for a garden tour group, Cabbages and Kings. It sounds like a delicious title of an english romance novel!
Posted by: Cindy F | October 12th, 2011 at 8:39 am
It's so interesting to see that you have Paulownia planted. Is it P. tomentosa? Because I live in the southeastern US, I cringe whenever I see that tree. The flowers are beautiful and so interesting; however, here P. tomentosa is a very aggressive invasive species. I imagine it's better behaved up in the northeast?
Posted by: Sue | October 12th, 2011 at 8:56 am
How about posting a downloadable *.pdf of the garden map shown in Picture 7?
Posted by: JohnJ | October 12th, 2011 at 9:52 am
Martha, thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | October 12th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Hi Martha, I recall seeing several other delightful tours of your fantastic gardens on your Bedford farm and this tour is really special! Shaun Kass is a superior head gardner and not only is he a terrific gardner, but his tour guiding for his former teachers and Cabbages and Kings group is fabulous! Thank God the weather was so lovely that day! Everyone of these photos is absolutely stunning and every section looked more beautiful that ever! The comments for this blog are also superior! It sure is fun to take this tour and to see Ryan, Betsy, Rutger, and another Friesian, also! Everyone of your gardenhouses look outstanding and all of the rest of your farm looks even more fabulous since hurricane Irene and the other storms thanks to Shaun, Ryan, and the farm crew members! Will be great to see another hoop house this winter! Thanks so much for sharing this terrific blog post-FANTASTIC! Can't wait to see you on the Today Show today and see F,S,&GK on your TV Show today! Hope you have another great day again! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | October 12th, 2011 at 10:24 am
Hi Martha,
I always love the blogs about your farm. How wonderful it would be to take a tour of your property! I was wondering though, could you post an image of the map of your property that you showed in this blog? It would be great to have that to reference when you talk about the different areas on your farm.
Thanks,
Janet
Posted by: Janet | October 12th, 2011 at 11:32 am
What a lovely day for you all! Again, loved the pictures of your very beautiful gardens, plants, etc. I love Ann's delightful look gazing at your horse. That would be me too. Truly a beautiful horse! Thanks Martha.
Posted by: Frances | October 12th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Hi Martha,
You have so many unusual and beautiful plants – what a thrill for anyone who gets an opportunity to see them along with taking a tour of the farm!
~
I loved the show again today – I think having a sous chef is a great idea and of course all the doggies in their Martha Stewart PetSmart Halloween costumes were adorable. The hour really flew by! Trish
Posted by: Trish | October 12th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
These pictures are so wonderful, Martha. I would love to make my way up to that area and tour it for myself. You are so delightful and I know it'd be amazing to see everything.
Love, Jane
Posted by: Jane | October 12th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Please send me a copy of your Beef Pot Pie with sliced potato topping. This was on your Oct 12 10:00 tv show.
Thank you we enjoy your show very much.
Posted by: Aurel Paquette | October 13th, 2011 at 11:21 am
Martha,
I have been a big fan for many years. I have a collection of your early shows that I taped on my old VCR many years ago and also about 100 of your magazines and books.
I have been a "student" of yours taking classes in so many different subjects. An education like this would take many years to acquire and cost thousands of dollars. I don't get a report card or a diploma, but no one can take away the education I have received from The University of Martha Stewart!
I have been in your studio audience twice and was in awe of how relaxed you have become and most of all--humorous. I too have become a grandmother and can see how much joy it brings to you. Congratulation and continued success to your family and friends at MSL. You deserve everything you've earned by working tirelessly over the years. You're perhaps the best example for our youth out there, regardless of sex, teaching life skills most children can't get from their own parents. Your show has many very young children learning your Life 101 skills and "good things". Keep up the good work you do for our future generations.
Posted by: Nancy Trotta | October 13th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Hi! My husband and I are remodeling our kitchen/dining room and we just purchased the Ox Hill cabinets in Ocean Floor. We absolutely love them! We choose to go with Misty Carrera Ceasarstone countertops, have dark brown oak floors, and stainless steel appliances. Everything is beautiful so far but we are having an extremely difficult time picking a paint color for the walls. Could you please offer us a few color suggestions? We having been using Benjamin Moore paint in the rest of the home, not sure if that info is helpful. Thank you!
Posted by: Bonnie Thompson | October 14th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Nice to see a Norfolk Island Palm which are common along the coastlines in Australia, great for making pretend swords with the branchlets. You strip the leaves from the wood to get the sword and the case.
Posted by: Karen Davis | October 14th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
How nice that Shaun got to show his old teachers his work today. I love the bat flowers, so interesting!
Posted by: Brian Deniz | October 16th, 2011 at 11:58 am