Mid-April Around the Farm
It’s been a couple of weeks since I last gave a tour of my farm and with a few days of soaring temperatures, much has changed. It always amazes me how quickly plants can grow from day to day and so far, I am very happy with what I see albeit three weeks too early. We do have one serious issue, however, and that is a tremendous lack of rain. This does not bode well for the long summer ahead. A soaking rain is in the forecast for Sunday and I, for one, will be doing a rain dance on Saturday!
1 My farm as the end of April draws near
2 It was such a fine morning and I wanted to tour the farm on horseback. Here I am on one of the mounting blocks as Betsy holds Rinze steady.
3 All set to go! Betsy is Riding Ramon and is wearing a cleer new sun-brim that fits right over her riding helmet. I told her to get me one in khaki, if possible - Anything to protect delicate facial skin from the sun's harmful rays.
4 This is one of several species of Epimedium that I have growing in my shade gardens.
5 Another variety of Epimedium with purple flowers - These Epimediums emerge in early spring with their foliage nicely mottled or outlined in red, like this one.
6 Epimedium is also called Horny Goat Weed and is used medicinally as an aphrodisiac.
7 It's said that, years ago, a Chinese goat herder noticed that his herd of goats became more active with their mating behavior after grazing on Epimedium.
8 As you can see, the plant makes an excellent ground cover and spreads year after year.
9 An Epimedium with spider-like flowers
10 And another with dainty white and yellow blooms
11 An Epimedium with deep purple flowers and purple tinged leaves
12 Pink flowers and bronze foliage
13 Long green leaves
14 And an Epimedium with very showy dark pink and white blooms
15 Anemonella thalictroides 'Cameo' - Full double, light pink flowers that slowly fade to white, lasting from April to June
16 Variegated Sedge Grass - Sedge is an ornamental grass that makes an excellent ground cover in shady areas. These plants also do well in swampy, poorly drained areas.
17 Yellow trillium (Trillium luteum) about to bloom - Trillium plants produce no true leaves or stems above ground. Althought they are often called leaves, the leaf-like structures are actually bracts, which support the flower.
18 Ostrich ferns have taken over the far end of the shade garden, near the entrance to my gym building. The little structure you see is the housing for a time-lapse camera, which is capturing the amazing unfurling of these ferns.
19 Fritillaria meleagris, a member of the lily family, is commonly called Snake's Head Fritillary and Guinea-hen Flower. It has a unique chequered pattern in shades of purple.
20 These alien-looking plants are newly emerging Solomon's Seal, or Polygonatum.
21 Although a bit odd-looking now, these Solomon's Seal will eventually become long and slender arching stems with alternating lance-shaped leaves, with tubular flowers dangling beneath.
22 Still blooming are Erythronium ‘Pagoda’, a cultivar of the North American Trout Lily, a lovely, vigorous woodland plant.
23 It's always so exciting to watch the hosta poke through the ground and unfurl their leaves. These are spreading beautifully.
24 These very dramatic large leaves belong to ornamental rhubarb. Unlike edible rhubarb, this ornamental variety is a shade lover and will wilt in the sun.
25 A lovely Camperdown weeping elm
26 A closeup of its blossoms
27 A wonderful contrast of green Epimedium and bronze heuchera
28 The gardens flanking the long curved pergola are looking very neat and trim.
29 The standard wisteria on the ends are forming their fragrant clusters of blooms.
30 The beds have been edged so nicely.
31 Wilmer has done a great job here.
32 Honeybees are drawn to the muscari blooming in the pergola beds.
33 An emerging lily
34 The strawberry plants outside the greenhouse have been pollinated and are beginning to form fruit.
35 The pin-shaped needles of the bald cypress
36 I love the ribbon-like bark of the bald cypress.
37 The wild violets are quite thick in the grass this year next to the little pond.
38 Deep in the woods in the garden outside the little woodland shed are delicate white fritillaria.
39 Also emerging in the same garden are fuzzy cinnamon ferns.
40 The fronds of these ferns can grow to 5-feet long!
41 The moss growing on this rock along the carriage trail deep in the woods, is so non-verdant because of lack of rain.
42 The herbaceous peony garden is growing very quickly and is a good 3 weeks ahead of schedule. The aluminum stakes will be tied with string to help support the heavy flower heads.
43 The lilac grove is beginning bloom with its lovely fragrant flowers.
44 In preparation for an upcoming photo shoot, Ryan pruned out all the dead wood from the lilac grove.
45 Chhewang used a taut string as a guide for edging.
46 He then fired up the edger to cut through the thick sod along the length of string.
47 If you want straight lines, it's always a good idea to use string as a guide.
48 After cutting through the sod, Ghurme loosened and discarded the unwanted grass, which will find its way to the compost pile.
49 Meanwhile, the screens have been placed on the house windows and Empress Tang has found a new resting place.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Good morning Martha,
Beautiful photos of the farm, the flowers look gorgeous. Your peony garden looks amazing, I can't wait to see pictures when it blooms. Empress Tang looks soo cute.
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | April 19th, 2012 at 2:31 am
I do love looking at your farm pictures the most.
Posted by: Gretchen | April 19th, 2012 at 5:05 am
So, so beautiful! I love when you post pictures of your farm, although it does have a tendency to make our little spot of grass seem very inadequate. =)
Posted by: Jennifer | April 19th, 2012 at 6:59 am
Love seeing your plants. The best part is Empress Tang.
Posted by: Julie | April 19th, 2012 at 7:14 am
You and I had similar thoughts Martha! I just posted views of our property, the rustic fence my husband is building while we are on school vacation with our kids(we are both teachers), and our early spring plants making an early appearance in our world! I LOVE the first photo with the blue sky against the green grass...along with your rustic fence. Come visit my blog, where I try my best to chronicle our lives trying to fulfill our gardening dreams...along with a dollop of this and that mixed in. HAve a wonderful day.
Posted by: Nantucket Daffodil | April 19th, 2012 at 7:22 am
Thanks for showing us an update of the farm Martha, I agree with many of your fans that it is a favorite of your blog! It always puts a smile on my face and inspires me to make my surroundings as beautiful as I can. That is not always easy here in South Texas as we are also awaiting rain, predicted for tomorrow. I'll be doing MY rain dance today! I hope your area gets rain soon!
Posted by: Cindy F | April 19th, 2012 at 7:57 am
thank you so much for these photos. What is there about dancing that changes weather? The scant snow cover depleted reserve moisture here but our grandson and his Mother will join you doing that Lakota dance..
Posted by: ann | April 19th, 2012 at 8:34 am
So enjoy looking at all the pics. I'm in love with your rustic fence! hmmm...I have been wanting a split rail around our property, but that has a better feel. Great, our To-Do (Wish) List just got bigger, poor BaileyHusband
Posted by: Baileywife | April 19th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Hi Martha, Your Bedford farm looks absolutely beautiful in these awesome photos in mid-April! Sure wish our area looked as beautiful, but we are still having much cooler, wetter, and windier weather here in the Puget Sound area. I'll collect a whole bunch of rain and send it your way to get rid of your drought today and Friday! We are supposed to have a sunny weekend 3rd time in a row-sure hope so! How fun to see you and Betsy riding Rinze and Ramon around the farm! Photo #3 is awesome and Rinze and Ramon are so handsome!! Your shade garden flowers are gorgeous and so are all of the other flowers-love them all! The pergola area is outstanding! How fun to see some of your farm crew doing such great work making everything look so delightful-kudos to them!!!! Your peony garden is the best I've ever seen! Photo #49 is darling! Sure hope you have another great day and a nice, wet weekend! Hi Laura, want to wish your beautiful daughter, Sophie, a Happy Birthday today! Off to see The Daily Wag with Dr. Pia's video about saving that sweet, little, stray dog! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | April 19th, 2012 at 10:32 am
I can not promise that my rain dance will be as good as Dancing with the Stars but I will join you on Saturday Martha. The entire Northeast even as far south northern Virginia needs rain. I was on the road yesterday to and from there and it was consistent light rain all day. The farm is beautiful and inspiring. I hope that you get one of those brim hats. What a great idea! I am concerned about a hot, dry summer if we don't get enough rain from now to Memorial Day!! I am doing some gardening on Saturday!
Posted by: Teresa Touey | April 19th, 2012 at 10:54 am
Beautiful grounds -I am showing all the plants to our special ed students. I hope you show the plants for eating later. We have planted all colors of green beans.
Posted by: Kandy Maharas | April 19th, 2012 at 11:21 am
Hi Martha,
We’re supposed to get much needed rain also this weekend which we need desperately! We got a little last Friday but only enough so I didn’t have to run the sprinklers on Saturday. Every bit helps though because our water bills have been quite high lately.
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Your plants are starting to look great – I really like the Epimedium with the brown around the edges of the leaves. I have not heard of that plant before but it probably doesn’t grow in Florida. Actually, even if it does grow in Florida, I haven’t heard of it. Those cinnamon ferns are cute too. I need to get brave and start planting some really different kinds of plants. I tried tall lavender this year and they are growing nicely and I put in some yellow ixora but I had to move it more into the sun. My red ixora got really burned out in the cold weather and I had to give it a close trim. I think it will come back though with the fertilizer I added.
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Great show today with what goes on backstage before air time and I just read the news that you will have Martha’s Cooking School on PBS in the fall! (I was at Home Depot and Solid Waste Authority all morning.) Anyway, I’m so glad to hear that – I wondered how I would survive without watching your show since I haven’t missed any shows since 2000 except for when the hurricanes knocked out our power. It’s a good thing because I think everyone has access to PBS! Trish
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P.S. Be sure to film your rain dance for us to see!
Posted by: Trish | April 19th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Martha,
Love looking at the pictures of your farm. I love watching the season's change, especially the plants changing. I go outside and look at my yard every day and check out my plants every day this time of year to see the changes they made. Thank you for sharing yours. Can't wait to see the next pictures.
Posted by: Jody | April 19th, 2012 at 4:10 pm
Dear Martha, I so enjoy looking at the pictures of your beautiful farm. I especially like your comment about the rain dance. When the seasons change, I go outside and do a dance - Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter! Now I know that I'm in good company as I dance as we all share the beauty of each season and the glorious gifts of our beautiful earth.
Posted by: Mary Tilelli Redfield | April 19th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
Martha,
Everything looks good around the farm. I've been having PC problems. Looks like it can't be fixed this time, so I'm in the market for a new one.
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I had to catch up on blog post. The Yankee game looked exciting what great pics of the players. Also, the Titanic party you looked amazing.
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Well, until I get my new PC - take care.
Posted by: KLBrown | April 19th, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Absolutely beautiful! Isn't it wonderful to wander around one's garden and see the amazing differences in the individual plants from day to day in Spring. I, too, will be doing a rain dance on Saturday for some steady gentle rain on Sunday. Perhaps, if we look closely, we will see the plants doing a rain dance.
Posted by: Lauren Cardullo | April 19th, 2012 at 7:39 pm
Those cinnamon ferns look like shy little ducks.
Posted by: Karen | April 20th, 2012 at 5:54 am
Hello Martha! I love looking at your photos of life on the farm in every season! They are such an inspiration to me. Thank you so much.
Posted by: Hilary Cargill | April 22nd, 2012 at 1:27 pm