Planting The Skylands Terrace
You may recall from reading my blog that each spring, I travel to Skylands, my home on Mt. Desert Island in Maine for the all-important task of planting the many large urns and containers that adorn the exterior of the house. This is a big job that generally takes two days to get done and it certainly helps having a small crew to join in. My gardener, Ryan McCallister and I plan for this many months in advance and we try to save and propagate as much plant material as possible, which greatly cuts down on cost. The Maine planting weekend is certainly one I enjoy and having decent weather added to the fun.
1 It was planting time again in Maine. The Skylands cracked ice terrace looked bleak even though the perennials in the beds around the house are growing nicely. None of the large planters had been planted and we looked forward to a busy Memorial Day weekend.
2 The Western Terrace was equally bleak. All the Eric Soderholdz bowls were lined with plastic, drains cut, and shards of pottery put over the holes. The bowls were then filled with good potting soil - a mix of sterile soil, very well rotted leaf mold, and compost.
3 I chose many different kinds of pants for this year's planting. These large plants are wintered over in Bedford at the farm, in a large plastic hoop house. They were carefully loaded in a covered trailer and driven to Maine.
4 Birds nest ferns, stag horn ferns, alocasias, big agaves, and many filler succulents and small trailing plants were taken to Maine. We had also wintered over many ferns and colocasias in Maine, where we have a small greenhouse.
5 The scaffolding is up for a gutter repair. As in most of the northeast, Seal Harbor was badly affected by the long, cruel, icy, snowy winter. A large portion of the house gutter fell, pulled down by the weight of the heavy ice dams on the roof.
7 Our crop of alocasia is kept in soil, in plastic pots, and watered sparingly during the winter. Once planted, watered, and fed, they will grow into full glory.
8 The giant, heavy Soderholz planters (reinforced concrete from the 1920s), are now planted with a large silver-blue agave, lots of echevaria, and dichondra.
9 The stone trough I purchased last year at Trade Secrets is now filled with bi-colored agave, all three-year-old off-shoots from the parent plant.
12 The pink Soderholz bowls are now planted with a giant birds nest fern, purple oxalis, and trailing dichondra - much of it saved from last year.
13 My precious old planters - French, but date unknown, are planted with stag horn ferns. They will fill out nicely in the shade of the western terrace.
14 The lady, La Riviere by Aristide Maillol, had her winter shelter removed and is awaiting her mossy bed to turn green and cozy.
19 Mike filled in beds with alocasia and calocasia roots, which will thrive in the warmth and sun of the southern terrace.
20 It's not easy dealing with giant, prickly agave plants. One must be careful of one's eyes, face, and skin.
21 There are beds descending with the stairways to the lower path. Those beds are now filled with alocasia.
22 The vines on the retaining walls and the house are ancient actinidia, which are small kiwi. This great, fast-growing, sturdy vine is fruit producing.
26 Ryan supervises all of the planting with me. I generally design and plan what goes where and Ryan makes it happen. I also purchase the new plants, and add to my collections.
28 There's nothing to eat on the terrace, but maybe Gretchen will bring us some croissants and cappuccino?
30 Unfortunately, we had a major problem with the outdoor water supply. Air got into the line and we had to get a compressor to blow out the lines. That took seven hours!!!!!!
34 This is a view from my terrace looking over Seal Harbor and Sutton's Island in the near distance.
35 Golden lysimachia is great for under planting. As it grows, it spreads and trails over the edge of the pot.