Springtime weather is off to a slow start here in the Northeast. This week brought rain and even a bit of snow in some areas, but the gardens continue to transform.
It always amazes me how quickly plants and trees grow from day to day. I am constantly noticing something new blooming at my farm. And, while many of the flowers are erupting with vibrant color, we've also been taking photos of the various trees and all the precious buds just waiting to open on their branches.
Enjoy these images. What trees are starting to bud near you? Share your comments below.
Here is one of two weeping cherry trees down behind my stable. This one is showing a bit of color on its branches. A weeping cherry tree is at its best when the pendulant branches are covered with pink or white flowers.
Here is a closeup of its branches.
And this is what the weeping cherries looked like a year ago with its pretty canopies – they’re a little late this season. The various species and cultivars offer a wide range of sizes, from eight-foot dwarfs to 40-foot types. These trees are big eye-catchers when guests are lucky enough to see them in bloom.
Aesculus hippocastanum is a large deciduous tree commonly known as the horse chestnut or conker tree. The flowers provide a rich source of nectar and pollen to insects, particularly the bees. I have two of these large specimens in front of the stable at the foot of the Boxwood Allee.
See the buds just waiting to open.
This is the horse-chestnut in late spring when it shows off many beautiful flowers.
There is a lot of forsythia blooming this time of year. They are among the first plants of spring to burst forth in the garden. These specimens like at least six-hours of sunlight a day, and well-draining soil.
Yellow blossoms cover each elegant branch, producing arches of color that can be seen from a distance.
Not far from my tropical hoop house is this magnolia – one of many here at the farm. Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Growing as large shrubs or trees, they produce showy, fragrant flowers that are white, pink, red, purple or yellow.
This is a weeping larch, Larix decidua ‘Pendula’. It has bright green needles in spring, which turn gold before dropping in fall.
Looking closely, you can see all the many buds.
This is the same tree in June. This curvaceous tree is located at “the triangle” where the carriage roads leading to the Boxwood Allee, the Pin Oak Allee and the woodland, all converge.
We’ve planted many larch trees in the woodland. Larches are conifers in the genus Larix. They are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south.
These are the pink buds of one of my apricot trees in the new fruit tree orchard by my pool.
Malus sargentii, occasionally called Sargent’s apple or Sargent crabapple, is a species of crabapple in the genus Malus. The plant is a shrub growing about six-feet tall. I have four of them flanking the carriage road between my Tenant House and my blog studio.
These too are showing many buds on their branches.
These are ‘Miss Kim’ lilacs, which bloom in May. They are some of the most fragrant of all the lilac bushes. The light lavender blooms stand out nicely against their dark green leaves. These lilacs prefer full sun, but will also live in partial shade.
Here is a closeup of its branches. ‘Miss Kim’ lilacs are very popular for borders or as specimen plantings. It will grow to about seven feet with a mature spread of five to six feet.
And here are the ‘Miss Kim’ lilacs in bloom. This photo was taken in late May – so beautiful. They thrive in rich, moist, somewhat neutral soils and good air circulation.
Adjacent to the ‘Miss Kim’ lilacs is my dwarf apple orchard. If you recall, these trees produced so many apples last season.
So many of the trees are beginning to bud.
Just outside my kitchen on the terrace parterre is this weeping katsura, one of my favorite trees. Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. pendulum has pendulous branches that fan out from the crown and sweep the ground. Caramel-scented foliage emerges bronze or purple-red, turns blue-green, then fades to gold or apricot in autumn.
Tiny red flowers emerge in late March or early April before the leaves.
Here is another katsura on the other side of my Winter House.
The same katsura is on the right in May – it is one of two in this white garden.
Just in front of the katsuras are two smaller viburnums. Viburnum is an upright, rounded, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub or small tree that typically grows to 20-feet tall and up to15-feet wide.
More buds that will soon open with beautiful white blooms.
The sometimes fragrant flowers range from white and cream to pink-flushed or wholly pink. This is what it looks like in May.
Tree peonies are actually woody shrubs, and can reach about four or five feet tall. This is one of the specimens in the tree peony bed outside my Summer House.
Most varieties of tree peonies are hardy in zones 4 through 8. Here is one of many that are just coming to life after the long winter.
And from a distance, the stunning golden-yellow weeping willows. Here is one grove of weeping willows on the edge of my lower hayfield. The golden hue looks so pretty against the early spring landscape.
So many of you comment on how much you enjoy hearing about the animals at my farm, especially when I show photos of the babies.
Earlier this month on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48, I shared images of a peachick hatching from its shell in my poultry incubator. I kept the peachick in my kitchen for a couple weeks where it could be closely monitored until it was big enough to join my flock of baby chickens in the coop. One of my Instagram followers suggested I put a small chick in with the baby peafowl to keep it company, so we did. I am happy to report that the peep and the peachick are now best of friends and doing very well.
Enjoy these photos, and be sure to follow me on Instagram @MarthaStewart48 for other fun pictures.
Here is the beautiful peachick in its safe enclosure on my kitchen counter just two days after it hatched. You can see it breaking through its shell on Instagram @MarthaStewart48.
And here is the chick we put in the bin to keep the peachick company. It didn’t take long before the two became good friends. The reddish tint to the photo is from the heat lamp suspended above the bin.
This week, we moved the two into the chicken coop “nursery”, or brooder, where they could socialize with the other peeps.
Our peachick is still a little small compared to the others in the coop, but it will catch up soon. The other chicks were also incubated and hatched in my kitchen.
Here are some of the older chicks gathered around and in the feeding dish. The chicks will be fed organic chick starter feed for the first six to eight weeks.
Right now, our peachick is still a bit shy, so it is waiting to eat at the feeder.
Dawa, who cares for all my chickens, turkeys, geese, peacocks, and pigeons, makes sure the peachick gets to eat all its meals. Baby chicks need constant monitoring until they are at least a month old. Dawa checks on them several times a day, and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.
Dawa guards the peachick as it eats his food. As soon as any chick is placed in the brooder, each baby is introduced to the waterer and feeder, so they know where to eat and drink. They are all familiar with waterers and feeders, but it is still a good practice to show them when they’re moved to new surroundings.
Most chicks are very curious birds. This chick watches and waits for its turn to eat.
And look, the peachick and his chicken friend are still together. A good chick starter feed will contain protein for weight gain and muscle development, plus vitamins and minerals to keep them healthy and to build their immune systems.
In fact, the chick keeps watch over its smaller, younger buddy.
The chick follows closely behind its friend at all times – so cute.
These chicks are about a month older than the peachick. These chicks have several feeders and several waterers in the brooder.
Here they are at the feeding bowl. This type of feeder allows several chicks to eat at the same time.
These babies love to eat – they are very healthy and very alert. You can estimate that 10-chicks will consume about a pound of starter feed per day.
Our little duo is close by watching all the action. The chicks are very eager to explore their new surroundings – another sign of good health. Chickens and peafowl have their own personalities – some are more active or more curious than others.
Here is another chick heading toward the feeder. These chicks have such clear eyes and clean feathering.
It is important to keep the babies separated but within sight of the other chickens. We designate one coop for the youngest of the flock until they are old enough to socialize with the others. The heat lamps are suspended above the brooder. Raising and lowering them help adjust the temperature.
Here is one of the pullets, or young chicken hen, eating from the other side of the coop. Chickens start to lay eggs at about four or five months of age. A male chicken is called a cockerel until it is a year old – then it is called a rooster.
This pullet is called a Frizzle Naked Neck – an interesting breed combination.
Twice a day, early morning and late afternoon, the adult birds are given cracked corn. They also eat plenty of vegetables and fruit matter, and trays of wheatgrass that I grow especially for them in my greenhouse.
I have more than 180-chickens in my flock. Chickens prefer to roost on high levels. In their fenced enclosure, the chickens are provided ladders and natural roosts made out of felled trees. As you can see, my chickens are very happy birds.
Here is one of my roosters watching over his hens as they dine.
And here is a rooster keeping watch over the hens in this coop. Hanging feeders are filled with organic layer feed. It provides the hens with protein, which helps them lay strong and healthy eggs.
The flock enters the coops as it begins to grow dark. When all are inside, the doors are shut and securely latched until morning. One can’t be too safe when there are hungry raccoons and coyotes around. If you think you may be interested in raising chickens, research your town’s zoning regulations first.
Potting hundreds of trees at the farm is a huge undertaking.
This week, my outdoor grounds crew has been very busy caring for all sorts of trees and shrubs - container seedlings as well as bare-root cuttings. Bare-root trees are so named because the plants are dug from the ground while they are dormant, and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. Once we received the shipment, it was a race to get them into some good nutrient-filled soil to prevent them from becoming desiccated. With team work, and a lot of good, old-fashioned elbow-grease, the crew got many of them done.
Enjoy these photos.
After receiving hundreds of bare-root tree cuttings, the outdoor grounds crew began potting each seedling, so they could be carefully nurtured before moving to a more permanent location.
Ryan prepares large markers to label sections of trees as they are potted.
In order to get all the seedlings potted as quickly as possible, it was “all hands on deck.” The crew created a very productive assembly line.
Here is one of the many bare-root cuttings. Each one is part of a bundle that includes 25, 50 or 100 bare-root specimens. Healthy bare-root trees get off to a more vigorous start because their abundant, fibrous roots have already had a chance to develop unrestricted.
Each pot has several drainage holes, which makes watering much easier. These light, plastic pots are available at garden supply stores, but if you have the room, save the containers you get from new plants just in case.
Carlos plants a seedling into each pot. If they are in good condition, the plant should sprout leaves in the same year it is planted. If planted in spring, a bare-root plant should have leaves by the summer.
The tree is placed at the same level it was grown by the nursery – where the roots start and the top shoots begin. The soil is then gently filled in around the roots, but not packed too tightly.
Ryan sprinkles a good fertilizer made especially for new trees. We use M-Roots with mycorrhizal fungi, which helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
Each pot is then fitted with a weed disk, which will prevent any surface weeds from growing, while also letting in water and lots of air circulation. These are available at garden supply shops and online – they will definitely save time on manual weeding this summer.
All the potted seedlings are then grouped together, so they can be moved to a designated location, where they will be maintained until they’re transplanted into the ground.
For this collection of bare-root cuttings, we decided to store them down in the parking lot behind my stable, where they are out of the way, but still easily accessible for watering. Ryan and Chhewang rolled out weed cloth one layer at a time as the pots were unloaded.
The trees were placed neatly on the weed cloth and separated by tree type. This is Carpinus caroliniana, the American hornbeam – a small hardwood tree in the genus Carpinus. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, and musclewood. I have many mature hornbeams planted in various areas at the farm.
Chhewang positions each pot carefully, leaving room enough for a small footpath in between the sections.
Fernando follows behind to check that every weed disk is fitted properly on each pot.
This is American witchhazel. This native grows throughout northeast and southeast North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida and from the Great Lakes to east Texas. American witchhazel is a shrub or small tree with arching branches generally growing as a dense, multi-stemmed clump reaching heights of 20 to 30 feet and widths of 15 to 20 feet.
Carlos keeps the cutting centered in the container as he fills it with soil. We always use composted manure and nutrient-filled soil in all our garden beds and in these vessels.
The goal in handling bare-root plants is to maintain adequate moisture so they don’t dry out.
As more pots are filled, Ryan helps to place more weed disks on each container – they should fit securely under the lip of the pot if possible, so light cannot hit the surface. These disks are also pre-cut with slits that easily wrap around planting stems.
Fernando loads the potted specimens onto the pick-up truck, so they can be transported to the stable parking lot.
Here, Chhiring fills each pot about a third full of compost, while Carlos, Dawa and Carlos continue planting the pines and adding the rest of the soil.
Here is another load of cuttings already unloaded and lined up in their new home.
Ryan and Chhewang unroll another piece of weed cloth.
The next group of cuttings to be potted included American sweetgum, also known as American storax, hazel pine, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum. It is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical regions of Mexico and Central America. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern United States, and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates.
These bare-root cuttings range from a foot tall to about three feet tall. These look very healthy and should grow quickly once planted.
When planting, be sure to plant bare-roots before new growth starts.
Our order includes two types of rhododendron – Lee’s Dark Purple and Rosebay. Rhododendron is a medium-sized, dense, broadleaf evergreen shrub that has large, glossy, dark green leaves.
The rhododendrons arrived in small pots, but had to be transplanted into slightly bigger pots to give them enough room to grow.
Like other rhododendrons, these will thrive in a site with part shade and moist, acidic, highly organic soil that is perfectly drained.
These trees and shrubs will be a spectacular addition to the gardens and woodlands at my farm, and to our environment.
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