When entertaining, plan ahead - there's always something that can be accomplished early to save time and worry later.
This evening I am hosting a small dinner for a group of business partners. Yesterday, my housekeeper, Enma Sandoval, started some of the preparations - picking garden flowers and creating the floral centerpieces, pulling the appropriate plates and silverware, and setting the table in my Winter House Brown Room. Getting these tasks done a day in advance allows ample time to do it nicely and ensures everything is in place before guests arrive.
Enjoy these photos.
I love using fresh flowers from the garden whenever I entertain. Right now, some of the early azaleas are in bloom, so Enma cut a few branches and placed them in a glass finger vase. They look so gorgeous on my servery counter – guests will love them.
Enma also took the opportunity to cut a collection of flowers for the centerpieces. Centerpieces don’t have to be elaborate – a few flowers placed in glass containers is easy to do the day before the gathering.
Whenever arranging cut flowers, it is important to cut any leaves that sit below the waterline to keep the flowers fresh and prevent bacteria from growing.
Give each flower stem a fresh cut to the right height for the vase.
These flowers were just cut. Putting them in water soon after cutting prevents stems from sealing, which can slow water uptake and reduce freshness.
I like to keep similar colors and varieties together, but they can also be mixed depending on preference.
Tulips and tree peonies look beautiful together. Each small vase of flowers is different.
Enma prepares several to run down the table in my Brown Room.
For more casual dinners, I love using these cabbage leaf place mats.
Enma selects a palette of green and white for the table. We work together to decide what plates to use. On this day I was busy at our corporate offices, so she sent photos of what she selected.
When setting a table it is important to consider the menu items and select the plates accordingly. It can be fun to mix and match china, so don’t be afraid to experiment and see what looks best.
Here, Enma folds the crisp white linen napkins.
And then puts out the appropriate glasses. Also take note of what drinks will be served and choose the right glassware. The water glass belongs to the right of the plate, just above the main dining knife. Depending on what else will be served, those glasses would placed next.
Setting the table allows more time for creativity. Here is the place setting so far. No need to overdo it – remember the star of the show is the food.
Next, Enma selects the silverware. Know what foods and what courses will need what utensils and serve only the essentials.
At each place setting, Enma includes salad forks and dinner forks. And always place them in the order of use, from the outside in. Forks on the left, knives and spoons on the right.
And then the flowers – no other greenery is necessary.
These pink flowers look so wonderful – a vessel of blooms between each pair of place settings. And remember to keep them at a height where conversations are not blocked.
Here is one vase of tulips on the side table.
Setting the table ahead of time prevents last-minute issues and allows more time for focusing on the food and the guests.
It’s a beautifully set table with fresh flowers from my gardens, cheerful place settings, and gleaming silverware – all ready for a delicious meal.
Developing a garden requires lots of careful planning, planting, and patience. I am so happy with how well the plants are doing around my pond.
After restoring the old pond here at the farm, I wanted to create a garden of beautiful shady trees and bright, colorful azaleas. I planned a variety of unique specimens in yellow and orange hues to mix with the bold glossy green foliage of ferns and birch trees. I planted more than 100 azaleas last year. Yesterday, my gardeners planted another 100 from Summer Hill Nursery - a wholesale-only company in Madison, Connecticut. Of all the shrubs that flower in spring, azaleas provide some of the most brilliant displays. These plants are sure to look stunning every time they bloom.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Summer Hill Nursery is a mid-sized wholesale-ONLY establishment growing beautiful landscape specimens since 1957. It offers more than 1000 varieties of flowering trees, shrubs, evergreens, and grasses.
I ordered 130 azaleas to add to my gardens at the farm. And they all fit into my covered truck!
Once they arrived, the plants were placed right away around the pond. Here’s Andres positioning them where they will be planted. When planning a garden, it is important to consider size of inventory, light needs and growth habits of the plants, and the location of any necessary footpaths.
Always buy plants that are sturdy, well-branched, and free of insect damage or diseases. And, avoid plants with weak, spindling growth and poor root systems.
I planted about 80 azaleas here one year ago and they are all thriving in this location. After the first batch is planted, one can see where more are needed. Filling in the bare areas takes time.
The next day, planting begins.
When planting, dig a hole at least twice the size of the plant. Azaleas thrive in moist, well-drained soils high in organic matter.
Phurba sprinkles a generous handful of good, water-soluble fertilizer to the existing soil.
I feed with Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Flowering Trees & Shrubs plant food – a dependable fertilizer that feeds for up to three months.
Phurba carefully removes the plant from its pot – it’s completely intact and in excellent condition.
Then he scarifies. Scarifying stimulates root growth. Essentially, one makes small cuts along the root ball to loosen the roots and create some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
Phurba has been working with me for almost 19 years. He’s planted many specimens around the farm and has seen so many of the gardens grow, develop, and change over the years.
The plant is placed into the hole and then checked to be sure it is at the right depth. Planting too deep could eventually cause bark deterioration at the soil line and kill the plant.
The azalea is backfilled and the soil is lightly tamped for good contact with the root ball. Azaleas have short root systems, so they can easily be transplanted in early spring or early fall.
Here he plants another azalea – this one in bloom. Azaleas are generally healthy, easy to grow plants. Some azaleas bloom as early as March, but most bloom in April and May with blossoms lasting several weeks.
This one is also in bloom. Some of the varieties include ‘Lemon Drop,’ ‘Sea Breeze’ ‘Golden Oriole’ Exbury, ‘Tangelo,’ ‘George Reynolds’ Exbury, and ‘Gibraltar’ Exbury,
Most of these are still waiting to open. I can’t wait to see the area in a couple of weeks.
By the end of the day all the azaleas are planted. Here’s Phurba giving each newly planted azalea a good drink.
All the plants are checked. Any plant ID and care tags still hanging are removed.
This pond garden is coming together so nicely. Keep checking – this area should burst with color in another couple of weeks. I’ll be sure to share photos.
Located in southwest England's Dorset countryside just outside the historic village of Milton Abbas is Milton Abbey, a stunning mansion and church - and a beautiful setting for a wedding.
I hope you saw some of my images on my Instagram page @marthastewart48. I traveled abroad over the weekend for the wedding of my godson, Laurence Booth Clibborn. My niece Sophie Herbert Slater joined me. I was asked to help assemble and decorate the cake made by the groom's mother, Julia. It turned out so beautifully. And although it was such a brief trip, I also toured the Dorset county town of Dorchester, walked around Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, and visited the Mute Swans at Abbotsbury Swannery.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Dorset, England is largely rural with low-lying valleys, beautiful landscapes, and charming villages.
Upon arriving, the first thing we did was tour the quaint market town of Dorchester, the county town of Dorset situated on the River Frome.
This is the Roman Town House discovered in the 1930s. It is a Roman ruin and monument. It was built around 307 AD and then expanded in 341 AD. It has flint and stone walls and sits on a grass covered site.
Part of it had mosaic floors.
This is Came House, the reception venue. It is a 1754 country house and estate near the village of Winterborne Came in Dorset.
The estate, which is now exclusively used for weddings and other events, includes formal gardens, a cast iron domed conservatory, and room for 32 guests.
My task was to help assemble and decorate the cake.
Here is the silver stand for the multi-tiered cake.
Julia Booth Clibborn, the groom’s mother, baked a traditional English fruitcake, which was covered in white frosting.
Here is the cake before I added the decorations – it looks so wonderful.
And here is Milton Abbey, set in the rolling hills of Dorset. It is a former Benedictine monastery founded in 934 and features a 15th century tower.
This is a view of a large stained glass window from the inside. The church was extensively restored and remodeled in the late 18th century.
The walls of the church are made from a mixture of Ham stone, Chillmark stone, and flint. The structure is an example of Decorated Gothic architecture.
After the wedding ceremony, my niece Sophie and I decorated the cake with cheerful yellow Banksia roses, Rosa banksiae, a species of nearly thornless climbing rose.
Here I am with Julia. I am wearing a three piece ensemble by Libertine.
And here I am with my godson and groom, Laurence.
Laurence and his wife, Alice, cut the cake with Alice’s grandfather’s sword.
After the wedding, we drove by this cottage on the countryside. Notice, it has a thatched roof – meaning its roofing system is made from natural materials such as straw, reeds, or palm leaves, providing insulation, waterproofing, and a rustic aesthetic.
Sophie and I also went to the Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, a 30-acre property featuring more than 6,000 species of rare and exotic plants. Sophie is standing in front of one of my favorites – Gunnera, large and striking perennials native to regions including Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Papuasia, Hawaii, Southeast Asia, eastern Africa, and Madagascar.
Gunnera thrives in damp, boggy soil and likes full sun to light shade.
And then it was off to Abbotsbury Swannery, home to a colony of more than 600 Mute Swans on the Dorset Coast. Here is the house at the entrance pointing guests to the swans and the living Willow Swan Maze.
This is a statue of a Mute Swan. Perhaps some of you remember the wounded Mute Swan that landed on my farm five years ago – it is now happy and living at a New York sanctuary.
One of the Swannery’s main attractions is the Willow Swan Maze planted in the shape of a swan. Here is the entrance.
The maze was planted in 2008 and has only one entrance and one destination. The maze grows and changes with the seasons. At the center is a 10-foot wide woven willow egg.
And here is one of the swans. The Swannery is the only one of its kind in the world. Established by Benedictine monks in the 1040s, it now serves as a sanctuary for these swans.
Here is one in its nest. Mute swans mate for life and are very dedicated and strong parents. Here at Abbotsbury Swannery, more than 100 to 150 pairs of swans nest here.
Heading back to the airport after a wonderful weekend and a most beautiful wedding, we saw a flock of sheep resting in a field. Dorset is a beautiful area, steeped in history and charm – visit if you can.
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