The plants around my farm are growing so beautifully - there are gorgeous spring blooms in every garden.
Every day I see something new. Trees are leafing out and flowers are bursting with color and energy - Fritillaria, Leucojum, Muscari, the trout lilies, the tulips, the Mertensia with their charming blue flowers that open from pink-tinged buds, the large blooms of the Magnolias, and of course, lots and lots of daffodils.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Some of the early season blooms are the big flowers of the magnolia trees. 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, which may be bowl-shaped or star-shaped.
I have these magnolias in one corner of my farm not far from my tree peony garden.
Last year, I planted several darker pink magnolias with these large flowers. The variety is called ‘Black Tulip.’
Mertensia virginica, or Virginia bluebell, is a perennial that is native to North America. Its buds are actually pink, but the flowers are blue. They can grow in any garden and bloom in early to mid spring and continue blooming through early to mid summer.
These plants grow best in deep to partial shade and moist, well-drained rich humus. They self-seed and colonize, so there are more in the garden every spring.
This lovely woodland plant is the wood anemone from the Buttercup family. They are cheerful and hardy ground covering plants.
Each flower features white petal-like structures called sepals and yellow centers.
Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers that look like bunches of grapes in spring. Muscari is also known by its common name for the genus – grape hyacinth.
In my vegetable garden, I also have a few beds of blooming tulips. There are currently more than 3000 registered tulip varieties, which are divided into at least 15-groups, mostly based on the flower type, size, and blooming period.
All tulips are planted as bulbs in the fall and bloom in the spring. They also have the ability to come back year after year, but beware – the deer love them too.
Tulip ‘Sanne’ has impressive, elegantly tapered flowers that open deep rose-pink and creamy-pink edges. As it matures, it turns lilac-pink with pink-ivory edges.
‘Foxy Foxtrot’ is a double tulip with shades of apricot, yellow, and hints of rose orange.
These are the flowers of a weeping cherry tree with its cascading branches. This is one of several outside my stable. They only bloom for a short while. These trees are eye-catchers when guests are lucky enough to see them filled with white flowers.
When in bloom, weeping cherry flowers attract many butterflies and hummingbirds.
A handful of azaleas along one side of my farm are also blooming. Of all the shrubs that flower in spring, azaleas provide some of the most brilliant displays. I have hundreds planted outside my Summer House and down the carriage road to the stable.
These are Snowflakes – not to be confused with Snowdrops. The Snowflake is a much taller growing bulb which normally has more than one flower per stem. Snowflake petals are even, each with a green spots on the end, whereas Snowdrops have helicopter-like propellers that are green only on the inner petals.
Snowflakes, Leucojum, are native to Eurasia and are members of the amaryllis family. These perennials increase over time and are not attractive to deer or rodents.
Commonly known as Guinea Hen Flower, Checkered Lily or Snake’s Head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris is an heirloom species dating back to 1575. It has pendant, bell-shaped, checkered and veined flowers that are either maroon or ivory-white with grass-like foliage on slender stems.
The delicate blooms of the trout lily, Erythronium, resemble turks cap lilies and stand out in the dappled light. These are planted in a bed outside my chicken coops, but many others also grow in the woodland.
Nearby, this a blooming primrose – a vibrant perennial known for its early blooms that come in yellow, pink, purple, and red. Primrose thrives in cool temperatures and does well in garden beds, borders, and containers.
And here is a spring favorite, Dicentra spectabilis, or bleeding heart – a herbaceous plant with oddly shaped flowers that look very similar to hearts. These flowers are native to eastern Asia and North America. They are shade loving woodland plants that bloom in the cool of spring and stay in bloom for several weeks.
I've gotten such a nice response to the Easter photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 - thanks for all the click throughs and comments.
Holidays are so much fun. I love celebrating them with my daughter, Alexis, her beautiful children, Jude and Truman, and our close friends and family. This year, more than 40-guests joined me for Easter lunch at my Bedford, New York farm. I hosted my traditional egg hunt outdoors and then we all gathered for a delicious feast prepared by me, my friend Chef Pierre Schaedelin of PS Tailored Events, my granddaughter Jude, and her friend, Jade. It included salmon, ham, lamb chops, stuffed artichokes, asparagus, scalloped potatoes, fresh fruit salads, homemade biscuits, mini bunny cakes, lemon bundt cakes made by my daughter Alexis, chocolates from Jacques Torres, and so much more. I also decorated every room of my Winter House with charming bunnies, chicks, and more eggs than one could count. It was a delightful springtime affair.
Here are more photos from my Easter celebration, enjoy.
Easter at my home always includes lots of festive decorations. Every year I take out all the beautifully decorated eggs from years past – hundreds and hundreds, and display them wherever I can.
Antique bunnies greet all my visitors from the steps of my Winter House kitchen. I found these cast iron rabbit doorstops years ago in East Hampton at an antiques show.
I love pulling out all my decorations finding new ways to use them. Decorations don’t have to be elaborate – use platters you already have and place eggs in them – decorated in faux bois or leave them as is, like these natural quail eggs.
In my Green Parlor, these look like old fashioned chocolate bunnies wrapped in foil, but they are really ceramic bunnies covered in foil. They may not be edible, but they will certainly last much longer.
Here’s another foil bunny on the other side of the table.
This is an antique velvet bunny I love to take out every year. One can never have too many whimsical animals sitting around a room on Easter.
This is Magnolia’s first Easter at Cantitoe Corners. She’s my four year old silver shaded Persian.
And this is my one year old calico Persian named Dahlia. She is so outgoing, friendly, and curious about everything.
In my enclosed porch, an “egg in a nest” – a bird’s nest fern that is. These plants make excellent low light houseplants. They are also epiphytic ferns, which means in the wild they typically grow on other plants or objects.
My dear friend, Kevin Sharkey, gifts me with a beautiful Easter basket every year. And I save every single one. This is a real rabbit taxidermy, which Kevin gave me several years ago. He appears very content displayed in this Japanese basket surrounded by eggs.
A delicate bird nest filled with eggs is displayed on a table in my sitting room.
And here is Dahlia, admiring the décor on this coffee table. She loves to inspect everything. (Photo by Anduin Havens)
There are bunnies and eggs on nearly every table and surface. This pair is hiding under a maidenhair fern.
This year, I set tables inside and out to accommodate the many friends and family members who came for lunch. This large table in my Brown Room seats 16.
The linen napkins are rolled simply and placed at each setting – like long bunny ears.
And doesn’t this make your mouth water? It’s a chocolate lover’s delight – a big bowl of chocolate eggs from French pastry chef and chocolatier, Jacques Torres.
From small to giant! Here’s another chocolate egg. I had eggs of all sizes along the center of the table.
And outside, brighter shades of green and white are used to decorate this table on my terrace. The “children’s table” was set with these larger than life-sized 36-inch faux chocolate bunny figurines holding pretty daffodils from the garden.
Go to my Instagram page @marthastewart48 to see the dishes I served for lunch. I also made dozens of decorated sugar cookies – all made using my method of the four “Ds” – dipping, dripping, decorating, and drying.
Easter lunch was served buffet style in my Winter House kitchen and servery. Here are some of the desserts.
My daughter Alexis is an excellent cook and baker and always makes something different for our holiday gatherings. She made the two delicious lemon bundt cakes.
And I made these mini bunny cakes. All they needed was a dusting of powdered sugar.
And my 14-year-old granddaughter, Jude, made this cake – three generations of avid bakers. I hope you all enjoyed a festive and memorable holiday with friends and family. Happy spring!
So many brightly colored daffodils are blooming at my farm right - different forms of white, yellow, cream, and orange Narcissi.
When I moved to my farm, I knew I wanted to grow a continuous swath of daffodils. After lots of planning and planting over the years, I now have a border that extends the length of one side of my property from my Summer House, past the stable, and down to my Japanese maple grove. Over time, any that have faded have been replaced with other varieties, while others continue to flourish. But that's not all - I also planted daffodils in other areas including the garden beds outside my Tenant House, across from my chicken coops, near my main greenhouse, in patches through the woodland, and in various tree pits around my home, such as those beneath the allée of pin oaks where I planted a special variety of Narcissi named after me, Narcissus ‘Martha Stewart.'
Here are some photos, enjoy.
My long daffodil border is broken up into various groupings – different varieties, different shapes and sizes, and different blooming times. This provides a longer splash of color through the season. This view is from one end of my allée of lindens. We planted this section in 2019 and the flowers continue to blooms profusely every year.
Narcissus is a genus of spring perennials in the Amaryllidaceae family. They’re known by the common name daffodil.
The name ‘daffodil’ was taken from an Old English word, ‘affodyle,’ which means ‘narcissus’ which is used as the genus name for many species of the flower.
Daffodils are native to meadows and woods in Northern Africa, Europe, Afghanistan, China, and Japan, but many also grow hybrid bulbs in other areas to feature specific traits.
According to the Royal Horticultural Society’s daffodil classification system, daffodils are categorized into 13 divisions based on flower shape, size, growth habit, and genetic heritage.
The flowers are generally white or yellow with either uniform or contrasting colored tepals and coronas. This white daffodil has a bold contrasting orange center.
Yellow is the most common color for daffodils, but they also bloom in white, cream, orange and even pink. They also come in a variety of flower forms, including trumpets, doubles, split-cups, large-cups, and jonquils.
This is a crisp all white trumpet variety.
Daffodil plants flourish in a neutral to slightly acidic soil. When planting, be sure there is room for them to spread, but not where the soil is water-logged.
Normal rainfall will typically take care of any watering requirements during the spring flowering season. The most important care tip is to provide daffodils with a well-drained bed.
Also select an area that gets at least half a day of sun. Hillsides and raised beds do nicely.
Cultivars with bold colored cups generally retain better color when planted in a little shade to protect them from the hot afternoon rays.
Planted in clusters instead of rows will provide a fuller, more natural look.
I take stock of my daffodils every year to see what is growing well and what is not, so I can learn what to remove, where to add more, and what to plant next. Taking photos when an area is in bloom helps to remember those areas.
One of the more interesting daffodils is this Narcissus ‘Rip van Winkle’, an heirloom double daffodil dating before 1884 with whorls of narrow, pale greenish yellow petals, some with a slight twist.
Few pests bother daffodils. The bulbs are actually quite unappetizing to most insects and animals, including deer and voles.
After daffodils bloom in the spring, allow the plants to continue growing until they die off on their own. They need the time after blooming to store energy in their bulbs for next year.
And remember what I always say about all plants and flowers – if you eat, so should your plants. Fertilize daffodils with extra phosphorous to encourage good root development, especially when they’re young.
When cutting daffodils, they should be kept alone in the vase as their stems secrete a fluid that promotes wilting in other flowers. If you need to combine flowers, soak them alone first and then add them to the arrangements last.
Daffodils can also grow in pots as long as there is room to multiply and room for the roots to fill out. They can bloom well for two to three years – after that, it’s best to move them to a spot in the ground where they will come up once a year.
I have lots of daffodils all over the farm – it’s such a welcome sight for visitors. And I am so proud of all the many different types that I’ve been able to grow here…
… Including underneath the majestic pin oaks in the allée and in the pits of the weeping willows. Here, I have a variety of Narcissi named after me by Van Engelen Inc., a wholesale flower bulb company in Bantam, Connecticut.
Narcissus ‘Martha Stewart’ is a Karel van der Veek hybrid with a three-inch white perianth surrounding a pale yellow cup. These flowers are reliable bloomers and can continue to produce each spring for decades.
In full bloom, these flowers grow up to about 16 to 18 inches tall. Daffodil season is a great time of year, and there are more flowering every day. Once they are planted, daffodil bulbs will continue to emerge each spring and flower for years. Enjoy the daffodils and Happy Earth Day!
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