Our spring gardening season is always extremely busy.
Among our annual tasks this time of year - potting up thousands of bare-root trees, shrubs, and other small seedlings. Yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew and gardeners potted up a large collection of boxwood from Musser Forests, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based company specializing in conifer and hardwood seedlings and transplants. The young evergreens are still too small to plant in the garden beds, so they are placed in an enclosure designated for these developing specimens, where they can be carefully maintained until they are large enough to transplant.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I love boxwood, Buxus, and have hundreds of these bold green shrubs growing all over my farm. I take very special care of these specimens. In winter, they are covered in a layer of protective burlap. In summer, they are carefully pruned and groomed.
These boxwood hedges and shrubs are in my sunken Summer House garden. I grow several varieties of boxwood and plant them in formal garden beds, in allées, as borders or in large groupings.
When I can, I like to grow my boxwood shrubs from bare-root cuttings. This process takes time and patience, but seeing them mature is very rewarding. I recently ordered hundreds from Musser Forests, Inc.
Musser’s bare-root cuttings are healthy and ready to plant. I’ve bought many from Musser’s over the years and have always been very pleased with their specimens.
These bare-roots are all Winter Beauty Boxwood, Buxus sinica var. insularis ‘Winter Beauty’ – a variety of Korean boxwood with glossy, green leaves. It is slow growing and matures to two feet tall and four to six feet wide. Compared to other types, ‘Winter Beauty’ boxwood is more tolerant of sunlight.
We always pot bare-root cuttings in individual containers. Eventually, they will be transplanted in various locations around the farm. We save pots whenever we can – they always come in handy for projects like this, and I always encourage the crew to reuse supplies whenever possible.
The process of potting up all these bare-root cuttings is time-consuming, but my crew has devised an efficient system that starts with separating and lining up the pots for soil.
Meanwhile, Phurba gets a bunch of cuttings ready for potting.
Fertilizer is added and mixed with the composted soil made right here at my farm.
I use Organic All-Purpose Plant Food from Miracle-Gro.
Each cutting is carefully separated from the bunch. Boxwood plants have shallow, fibrous roots that spread widely near the soil surface. It’s important to get them planted and watered right away.
The bare-root specimen is placed straight in the center of the pot.
And then the pot is backfilled just to the bottom of the rim’s pot.
It is also tamped down lightly so there is good contact between the plant roots and the surrounding soil.
As Phurba pots it up, Cesar fills – all in a production line process.
Next, Fernando takes the potted boxwood to a waiting cart that will transport it to the designated nursery.
This space was once used for growing vegetables. It also served as a pumpkin patch. Now it is covered with weed cloth and used for nurturing my potted boxwood shrubs.
I have boxwood growing at different stages in this enclosure. These are all a few years old.
This section of boxwood was potted up last year.
And now Matthew is lining up this year’s potted bare-root boxwood cuttings.
It is important to keep them separated by cultivar and always properly marked.
Once all of them are lined up, they will get a good and thorough drink. I always look forward to watching these plants grow and then selecting where to place them in the gardens. I am confident these trees will thrive in these pots and be in excellent condition when it is time to plant them in their permanent locations around the farm.
I've gotten such a nice response to the Easter photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 - thanks for all the views and comments.
I've always enjoyed decorating for the holidays. For Easter this year, I decorated most of the rooms in my Winter House, filling them with lots of bunnies, chicks, and eggs in all different sizes and colors. One tip is to start several days early and make a list, so everything can be done timely and efficiently. Decorating is fun, and sharing what you've done with family and friends makes it all worthwhile.
Here are more photos of this year's Easter décor, enjoy.
My dear silver shaded Persian, Magnolia, didn’t want to miss out on any of the action. Here she is in my enclosed porch – in good Easter company.
Easter at my home always includes lots of festive decorations. The center table in my foyer is also decorated to welcome guests right from the start. Bunnies and birds surround the giant 19th century gilded copper falcon.
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. This one also has a stuffed bunny in the center.
The dining table in my Brown Room was decorated with these larger than life-sized 36-inch faux chocolate bunny figurines carrying eggs.
These bunnies make such nice centerpieces. Find similar bunnies at my shop on Amazon.
There are bunnies and eggs on nearly every table and surface.
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.
And yes, these are real daffodils – the first ones picked from the garden. The daffodils here at the farm are just starting to bloom now but my housekeeper, Enma Sandoval, was able to pick enough for the glass vase inside this paper maché chick.
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.
On this table, more bunnies and eggs and geese and ducks.
Starting with just a few themed accessories can make such a big impact. Display items with decorations already around the home, such as under a glass cloche.
I take out all the beautifully decorated eggs from years past – hundreds and hundreds, and display them wherever I can.
Every plate and platter was filled with beautiful eggs of all sizes.
Eggs can also be left as is, such as the small quail eggs mixed in with these decorated acorns.
If you can, use natural elements to add a bit of spring to your decorations. This grouping of glass, bunnies, and eggs looks so charming. This is my servery. I often serve beverages from this area whenever I entertain. It is a popular space for guests to gather.
Simple ceramic white bunnies are perfect to show off these colored eggs.
Place eggs on a cake stand under a glass dome and display on a counter.
Or place them in a basket – Enma and I try to make decorations look different every year.
Here are copper molds surrounded by eggs and bunnies. Colorful eggs can make any area stand out. Here are more blown out eggs saved from a previous year. If stored properly, they can last for years and years and years.
And doesn’t this make your mouth water? It’s a chocolate lover’s delight – a giant chocolate egg from French pastry chef and chocolatier, Jacques Torres. I hope you all enjoyed your Easter weekend. Happy Spring!
Here at my farm, whenever a member of my team returns from vacation I always encourage them to share their photos.
Earlier this year my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, and his wife, traveled to four beautiful countries in South Asia - Sri Lanka, India, Bhutan, and Chhiring's homeland Nepal. During their trip, they visited various temples and monasteries, toured museums, hiked ancient rock formations, met the the Dalai Lama, and celebrated the Tibetan New Year, Losar, with family and close friends.
Enjoy these photos.
Chhiring’s first stop was Sri Lanka. He and his wife traveled together and met up with family. Here he is with his wife, mother, mother-in-law, and brother in front of the majestic 88-foot white Buddha statue on Elephant Rock, Ethugala.
This is the entrance of Ridi Viharaya or Silver Temple, a second century Theravada Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka. It is believed that the silver from this area was what paid for Ruwanweli Maha Saya, one of the country’s largest stupas.
Inside the main temple are Buddharupa statues – all slightly different showing a number of gestures.
These are temple monkeys, also known as the Toque macaque – reddish brown monkeys endemic to Sri Lanka. They are often seen near Buddhist and Hindu temples where they can interact with visiting humans.
Here is a view of the Ruwanweli Maha Seya Stupa, also known as the Maha Thupa, in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. This is one of the world’s tallest ancient monuments standing 338-feet and with a circumference of 951 feet.
To one side of the stupa is the Mihintale Buddha located on the summit of Mihintale Mountain. It is believed to be the site where the Buddha first preached on the lessons of Buddhism.
One can climb to the statue via a series of rock carved steps.
The climb is tough, but both Chhiring’s mother and mother-in-law made the long trek.
Chhiring and his family also visited Gal Vihara in Polonnaruwa, a stunning series of rock-carved Buddhas made in the 12th century and all carved from a single granite rock face.
Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress near Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Here is Chhiring and his family at the base of the rock of Sigiri.
Cobra Hood Cave is a natural geological formation that looks similar to a cobra’s head – also part of the Sigiriya Rock Fortress complex.
Chhiring also stopped in South India where he was fortunate enough to meet the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. Here, Chhiring respectfully asks for blessings and greets him with with the customary bow.
Here is Chhiring’s mother doing the same. What at honor.
This is the monumental statue of Buddha Dordenma located in Thimphu, Bhutan. It is 169 feet tall and houses more than 125,000 smaller Buddha statues inside. It is one of the largest sitting Buddha statues in the world.
Here are the guards in front of Simply Bhutan, a living museum in Thimpu. The mueum is interactive and allows visitors to experience Bhutanese culture and traditions by trying archery, wearing various attire and participating in classic Bhutanese performances.
A trip to Bhutan would not be complete without visiting the Punakha Dzong, or Pungthang Dewa Chhenbi Phodrang, “the palace of great happiness or bliss.” This palace houses sacred relics and is the main venue for the coronation of Bhutan leaders.
The Palace grounds and all of Bhutan are extremely clean – it was impressive to walk through the area.
Chhiring and his wife also walked through Paro Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest. It is located on a cliffside in the upper Paro valley in Bhutan and is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site for prayer and teachings.
Finally, a visit to Nepal, Chhiring’s homeland. Here he is with his wife and mother in front of one of the the country’s tea gardens, Kanyam, where black, green, and white teas are produced.
Here, Chhiring’s wife asks for New Year blessings from her mother. The family was happy to spend the holiday at home in Nepal.
And of course, a photo in front of the stunning mountains of the region. What a wonderful trip Chhiring – thanks for sharing these photos with us!
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