The Season's First Snowfall at the Farm
The first real snowflakes of the season are always fun to see.
Over the weekend, we had a light snowfall here in Bedford, New York. Until now, the weather has remained quite warm. And, although this storm system was short-lived, it left a coating of beautiful white snow on the landscape. Fortunately, all the plants are tucked away in temperature-controlled greenhouses, but we are still in the process of preparing for the winter season ahead - soon all the shrubs, hedges and cold-sensitive garden containers will be covered in burlap.
I always love touring the farm early in the morning after a snowfall. Here are some of my photos - enjoy...
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- There is always a bit of excitement with the first snow. This is a view going down my carriage road along my winding pergola. On the right, a group of bald cypress trees, Taxodium distichum. These are so beautiful – they deserve a prominent place in any landscape.
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- At the flower garden, the fencing looks so wonderful coated in white as the sunlight peeks through the clouds.
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- This is a view looking down from the end of my newly painted clematis pergola. The uprights for this pergola are antique granite posts from China – originally used as grape supports. They’re perfect as posts because they don’t rot over time like the wood overhead.
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- Here’s the Pin Oak Allee that grows alongside the Equipment Barn. Both sides have yet to drop all their leaves.
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- Tucked away between the Equipment Barn and a grove of weeping willows is my pinetum – a wonderful collection of evergreens I started planting about 10-years ago. This area includes pines, spruces, firs, and others.
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- The Weeping Larch tree, Larix decidua, is this curvaceous tree located at “the triangle” where the carriage roads leading to the Boxwood Allee, the Pin Oak Allee and the woodland, all converge.
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- The view down the Boxwood Allee is always so majestic – and look at the sky overhead. Fortunately, this snowfall was not too heavy – these boxwood shrubs are not yet wrapped in their winter burlap shrouds.
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- This is a view from the Boxwood Allee looking up the hill at my Winter House.
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- This is the new peafowl palais with its snow covered roof.
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- This is the first snow for the young peafowl in this smaller coop we’ve designated for growing peachicks – I wonder if they like it.
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- I love how snow collects on this 100-year old white spruce fencing I purchased in Canada.
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- The upright posts are newer and made of cedar. This fencing is what surrounds all my paddocks at the farm. Guests love the old fencing, and often comment on it during tours.
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- Down by the stable, across the courtyard from the carriage house, is an office building, where my business manager, property director and executive personal assistant work.
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- Not far is the quiet vegetable garden, now covered in a light blanket of snow.
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- As work gets done in the woodlands, the outdoor grounds crew leaves neat piles of twigs on the side of the carriage roads, so they can be retrieved and put through the chipper.
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- A stately old sycamore tree – the symbol of my farm, Cantitoe Corners.
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- Looking across one of my hayfields – covered in a carpet of untouched snow.
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- The autumn leaves look so pretty in the woodlands mixed with white.
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- The Christmas tree grove is thriving – all of these trees are growing more each year. They look so beautiful with their branches dusted with glistening snow.
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- The majestic eastern white pines, Pinus strobus, usually stand out in bold dark green over the landscape.
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- Here is a lone weeping copper beech at the foot of the Boxwood Allee.
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- Here is the long pergola and the bald cypress trees on the left as we head back to the house.
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- The boxwood hedge around the peony bed is also covered in light snow.
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- Here is a look inside the peony bed.
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- This is the front entrance to my Summer House – this house currently holds my large, and ever-growing book collection. I also use the Summer House for entertaining.
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- These upright “Bedford Gray” stakes line all of the carriage roads on the farm during winter. They mark the edge of the lawns, where they meet the roads.
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- Here is the side entrance to my ginkgo and boxwood garden behind the Summer House. The snow collected on the tops of these American boxwood hedges. In winter, these hedges are netted to protect them from the elements.
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- This is the sunken garden behind the Summer House. The smaller trees are Ginkgo biloba and so is the giant tall one at the rear.
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- Six stone urns behind my Summer House – they will soon be wrapped for the winter.
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- The sky is brightening, but clouds and flurries are expected the rest of this day.
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- This is one of two huge cast iron sugar kettles I keep as fire pits at the farm. They add such a nice accent to the landscape and have always been fun conversation pieces during gatherings.
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- The view from my terrace parterre looking down at the paddocks – one of my favorite views of the farm.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
