Our big seedling planting project continues at the farm.
As many of you may know, this week my outdoor grounds crew was very busy planting nearly three-thousand bare-root trees and other small potted seedlings. Among them, about 700 young boxwoods. These boxwoods are still too small to plant in the garden beds, so they were planted in a section of my vegetable garden, where they can be carefully maintained until they are large enough to transplant.
Enjoy these photos.
Last September, I decided to line both sides of my clematis pergola with small boxwoods. There are more than 300-shrubs now planted here, and they continue to thrive.
All the boxwood shrubs were grown in this patch located in one area of my vegetable garden next to my chicken coops. The soil is rich with nutrients, so they grew well and quickly.
I decided it was time to plant some more specimens in this area, so I ordered another several hundred boxwood seedlings.
These are bare-root seedlings, meaning they arrived free of soil on the roots. This helps reduce the price of the seedling and makes them more adaptable to the soil in which they are planted.
Before planting, Chhiring secures twine at the fence line and to the stems of the existing boxwoods, so everything can be planted perfectly in line with the others.
We use bright orange landscape twine that is easy to see through all the greenery.
Once the twine is secure, the boxwood seedlings are placed evenly along the length of the twined row.
My two Pomeranian geese are very curious and very protective. While they love watching all the activity, they are also guarding my flock of chickens.
Next, Chhewang begins digging holes for each of the seedlings.
Each hole is about six-inches deep. We had a lot of rain earlier in the week, so the soil was still moist and soft.
Phurba follows closely behind to plant each specimen in a hole.
These two to three year old seedlings are only a few inches tall, but they will grow quickly in this soil. Known as “man’s oldest garden ornamental” according to the American Boxwood Society, ancient Egyptians used boxwoods as decorative plants as early as 4000 B.C.
The seedlings are perfectly lined up under the twine. This variety is called Buxus ‘Green Mountain’. It is a vigorous evergreen shrub with bright green foliage that retains good color throughout winter. The upright, naturally cone-shaped habit makes it an excellent candidate for planting free-form or for a sculpted hedge.
Because there are so many to plant, the outdoor grounds crew coordinated an efficient production line to get them all in the ground.
Here is Fernando placing more boxwood specimens along the twine. Boxwood shrubs have shallow root systems, so proper mulching after they are planted will help retain moisture and keep the roots cool.
Here is Chhewang planting another row, perfectly under the designated twine. Until established, these boxwoods will need at least weekly watering.
We also planted Buxus ‘Green Velvet’. This variety is a full-bodied boxwood well-suited for dense, low hedges. Its foliage also retains its rich green color throughout winter and develops a vigorous, rounded form if not pruned.
Phurba stopped for a quick photo.
While the Pomeranian geese rested nearby.
Once each row was planted, the twine was removed.
These young boxwoods will remain here for a couple years before they are transplanted into the garden beds.
It is wonderful to be growing these gorgeous specimens right here at my farm. I will continue to share photos with you as they mature.