Planting the Skylands Terrace 2019
My large “iced terrace” at Skylands, overlooking Seal Harbor, is full of beautiful, green plant life once again.
I spent last weekend at my home in Maine to carry out my yearly task of planting all the large urns, pots and planters. Usually, I do this over Memorial Day weekend, but this time, because of my very busy work schedule, I couldn’t go until the following week. Planting the terrace is quite an undertaking, but I always enjoy this project, especially with the group that accompanies me from year to year. Many of the tropical and exotic specimens are stored in a hoop house at my Bedford, New York farm during winter, and then carefully loaded onto a trailer and delivered to Maine for the summer months. As soon as I arrive there, I design the layout of where things will go, and then bright and early the next day, we all get to work.
It's a wonderful tradition I look forward to every spring - enjoy these photos.
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- Here is a view that never gets tiring. It’s from the terrace overlooking Seal Harbor and Sutton’s Island in the distance.
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- It’s always a busy, but fun weekend at Skylands when we fill the planters with beautiful specimens. All the plants from the farm arrived a couple days before – look at all of them just waiting to be planted – agaves, Alocasias, ferns, and many more.
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- These trays of succulents and Echeveria were propagated over the winter in the Skylands greenhouse. Before we start planting, we make sure all the supplies are ready – the urns, pots and planters, the potting mix, and of course the plants.
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- This faux bois planter is very old – about 1925 to 1930 – and very heavy. In fact, many of the containers date from this time. Because all my pots are special to me, I do my best to protect them while still using them to display beautiful plants.
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- First, I put in a layer of bubble wrap – this is a great way to reuse and repurpose all that bubble wrap that may have accumulated over the winter months from package deliveries. Filling the bottom of large planters with something other than soil also benefits plantings in several ways – it is more economical, easier to move, and better for drainage and root growth.
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- I placed a good amount of bubble wrap right at the bottom.
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- To protect the rather porous and fragile pot, I then line it with a garbage bag, so the pot doesn’t soak up too much water.
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- The garbage bag has a large drain hole at the bottom.
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- Rick places the plant, already potted in a plastic container, into the faux bois planter.
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- And then tucks the garbage bag neatly inside the pot, so it is not visible.
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- Next, Wendy trims off any excess plastic.
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- Here’s the pot now ready to be underplanted. On the wall behind, the vine growing on my home is kiwi, or Actinidia. Kiwi vines can tolerate a lot of different light conditions, but more exposure to sun brings out better colors in the leaves, some of which can be variegated.
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- Nearby, Kevin is working on the big trough – planting it with succulents. I bought this massive stone trough at Trade Secrets in 2013. It looks so beautiful here on the Maine terrace. As you can see, we use moistened potting soil to fill the planters and pots. A good potting soil will include a mix of sterile soil, very well rotted leaf mold and compost.
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- Here I am working on the massive, heavy Soderholtz planter made out of reinforced concrete from the 1920s. Eric Ellis Soderholtz was a pioneer in American garden pottery and a most creative artist of concrete formations – his works are collectibles.
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- I always bring the doggies with me whenever I go to Maine – they all love it up here. Bete Noire, my French Bulldog, loves to watch all the activity.
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- Everyone takes turns doing everything – from preparing the plants to moistening the potting mix, to filling the pots, to planting. Here are Kate and Carlos trimming sections of Senecio kleinia for use as underplantings.
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- This is one of a pair of enameled terra-cotta sphinxes designed by Emile Muller. I keep them out during the warmer months to “guard” the entrance to the house.
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- Here is a closer look at one of the sphinx heads. Émile first used plain ceramic products on buildings and industries. Then, in 1884 he developed the glazed terra-cotta, which he continued to use for many architectural decorations and art reproductions.
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- Here is the finished faux bois planter with agave and lotus vine, Lotus berthelotii, commonly called parrot’s beak.
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- I have two of these antique faux bois pots. Here is the other, also planted with agave and lotus.
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- Ferns can add dramatic beauty to any planter. A fern is a member of a group of roughly 12-thousand species of vascular plants. In general, ferns are low-maintenance, hardy plants. They require lots of shade and ambient sunlight.
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- Here is another Eric Soderholtz pot – a deceptively simple turned pot, with Soderholtz’s scarab trademark impressed on the side. It is also planted with agave and lotus. I love agaves, but it is not easy dealing with these large prickly plants. One must be very careful of one’s eyes, face, and skin whenever planting them.
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- Here is a beautiful large palm, underplanted with dichondra – a small genus of flowering plants in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. They are perennial and herbaceous plants, with creeping stems. In a few weeks, it will show off small white, greenish or yellowish flowers.
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- Here is another palm nearby on the west terrace.
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- Here is a wider view of the ledge just below the west terrace as it begins to take on more life with all the planted specimens.
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- And, of course, lying beneath the west terrace is the lady – La Riviere by Aristide Maillol.
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- The original terms of the commission were intended to honor Henri Barbusse, noted author and pacifist. Maillol initially conceived the figure as a woman who had been stabbed in the back, falling at the viewer’s feet. However, when funds proved to be insufficient to complete the memorial, Maillol re-conceived the figure as a more timeless theme, the personification of a river.
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- In this planter – a bromeliad with bright, lime green Lysimachia below. The bromeliad plant is prized for its thick foliage that grows in a natural rosette. Its leaf colors range from maroon, through shades of green, to gold.
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- This agave is planted with dichondra. I always try to mix up the plantings to add variety to the terrace.
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- This smaller agave is planted in a large Soderholtz pot. Agaves are exotic, deer-resistant, drought-tolerant and make wonderful plants in any outdoor space.
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- After planting this agave, I chose to underplant it with Helichrysum petiolare, commonly known as licorice plant and trailing dusty miller. This plant prefers sun to part-shade with well-drained soil.
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- Here is another beautiful agave.
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- This is an Alocasia planted in a faux bois pot and paired with Lysimachia. I love the large leaves of Alocasia, also known as elephant ear.
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- This planter is one of a pair and was made sometime in the 18th to the 19th century. This year, we planted it with Lady’s palm, Rhapis excelsa.
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- This ancient English stone trough is usually displayed on upright stone supports, but this year, I placed it on the terrace floor. It is planted with succulents and a variety of Echeveria. In less than a month, this trough will be so full of gorgeous growth.
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- Many Echeveria species are popular as ornamental garden plants. They are drought-resistant, although they do better with regular deep watering and fertilizing.
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- I planted another bromeliad in this beautiful faux bois planter. This planter is extremely heavy – about four to five hundred pounds.
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- In this bed – the hostas and lilies are thriving.
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- I love how all the agaves look together.
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- Here is the terrace after a hard day’s work. It is looking excellent – I can’t wait to see it all filled out – bold and lush. In my next blog, I’ll share photos from all the great foods we ate and places we visited during this trip to Maine.
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