Lush Trees Around the Farm
Summer weather continues with another warm, humid day here in the Northeast - it's expected to hit 89, maybe even 90-degrees Fahrenheit at my Bedford, New York farm.
It always amazes me how quickly plants and trees grow from day-to-day. Many flowers have already finished blooming for the season, but the trees, many of which I've planted through the years, are still so beautiful and lush with foliage.
Enjoy these images.
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- From my Winter House, I have this beautiful view of the lush, green horse paddocks, and the many trees that surround them. Trees are very important to our environment – they help combat climate change, provide habitat and food for birds and other animals, and release oxygen for us to live.
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- Every single day, especially now that I am working from home more, I tour the farm to see how all the trees and plants are doing. Every specimen is special. This tree under the great ginkgo at the back of my sunken Summer House garden is a beautiful chocolate mimosa tree, a fast-growing, deciduous tree with a wide, umbrella-shaped canopy. It has beautiful bronze-green, fern-like leaves appearing in late spring and then a deeper rich chocolate-burgundy color now during summer.
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- This is my linden tree allee – one of the first allees I planted here at my farm. Linden trees are attractive trees that are easy to care for and ideal for urban landscapes because they tolerate a wide range of adverse conditions, including pollution. Lindens like full sun or partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. These trees prefer neutral to alkaline pH but can tolerate slightly acidic soils as well.
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- On the right is the stand of great white pine trees – visible from almost every location on this end of the farm. Pinus Strobus is a large pine native to eastern North America. Some white pines can live more than 400-years. The fencing was bought in Canada. Although the uprights are mostly new cedar posts, the horizontal pieces are antique white spruce that’s still as beautiful now as it was when I purchased it.
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- I’ve planted hundreds of Japanese maples in this area not far from my chicken coops. I just love them and always look forward to their gorgeous displays of color, especially in autumn. I am so relieved they were not damaged by the recent storm.
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- Japanese maples prefer dappled sun or part shade. I purposely planted them beneath larger trees in this area of the farm. The varying heights of these trees add a nice texture to the grove.
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- Not farm from the Japanese Maple Woodland is my grove of dawn redwoods behind my chicken coops. Dawn redwoods grow faster than most trees. A natural dawn redwood that grows in the ground requires little trimming, as it forms a natural triangular shape throughout its life, but the lower branches need occasional pruning to look their best. We recently limbed-up these trees, so one could see all the hostas and the green lawns in the distance.
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- This is the newer linden allee planted between two of my paddocks – it is also growing very nicely.
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- I’ve planted many trees on the property over the years – thousands of trees. From afar, I love seeing them layered in the landscape. The smaller trees are some of 300 beautiful European beech trees, Fagus sylvatica, or the common beech – a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae and native to the woodlands of central and southern Europe. The trees are intended to grow as a hedge on both sides of this paddock.
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- This is my American beech grove. The American beech, or Fagus grandifolia, is the species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and Canada.
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- Near my main greenhouse, about seven feet up in a tree is this wasps nest. Vespula vulgaris, known as the common wasp, is a eusocial vespid that builds its grey paper nest in or on a structure capable of supporting it, such as the branches of this tree. A founding queen searches for the space to build a nest. One colony cycle lasts for about six to 11 months and each colony cycle produces around 3000 to 8000 larvae.
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- Here’s a look down one row of my dwarf apple orchard. This dwarf apple orchard is just behind my long carport and flower room. Father Legendre of Hannonsville, France is credited with pioneering the espalier growing method in 1684. Because sunlight reaches every piece of fruit that these trees bear, espalier pruning continues to be a standard procedure at commercial orchards in France.
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- We won’t have as many apples this year compared to previous years because of a late frost last spring, but there are still some apples growing. The apple tree is a deciduous tree in the rose family best known for its sweet, pomaceous fruit. I have many different varieties growing at my farm – some of them I use for eating. Others are better suited for baking and for making applesauce and cider.
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- Across from the dwarf apple espalier orchard is the Malus ‘Gravenstein’. This antique variety is well known for cooking, sauce, cider, and eating out of hand. The fruit is large, with crisp white flesh and a distinct, juicy flavor.
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- There are some very good looking fruits developing. These attractive apples were first introduced to western North America in the early 19th century with the Russian fur traders that settled in California’s Sonoma Valley.
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- And few can forget these ancient apple trees – still thriving and producing apples.
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- Behind my long and winding pergola is this beautiful weeping copper beech, Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea Pendular’, an irregular spreading tree with long, weeping branches that reach the ground. I have several of these trees on the farm.
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- This is a tall stewartia, Stewartia monadelpha – a beautiful deciduous tree that makes a handsome addition to the garden. In autumn the leaves turn a spectacular shade of red before falling. Of course, this garden includes several Stewartia trees. Stewartias are native to Japan, Korea, and the southeastern United States. I also have Stewartia gemmata, Stewartia x. henryae, Stewartia pseudocamellia ‘Ballet’, Stewartia rostrata, and Stewartia henry ‘Skyrocket’. And, do you know why I have Stewartia trees? My name is “Stewart” after all…
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- Specimens are often multi-stemmed, which perfectly showcases its peeling, rust-colored bark.
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- Not far from the Stewartia garden is a pear grove. Compared to apple trees, pear trees naturally develop more narrow, angled, and upright branches.
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- Classic pears are widest toward the tip and narrow toward the stalk. They mature in late summer or autumn depending on the variety. The average pear tree is able to produce a notable quantity of fruits for up to 40-years or more. The common pear tree, Pyrus communis, is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 40-feet tall or even more.
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- In my orchard, all the trees are again well-supported. If you recall, many of these trees were leaning after Tropical Storm Isaias. There are more than 200-fruit trees planted here – apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, peach, pear, apricot and quince trees.
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- Outside the orchard is this row of weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus Pendula. I love these weeping hornbeams – the branches of these trees gracefully weep to create an umbrella of foliage that reaches the ground.
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- Here is the winding road into the woodlands. During this time of year, it is shaded by a lovely canopy of foliage.
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- Some of the trees are already changing color – a sign that autumn is on its way – now less than 30-days away. This patch of yellow leaves is on one of my two Camperdown Elm trees just outside my Winter House kitchen. Camperdown is a weeping elm tree with gorgeous twisted branches and dense foliage. Camperdown trees only grow to 25 feet tall but can spread even wider than its height. These leaves are dark green in summer and turn a dull yellow in the fall. What trees are growing lush and beautiful near your home?
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
