What's Flowering at Skylands
The gardens and plants around my beloved home in Maine are blooming.
As you know, I love Maine - for me, it is a magical place and I always wish I could spend more time there. In May, I go up to carry out my annual task of planting the large ornamental urns and planters that adorn the exterior of my home. And later during the summer I go up again to spend a few weeks there with my family. Unfortunately, I don't always get to see all the beautiful flowers that bloom at Skylands, but Cheryl DuLong, who helps me care for Skylands, and Wendy Norling, one of my gardeners, keep me updated by sending photographs from time to time.
Here's a look at what's blooming there now, enjoy.
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- Cheryl is an avid photographer and enjoys taking nature photos around Maine and the pretty flowers at Skylands. Here are some of the first lupines. These flowers are attractive and spiky, reaching one to four feet in height. Lupine flowers may be annual and last only for a season or perennial, returning for a few years in the same spot in which they were planted. The lupine plant grows from a long taproot and loves full sun. The flowers are produced in dense or open whorls on an erect spike, each flower about one to two centimeters long. The pea-like flowers have an upper standard, or banner, two lateral wings, and two lower petals fused into a keel.
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- Lupinus, commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally as bluebonnet etc., is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species and come in all different colors including purple, white, pink, red, yellow, blue, and bicolor.
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- The columbine plant, Aquilegia, is an easy-to-grow perennial that offers seasonal interest throughout the year. Columbines aren’t particular about soil as long it’s well-draining and not too dry. It blooms in a variety of colors and forms, which emerge from its attractive dark green foliage. The bell-shaped flowers are also a favorite to hummingbirds and may be used in cut-flower arrangements as well.
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- Both my herbaceous peonies and my tree peonies are finished blooming at Bedford, but they’re looking wonderful at Skylands. The peony is any plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America.
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- Herbaceous peony blooms range from simple blossoms to complex clusters. Peony flower shapes are one of four major groups: single, semi-double, Japanese, and double.
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- Here is another herbaceous peony in red just beginning to unfurl. Do you know the difference between herbaceous peonies and tree peonies? Herbaceous peonies are perennial peonies that die back to the ground each year. The roots remain dormant under the soil, then the plant stems push up in the spring. Tree peonies are woody, deciduous shrub peonies. They lose their foliage in the fall but their woody stems do not die back to the ground.
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- Wendy took this pretty photo of the beautiful tree peony growing in front of the Living Hall window. Native to Europe and Asia, peonies were brought over to England by the Romans in the year 1200. Behind the peonies in this photo is my sphynx – already out “guarding” the terrace for the season. She is one of two glazed terra-cotta sphinxes designed by Emile Muller.
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- Wendy also took this closer image. Tree peonies are larger than the more common herbaceous peony, growing up to five feet wide and tall in about 10 years. They are highly prized for their large, prolific blooms that can grow up to 10 inches in diameter.
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- Here is one of the original kiwi vines growing up the stone wall to my West Terrace – still thriving after all these years.
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- These alliums are also growing in front of the Living Hall windows. Allium species are herbaceous perennials with flowers produced on scapes. They grow from solitary or clustered bulbs and come in a broad palette of colors, heights, bloom times and flower forms. They will grow in most any soil, as long as it is well-drained. Alliums love sunlight and will perform best when planted in full sun. Since most of them multiply naturally, they can also be left untouched in the same area for years.
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- Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine. Clematis, pronounced KLEH-muh-tis, are native to China and Japan and known to be vigorous growers. Clematis are also flowering at my Bedford, New York farm.
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- The hellebores are still going strong in Maine. Hellebores come in such an artful array of colors, markings, and formations, it’s hard not to love these fascinating perennials. I’ve had hellebores in my gardens for many years. Hellebores are members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus – about 20 species of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. They blossom during late winter and through spring for up to three months. Hellebores are widely grown for decorative purposes because they are easy-to-grow and are able to resist frost. It is common to plant them on slopes or in raised beds in order to see their flowers, which tend to nod.
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- This photo is of a pretty ‘lady’s slipper’, Cypripedium. This orchid is a woodland plant that thrives in bright shade or dappled sunlight under tall trees. Cypripedium are composed of either a basal set of leaves, or a leafy stalk that grows up to two feet tall. The Cypripedium flower, which tops the stalk or rosette, is an enlarged pouch called a “lip” or a “slipper”, backed by three long, dark-colored, twisted petals. The slipper can be as large as a chicken egg or quite small depending on the species.
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- In this view, one can see the twisted petals behind the pouch.
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- This is called a ‘Jack in the Pulpit,’ Arisaema triphyllum. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a corm. It typically grows about 12 to 26 inches in height with three-parted leaves and flowers contained in a spadix that is covered by a hood.
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- Solomon’s seal, any plant of the genus Polygonatum of the family Ruscaceae, consists of about 25 species of herbaceous perennials with thick, creeping underground stems and tall, drooping stems. The plants are particularly common in the eastern United States and Canada. These were blooming in May at my farm, but are now flowering nicely at Skylands. White bell-shaped blossoms dangle below the arching stems. The flowers become bluish black berries in late summer and the attractive, ribbed foliage turns a golden yellow color in autumn.
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- Creeping thyme, also known commonly as ‘Mother of Thyme,’ is an easily grown, spreading thyme variety. I planted creeping thyme between the stones of my large terrace. It is an evergreen with lightly haired foliage and small flowers appearing in low, dense mats.
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- And the smoke bushes, Cotinus, are looking excellent. Cotinus are grown for their large, plumelike panicles, which appear after the flowers, and give a long-lasting, smokey haze to branch tips. Their smooth, rounded leaves come in exceptional shades of clear pinkish-bronze, yellow, deep purple, and green.
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- This is my flower cutting garden at Skylands, not far from my shop, stable, and carriage house. Here, my vegetable and flower garden are together in one large space completely surrounded by a tall fence.
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- On this side – the planted dahlia bed in the flower cutting garden. I love dahlias, and grow lots of these colorful flowers at my Bedford, New York farm, and up at Skylands, my home in Maine. My dahlia garden at Skylands is quite large with hundreds of different plants in a variety of colors and forms. In fact, dahlias can be found in nearly every color except blue.
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- And here is the long trough we planted just a few weeks ago. I bought this massive stone trough at Trade Secrets in 2013. It looks so beautiful here on the Maine terrace. It is planted up with succulents and topped with pink gravel – the same pink gravel that covers the carriage roads at Skylands. The views behind it are always so breathtaking. I can’t wait to return.
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