A Fall Garden Tour at My Farm
There's always something new to see during tours of my Bedford, New York farm.
Yesterday, I opened my gardens for a private autumn showing to a group of passionate horticulturists from the New York Hortus Club, a prestigious group of professional and semi-professional plants experts, which has been going strong for more than 60-years. This exclusive organization is made up of 35-members - many of whom are, or have been, employed in positions at public gardens, grand estates, and universities. The Hortus Club meets once a month - in winter, at the National Arts Club in Manhattan for horticultural lectures and discussions, and from April through October, at various outdoor public and private gardens. I was honored to welcome them to my Cantitoe Corners Farm.
Here are a few photos taken during the tour, enjoy.
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- Every now and then I agree to a handful of private guided walks to show visitors what is happening in my gardens at the time and to share how we care for all the many plantings. On this beautiful autumn day, the visiting group from the New York Hortus Club was able to see all a lot of the fall colors around my home, my new and developing living maze, the allées and groves, and my greenhouses.
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- Here, my head gardener Ryan McCallister welcomes everyone to the farm and walks them through my allée of lindens. I was in my Winter House kitchen making a delicious apple crisp.
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- The group was fascinated by the peafowl perched in their enclosure. During this time of year, the peacocks are without their long, lustrous tail feathers, but they will regrow their plumes longer and fuller by February when breeding season begins.
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- Among the first stops – my stable, to see the Friesians, my Fell pony, and the five Sicilian donkeys. Bond seems to enjoy meeting everyone who stops by his stall.
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- Next, Ryan walked the group past the extended azalea garden. Along both sides of the carriage road leading from my Summer House to the stable, we planted hundreds and hundreds of azaleas. They will look so stunning in spring.
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- The group saw my long tree peony border planted in a semi-shade of giant maples near my Summer House. These tall trees are showing off amazing fall color.
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- The garden behind my Summer House is always a favorite stop. Ryan pointed out the tall, old Ginkgo tree at the back – the focal point of this garden.
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- Next, everyone was led to the courtyard behind my Winter House, where the group stopped for refreshments. We have not yet had a hard frost, so most of my potted plants are still outdoors including these topiaries – Australian Brush Cherry trees, Eugenia myrtifolia, also now known as Syzygium paniculatum. I also have several sago palms displayed here.
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- Here, I addressed our guests and we all enjoyed refreshments and conversation – all about plants, or course.
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- On one side of my courtyard, we set up cups for warm coffee, butter and homemade jams for croissants.
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- … And glasses for homemade apple cider pressed by myself and my granddaughter, Jude, from apples grown right here at the farm.
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- Here’s the apple crisp fresh from the oven. I always like to make a homemade treat for those who visit my farm.
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- Moises served each guest a piece of warm apple crisp – some even came back for second helpings.
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- After our refreshments, I guided the group to my newest project here at Cantitoe Corners – my new living maze. I wanted to create a maze of interesting hedges, espaliers, and shrubs in the three-acre pasture across the carriage road from my Winter House terrace. I started with European beech, European hornbeams, boxwood, and a variety of espaliered apple trees. I designed the maze with different plantings to add texture and interest. All of these specimens will grow tall enough to prevent walkers from seeing the paths ahead. We’ve planted so many in just a couple of months – and the entire crew is having so much fun planning all the different turns.
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- I led the group past the grove of bald cypress, or Taxodium distichum – a deciduous conifer. Bald cypress is a large tree with gray-brown to red-brown bark. It is popular as an ornamental tree because of its light, feathery foliage. These trees have grown so much over the years – and look, they are now changing to their fall colors.
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- Across from the bald cypress is my long and winding clematis pergola. I explained to the group how all the boxwood shrubs started as small root cuttings which were nurtured in a garden bed here at the farm for three years before being transplanted. The boxwood continues to thrive along this border.
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- Nearby is my Stewartia garden – filled with perennials and of course, Japanese stewartia trees – lovely, slow-growing, woodland trees native to Japan, Korea, and the southeastern United States. And do you know why I love these trees so much? My name is Stewart, after all.
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- We walked to my soccer and party lawn where my grandson, Truman, loves to play when he is here. On one side are six weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus Pendula.
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- And just behind them is my new pavilion, where I have this long table made from yew trees cut down at my former home in East Hampton. The hanging plants are staghorn ferns, Platycerium – a genus of about 18 fern species in the polypod family, Polypodiaceae. Ferns in this genus are widely known as staghorn or elkhorn ferns due to their uniquely shaped fronds.
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- Guests admired the staddle stones at the end of the pool. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. They typically looked like giant stone mushrooms, but mine are square – a more rare and unique version.
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- The group was guided past the Equipment Barn, these fall colored parrotias, toward my hoop house and vegetable greenhouse. Fall colors could be seen everywhere.
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- The group then walked down the Boxwood Allée, past the stable courtyard where they saw this grouping of potted cycads. Very soon, these will be tucked away in their greenhouses for the long winter ahead. Thanks for coming, New York Hortus Club – I hope you enjoyed your visit to my farm.
Martha Pins
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