It's always fun to see photos from others taken during their vacations. Here at my farm, whenever a member of my team returns from a trip or special occasion, I encourage them to share their images on my blog.
This year, my operations manager, Matt Krack, and his two sons traveled to Lisbon, Portugal for their summer excursion. Lisbon is the vibrant capital and largest city of Portugal located on the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula along the Atlantic Ocean. It is known for its rich history, interesting architecture, and culture. Among their many activities, Matt, Alex, and Charlie enjoyed walking tours through the city, visiting old churches, palaces, museums and monuments, and learning about the well-preserved ruins of the Carmo Convent, which remained standing after the horrific earthquake of 1755.
Here are some of Matt's photos, enjoy.
Matt and his sons stayed at the Residentas Arco do Bandeira in Lisbon with beautiful rooms and views of the city.
This is the view from the top of the Santa Justa Lift facing the Castelo de São Jorge. It was just a five minute walk from the hotel and the first stop of many during Matt’s 10-day trip. And here, Matt opted to take the stairs up rather than the elevator to beat the long lines.
This is what is left of the Carmo Convent. The medieval building remained standing after the devastating earthquake of 1755 that destroyed most of the city. A lot of its architecture dates back to the 1300s, but other details such as Manueline windows were added later.
The roof collapsed on that disastrous All Saints’ Day and was never rebuilt. The Gothic arches, however, are original and did not get damaged.
Portugal is famous for its azulejos, or blue wall tiles. The tiles can be found throughout the country in all kinds of structures from opulent palaces to humble homes and dates back to the 15th century. This is a modern example of Portuguese tile making located on Aveneida de Liberdade.
Matt has a great love for signs, especially the ones that preserve historic times. Here is an old store sign for pistols, supplies, and accessories for escrima, a martial art using weapons.
Matt visited the National Palace of Mafra, a monumental Baroque and Neoclassical palace and monastery just outside of Lisbon. Construction of the palace began in 1717and was not completed until 1755.
Matt, who arrived a few days before his children, visited many sites early in the morning to beat the crowds. This staircase is usually filled with tourists.
The complex is largely built of Lioz stone. It was designed by the German architect João Frederico Ludovice.
This is Óbidos, a walled and well-preserved medieval village. It is filled with picturesque streets, small shops and cafés.
Streets are charming and narrow. It is believed that Óbidos gets its name from the Latin word oppidum meaning walled city.
Another old and well preserved city is Évora. Here is another hand made sign that caught Matt’s eye – for clothing, decorations, and accessories.
Many of the buildings show the distinctive white wash.
The National Pantheon, also known as the Panteão Nacional, is an iconic monument in Lisbon, Portugal. Originally built as a church, it was converted to a national mausoleum in 1916.
This is Estremoz, a quaint city in Portugal about one hour northeast from Évora. It is known for its white marble, rich history, and peaceful atmosphere.
Matt climbed to the top of the Posada in Estremoz, or Pousada Castelo Estremoz – a historic hotel built in the 13th century for Queen Santa Isabel. It features a castle-like setting and gorgeous views of the Alentejo region.
Another stop was the Monument of the Discoveries, which is on the northern bank of the Tagus River estuary in Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon. It is located along the river where ships once departed to explore and trade with India and the Orient. This special monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery.
Boca de inferno or “Mouth of Hell” is a scenic cliff formation located west of Cascais, Portugal. It gets its name from the rough ocean waves which crash against the cliff face and spraying viciously from an opening above.
The Jerónimos Monastery is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome in Lisbon. It is a prominent example of the Gothic Manueline style of architecture made famous in Portugal. Its construction began in January 1501 and was not finished until 100 years later.
This is the National Palace of Queluz, the 18th century palace of the Portuguese Royal Family, as well as notable institutions such as the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art.
Here is another side of the palace. The grounds include French formal gardens with boxwood hedges, fountains, vases and sculptures centered on the “Portico dos Cavalinhos” a Palladian garden temple.
In Sintra, most public buildings remain closed due fire risk and the current severe drought in the area. Local governments are trying to address the challenging conditions – hopefully the region will get rain soon.
But also in Sintra is this beach – Praia de Magoito, an impressive and popular beach destination with its golden sand, tall, dark cliffs, and fossil dunes.
Charlie, Matt, and Alex did a lot, saw a lot, and learned a lot more. If you want to visit an interesting city steeped in history, consider Lisbon. Thanks for the photos, Matt.
Late summer continues to be very busy. My outdoor grounds crew and gardeners are all working very hard to keep everything looking its best.
I love boxwood, Buxus, and have hundreds of these bold green shrubs growing all over my farm. I take very special care of these specimens. In winter, they are covered in a layer of protective burlap, and this time of year, they are carefully pruned and groomed. Maintaining these plantings requires extra maintenance from time to time, but I think it’s well worth the effort.
Enjoy these photos.
Boxwood can be used in borders, as hedges, and planted in layers to create depth and texture. These boxwood shrubs surround my herbaceous peony garden bed.
This is my sunken Summer House Garden – a more formal garden with both English and American boxwood.
In 2017, I decided to line both sides of my clematis pergola with boxwood. There are more than 300-shrubs planted here, and they continue to thrive.
Last spring I planted this boxwood border along the carriage road across from the pergola on one side of my Stewartia garden.
Many of the shrubs start off in this “nursery” located next to my chicken coops. The soil is rich with nutrients, so they grew well and quickly.
Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The leaves on boxwood branches are arranged opposite from each other, making pairs.
Phurba Sherpa is my resident boxwood pruning expert. He has been with me for many years – in fact, he helped plant a lot of the boxwood shrubs around the property.
Twice a year, we groom and prune the boxwood. This is always done with hand shears to give them a more clean and manicured appearance.
I prefer this method of trimming because the cuts are very clean and smooth.
Everyone on my crew uses Japanese Okatsune shears specially made for trimming hedges and borders. These shears are user friendly and come in a range of sizes.
To groom the tops and sides, Phurba keeps the shears close with his hands spread along the base of the handles if the shears are short and midway down the handles if they are longer. This allows the best control.
Here is the back of the herbaceous peony garden – the boxwood here has grown so well in part because of all the meticulous pruning and grooming.
Here’s Phurba pruning the great Boxwood Allée. Here, one can see the newest growth that is being cut. Boxwoods are slow growing compared to many other shrubs, with growth rate depending on the variety. Typically, the growth rate for most varieties is three to six inches per year.
Here is another angle with one side of a shrub pruned and the other side still to do.
Phurba also grooms the tops of the tall boxwood. He uses an orchard ladder designed for these kinds of tasks. It is portable and self-supporting, with a flared base and a tripod pole that provides support on soft, uneven ground.
Occasionally, Phurba stops to sharpen his shears. I always impress upon the crew to take good care of the equipment and tools.
He uses a simple blade sharpener that removes dirt and restores the cutting edge. It is important to sharpen both blades especially if the shears have two cutting edges.
Any pruned debris is gathered and brought to the compost pile later.
It can take weeks to get this summer project done, but Phurba does an excellent job trimming and shaping each and every boxwood.
From one end, this 450-foot Boxwood Allée looks great. It runs from my stable all the way to the carriage road that leads to my hayfields and woodlands. The next project, the boxwood on my Winter House Terrace Parterre. Good job, Phurba!
My garden continues to produce bounties of beautiful fresh vegetables. Our latest harvest - potatoes!
Not long ago, just before a thunderous rainstorm, my gardeners harvested the season's potatoes. Potatoes are from the perennial nightshade, Solanum tuberosum. As the world's fourth-largest food crop, following maize, wheat, and rice, potatoes are grown from “seed potatoes," which are certified disease-free and specially grown in nurseries for planting purposes. I always look forward to sharing the bounty with family and friends.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here at my farm, I plant potatoes every year – they’re great for baking and enjoying with my favorite caviar, and for making my mother’s famous mashed potatoes.
In spring, cut seed potatoes are planted in long trenches that run the entire length of each bed and are about five to six inches deep.
The trenches should also be at least one to two feet apart to give the potato plants ample room to develop. Potatoes perform best in soil with pH levels 4.8 to 5.5. Potatoes are easy to grow as long as they have access to full sun and moderate temperatures.
They are pushed into the soil with eyes faced up and cut sides down. When selecting seed potatoes, avoid planting those from supermarkets in case they were treated by sprout inhibitors. After planting, little maintenance is needed – just watering.
This was one of the potato beds in June, when the potato plants flowered. This happens when they are mature and have enough resources to reproduce. The flowers can be white, pink, lavender, or purple, and they attract pollinators to help the plant make more seeds. Flowering is also a sign that tubers are starting to grow underground.
This is definitely a less attractive sight in the garden, but it is a well-anticipated one because it means the potatoes are ready.
The potatoes are ready to pick once the vines have died back – when the tubers are done growing, and the potato plants have begun to turn yellow and withered.
To harvest potatoes, Ryan uses a gardening fork. It has four tines that can pierce the ground more easily than would a shovel or a spade.
Ryan drives the fork into the soil at the outside edges of the plant and then carefully lifts the plant.
It is important to do this at some distance from the plants to make sure the potatoes are not accidentally pierced.
Ryan digs deep into the ground and feels around for potatoes – potatoes will be slightly cool to the touch.
All these are from one plant.
There are more than 200 varieties of potatoes sold throughout the United States. Each fit into one of seven potato type categories: russet, red, white, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling, and petite.
The skins of mature potatoes are thick and firmly attached to the flesh. If the skins appear thin and rub off easily, the potatoes are still too ‘new’ and should be left in the ground for a few more days.
It’s easy to see how the potatoes are connected to the plant at the root area. They’re very easy to pull off, and often come loose by themselves. Leave any green potatoes alone. When potatoes are exposed to light, they turn green, a sign the toxic substance called solanine is developing, which may cause illness if eaten in large quantities.
Always be careful not to scrape, bruise or cut the tubers. Damaged tubers will rot during storage.
In another area of the bed – red potatoes. An entire potato plant grows from just one potato eye, although when planting, always plant a piece of potato with at least two eyes to ensure germination.
These potatoes are not too deep. Most will be within the first 12-inches of soil.
After the potatoes are picked, they’re placed into crates, separated by variety and color. They can be stored in bins, boxes, or even paper bags – just nothing airtight to prevent rotting. Another tip – never wash potatoes until right before using – washing them shortens the potato’s storage life.
Don’t leave harvested potatoes in the sun as excessive heat could cause them to cook. Just brush off as much soil as possible and place them in a cool, dry place until ready to use.
This was a good harvest. I will have lots of potatoes to eat and share with my family.
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