Caring for my precious potted plants means following a strict schedule, particularly at the end of the warm season.
Just before the first frost, all my sensitive tropical specimens are gathered, groomed, organized, and placed in special greenhouses where temperature and humidity levels can be closely monitored and adjusted when necessary. Six Norfolk Island Pines, Araucaria heterophylla, are too tall for the greenhouses and need a more creative solution to keep them protected during winter. The center space of my stable is the perfect location.
Enjoy these photos.
Norfolk Island Pine trees are large, evergreen conifers with a symmetrical, pyramidal shape, straight trunks, and tiered branches arranged in whorls, with bright green soft, needle-like foliage. Mine are in excellent condition, but these trees cannot thrive in cold weather below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, so they need adequate shelter for the winter.
Before the plants are stored, they’re repotted in plastic containers. This potting mix is specially formulated for outdoor container plants. Using a shovel, my gardener, Matthew Orrego, scoops the potting mix into an empty pot.
The selected new pot is filled about a third with potting soil.
Using a sharp gardening knife, Matthew cuts the bottom layer of the root ball to fit the pot and to stimulate new growth. Intentional cuts are also made along the sides of the root ball as part of the scarifying process.
Using gloved hands for good grip, Matthew carefully lifts the pine by its base and places it into the new pot. Always hold a tree at its strongest point and never by its branches.
He adds more soil to the container, so it sits as high as it was in its previous pot. He also tamps down as he fills, so there is good contact between the root ball and the new soil mix.
Once the pines are repotted, Pete Sherpa from my outdoor grounds crew uses a tractor and its bucket to transport the potted trees to my stable. He transports two at a time.
Pete drapes a moving blanket on the back of the tractor bucket to protect the pines during the short move. He also secures the trees to the bucket, so they cannot fall.
Using old unused hose sections and hose connectors at both ends, Pete created the perfect tie support for the plants. The rubber hose does not damage the trunks of the trees at all. Recycling and repurposing otherwise unusable hoses… it’s a good thing.
Inside the stable, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, walks around the newly positioned pines and makes sure the plants are placed correctly – no plants should ever touch. This prevents any possible diseases from transferring.
My stable cats, May and Cinco, are never far from the action. They are very curious and love watching the crew at work.
From the Norfolk Island pine’s trunk, the branches grow out almost horizontally with the foliage hanging down incurved.
The bark of the Norfolk Island pine is gray-brown in color, which exfoliates in fine distinctive scales.
Ryan checks the top and adds more potting mix if necessary. The soil may have settled more during the move.
This Miracle-Gro potting mix is specially formulated for moisture control, which will protect the plant from under and over watering.
Here’s Cinco, making sure everything is done properly. My team works efficiently to ensure all the plants are moved quickly and safely. As one transports, another is ready to unload and position the potted specimens.
Ryan also adds additional food – Osmocote smart release fertilizer will feed the plants for up to six months. All my tropical plants will get fed a couple of times before they are brought out again in spring.
Next, Pete adds wood shims under all the pots to keep them balanced on the stable floor. These pots have side holes for draining; however, if a pot’s hole is at the bottom, raising it on shims will allow the water to drain better.
Pete gently lifts the potted tree one section at a time and places a shim underneath. each of these pots needs several shims.
Above the trees are grow lights, which will be turned on at night after Daylight Saving Time ends. I’m fortunate that I have a lot of indoor spaces that can help accommodate my tropical plants during the winter. These will do excellently in my stable.
Whenever time allows, I always enjoy visiting area nurseries, gardens, and flower farms to see their inventory, learn about their plant varieties, and talk with their passionate growers.
Not long ago, I visited Bear Creek Farm, an enchanting establishment in the tiny hamlet of Stanfordville, New York. It's where proprietor, Debra Kaye, grows hundreds of beautiful flowers - breathtaking dahlias, heirloom chrysanthemums, Japanese anemones, peonies, zinnias, and so many more. Bear Creek Farm sells an array of flowers, tubers and seeds and hosts several interesting flower workshops through the year. If you love growing flowers as much as I do, please go to their web site - just click on the highlighted link - to find out more about their offerings.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
At Bear Creek Farm this area overlooks the lavender and peony fields. In the center is a an antique Beauty Bush, Kolkwitzia amabilis, planted in 1901, long before Debra acquired the property. A Beauty Bush is a dense, upright arching deciduous shrub that features a profusion of small pink blooms in summer.
Bear Creek Farm is located in New York’s Hudson Valley, less than two hours from Manhattan. (Photo courtesy of Bear Creek Farm)
The farm grows hundreds of stunning dahlias. Dahlias are planted from tubers, which are underground bulbs that store energy for the plant’s growth. The bright orange blooms on the right are ‘Bizon Bronze’ which grow up to six inches in diameter. Behind them are the medium sized ‘Shaggy Chic’ dahlias and also ‘Lilac Time,’ a pretty lavender colored bloom. Dahlias come in a large array of colors including Dahlia colors include white, yellow, orange, bronze, flame, red, pink, lilac, lavender, mauve, purple, wines, and violets. Some dahlias even bloom in multiple colors at once, but there is no blue.
In the front are ‘Myrtle’s Folly’ and ‘Jowey Brochant’ – an award-winning flower that starts with a red-orange center that becomes more pronounced as the flower grows.
This variety is called ‘Belle of Barmera’ which boasts large dinner plate sized blooms in coral-raspberry with peach colored centers.
This is ‘Break Out,’ a light colored soft dahlia that features eight to 10 inch blooms on short stems.
This bold dark pink flower is ‘Omega’ – a standout variety loved for its large flowers and rich color. In fact, unlike plants that use scent to attract, dahlias rely on their amazing spectrum of color to make them attractive to pollinating insects.
‘Vassio Meggos’ is another large dahlia in bold lavender. The genus Dahlia is native to the high plains of Mexico. Some species can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica as well as parts of South America where it was introduced.
This dahlia variety is called ‘Hercules’ with eight inch blooms and a golden-orange hue.
‘Islander’ is a giant salmon-pink variety with ruffled blooms and strong stems. The dahlia was first recorded by Westerners back in 1615. Back then they were called by their original name which was acoctli. The first garden dahlias reached the United States in the early 1830s. Today, dahlias are grown all over the world.
‘Sandra’ or ‘Pink Sylvia’ is a popular miniature dahlia in hot bubble pink.
Here’s Debra in the conditioning room preparing the dahlias for shipping. This room is where all the dahlias are stored immediately after cutting. And here’s a tip: using a sturdy bucket, pour in two-inches of boiling hot water – 160-degrees to 180-degrees Fahrenheit and let flowers sit in the container for a little more than an hour. This will allow the water to be absorbed through the stems and help the blooms last longer.
Outside, I was able to see some of the planted garden beds. Here is a bed of dark pink Japanese anemones. I also love anemones and grow pink and white ones at my farm.
Here are some white Japanese anemones. The Japanese anemone, or Anemone hupehensis, is a perennial that produces delicate saucer-shaped flowers in pink, white and purple. It is also called Japanese thimbleweed or wildflower.
The cultivated gardens at Bear Creek Farm take up just more than seven acres – all meticulously maintained.
Debra’s husband wanted to create a relaxing area by their stream, so they reached out to an artisan to make three of these benches – all hand made with custom selected woods. Debra uses the space for flower arranging workshops. (Photo courtesy of Bear Creek Farm)
The vegetable garden is planted with many marigolds to keep pesky insects away.
This bed shows two rows of zinnias with a middle row ground cover of creeping thyme – it’s so pretty.
And this is one of several chrysanthemum tunnels. Right now, they’re just beginning to bloom – a little late this year. In spring, these houses hold hundreds of Iceland poppies.
And here I am joined by Debra and my friend, artist and owner of Clove Brook Farm, Christopher Spitzmiller. Please go to BearCreekFarm.com to learn more about its flowers and workshops.
It's fall, and if you live in an area where foliage changes with the seasons, you know how exciting and beautiful this time of year can be.
Here at my farm, the season hasn't quite hit its peak just yet, but the changing leaves are providing lots of color - vibrant hues of crimson, orange, and gold. And they get more striking every day. I've planted thousands of trees over the years. It's a fantastic place to take in the autumn transformations.
Enjoy these photos.
There’s definitely a chill in the air this morning – temperatures are only expected to be in the mid-40s. These tall sugar maples above my tree peonies are some of the first to change color in autumn. Some trees change early, others late – usually from October to November in the Northeast.
In fall, because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to gold and orange colors come out and give the leaves part of their autumn splendor.
And do you know why autumn colors vary? The range of colors is influenced by several factors, including the type of tree, environmental conditions, and the timing of the leaf drop. Weather also plays a part – cooler nights and sunny days are ideal for the brightest reds and oranges.
This is a young Japanese Stewartia just behind my gym building. Native to Japan, this tree is known not only for its brilliant shades of orange that emerge in fall, but also for its interesting exfoliating bark and delicate blooms.
I’ve planted many Stewartia trees. They are among my favorites – do you know why? Here’s a hint: it’s in the name.
I call this my Stewartia garden. It’s planted with several Stewartia trees. This garden has also been going through a different transformation. It was once home to all shade loving plants, but since the removal of some very tall trees a few years back, it is now an area that needs more sun-loving specimens.
Nearby, this viburnum is also showing off its fall color. These have changed to almost a purple-red. Other varieties show orange-red, red, and even yellow.
Guests that come around this time of year often ask, “what are those flowers that look like crocus?” The common name for Colchicum is autumn crocus, but they are not true autumn crocus because there are many species of true crocus which are autumn blooming. Also, Colchicum flowers have six stamens while crocuses have only three. The colchicum at my farm are blooming now.
Some of the berries persist into early fall, such as these kousa dogwood fruits, which are edible. The soft pulp is sweet with a similar flavor to a ripe persimmon but it also has hard seeds inside.
I love the layers of color created by the changing leaves. Although some autumn coloration occurs wherever deciduous trees are found, the most brightly colored foliage is seen in Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia, northern and western Europe, the Caucasus region near the Black Sea, Russia, eastern Asia, Argentina, Chile, southern Brazil, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand’s South Island.
This is one end of my Japanese maple woodland. As the colder weather progresses, the Japanese maples will become even brighter red.
This time of year, more specifically, September and October, I also see Osage Oranges on the trees. The Osage orange, Maclura pomifera, is actually not an orange at all, and is more commonly known as a hedge-apple, horse-apple, or mock-orange. Each one is about four to five inches in diameter and filled with a dense cluster of hundreds of smaller fruits
Persian parrotia or Persian ironwood is a small upright tree or large, rounded, multi-stemmed shrub. It is related to witch-hazel. The oblong green leaves turn various shades of red, orange and yellow in the fall, often lasting into the winter months.
Here are some that have completely turned a fiery red.
Just outside my large Equipment Barn in my pinetum is this American larch, Larix laricina. This tree is commonly called tamarack, eastern larch, American larch, or hackmatack.
Here are its bright yellow branches right now. This deciduous conifer will drop all these showy needles just as winter approaches.
Here’s a view of the carriage road to the woodlands. This view is one of the most popular here at the farm – in all seasons.
And here is one of the large sycamores. In the fall, sycamore trees exhibit a more subtle transformation, changing from bright green to muted yellow-brown, but still quite eye-catching. The mighty sycamore is the symbol of my farm.
In this area, the peak of the season is expected in mid-November, when the this year’s autumn color is at its best.
And look what else is starting to bloom here at the farm. This is just one of hundreds of saffron flowers planted by my friend and colleague, Hannah Milman. Planting is done in July, August and September. Harvesting comes at the end of October to mid-November, roughly eight weeks after planting. Fall is a beautiful season. I hope you can see some of its changes where you live.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
