A Garden Tour for the USSGA
The gardens are glistening with color at my farm - so perfect for a spring day garden tour.
Yesterday, I opened my gardens for a private showing to a lovely group from the United States Seniors' Golf Association. Every now and then, I agree to these guided walks to show visitors what is blooming at the time. The weather was perfect - sunny with temperatures in the low 80s. Unfortunately, because of my busy travel and work schedule, I wasn’t able to join this group, but they had a very thorough and enjoyable tour with my head gardener, Ryan McCallister.
Here are some pictures, enjoy.
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- This group included 40 guests. I like to schedule these tours early before it gets too warm. This day was perfect and everyone was so enthusiastic.
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- The group started with a walk through my main greenhouse and out through the flower garden. So many flowers are blooming now.
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- The peonies are showing so beautifully this year. And so are the alliums.
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- And the lupines are everywhere. 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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- Ryan talked about the how the flower garden is organized with all sorts of different perennials. I wanted the plants to be mixed, so every bed in this garden would be interesting and colorful.
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- Just outside the head house is another garden of peonies.
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- The group was amazed to see so many peonies, but at this point of the tour, they had not seen my giant herbaceous peony garden yet.
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- Ryan stops at various locations to point out specific allées and garden beds. He talked about the history of the farm and how it has evolved over the years. He also answered many gardening questions. I am glad everyone wore comfortable, cool clothing – there’s always a lot of walking during these tours.
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- The tour walked to the pool, where guests saw my antique staddle stones. I bought the staddle stones in 2017 from the annual NYBG Garden Furniture & Antiques Fair. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. Lining two sides are my six Ginkgo biloba Goldspire™ Obelisk trees.
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- Then the group walked through the orchard, where I have more than 200 fruit trees.
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- Ryan led the group down my long Boxwood Allée. Some stopped to say hi to the donkeys in their pasture.
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- And no tour is complete without a stop at the bird enclosures. Here is one of my peacocks showing off his tail feathers.
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- Next, the group walked through my formal Summer House Garden. I began planning this formal garden more than 12 years ago. The focal point is the great old ginkgo tree at the back of the space that is original to the property. Over time, I’ve planted American and English boxwood, smaller ginkgo trees, smoke bushes, Siberian weeping pea shrubs, peonies, hostas, lilies, alliums, snowflakes, and so much more.
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- Next was my peony bed – it’s an extra special treat when guests can see this garden in bloom. My herbaceous peony collection includes 11-double rows of peonies, and 22 different varieties of peony plants – two varieties in each row.
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- One of the reasons these peonies thrive here at my farm is because of the soil. It has a pH of 6.5 to 7.0, which is ideal. It is also amended with superphosphate and Azomite, a natural product mined from an ancient mineral deposit in Utah. These natural additives improve root systems and overall plant vigor, resulting in this fantastic profusion of blooms.
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- 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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- Peonies are one of the best-known and most dearly loved perennials – not surprising considering their beauty, trouble-free nature, and longevity.
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- The peony’s fragrance can vary, but most have sweet, clean scents. And, do you know… pink peonies tend to have stronger fragrances than red peonies? Double form white peonies are also very aromatic.
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- Some asked what I do with all the flowers. Aside from using them for various video and photography shoots, I always cut fresh flowers whenever I entertain. Here is one vase of flowers on my Martha Stewart table from Pollywood. I always like to offer my guests a snack and cool beverage during these guided tours.
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- Enma pours glasses of pomegranate juice made using concentrate from our friends at POM Wonderful.
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- And here’s Patricia pouring glasses of refreshing iced coffee.
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- And of course, everyone enjoyed a cookie, or two. These are my delicious Ultimate Kitchen Sink cookies made by Maman. These cookies are so delicious and so easy to make – one doesn’t even need a mixer. The recipe is from my book, Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection. The recipe calls for dried fruits, nuts, chocolate, rolled oats, coconut. It’s all in there – everything but the kitchen sink. It was a wonderful end to a beautiful tour.
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