One of the best times to visit the Northeast is during autumn when one can enjoy the glorious colors of the season.
Cheryl DuLong and Wendy Norling, who work up at Skylands, my home in Maine, love the outdoors and nature. They often keep me updated by sending photographs of the property and the surrounding areas. Here are some wonderful fall images captured while walking around Skylands.
Enjoy.
It’s always nice to see the photos taken by others at my homes. Cheryl took this photo leading to the main driveway at Skylands. The changing leaves look so beautiful mixed with the evergreens.
This wall is seen outside the laundry room windows. The trees cast such interesting shadows on the wall. The small tree on the left is witch hazel. Witch hazel is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae and is closely related to the sweet gum. Most species flower from January to March and if given enough room to spread and grow, they will display a beautiful and fragrant border of spidery blooms when everything else is still winter gray.
From this location at one of the natural pools of Skylands, one can see some of “Rockefeller’s teeth” at the top – large, irregular blocks of granite that serve as guardrails.
Below the evergreens on the woodland floor are lots and lots of pine needles. I like to collect some of the fallen brown colored pine needles and use them to cover the footpaths around my home.
The leaves are turning everywhere. These stone steps lead to the lost pool.
This is what the lost pool looks like in fall – now drained of water and cleaned. My outdoor grounds crew will fill the pools again in spring.
On top of the Western Terrace, one can see the kiwi vines on the lattice pergola. All the kiwi vines are original to the property.
The kiwi vines show such beautiful autumn color. These are at the corner of the Living Hall window. Growing hardy kiwi vines requires extensive space – they can grow more than 20 feet tall.
This is the view of the dining room windows below Terrace 1. The large maple tree, Acer, overlooks the newly trimmed scented geraniums. Scented geraniums, Pelargonium, are grown for their fragrant leaves that can mimic rose, pineapple, or even chocolate mint.
Here is a fall scene of some of the changing colors of the ferns at Skylands. These are hay scented ferns, Dennstaedtia punctilobula. The fronds release a fragrance reminiscent of fresh mown hay when brushed with a hand.
More of “Rockefeller’s teeth” can be seen on the right. On the left is Acer pensylvanicum, better known as the striped maple, moosewood, moose maple or goosefoot maple – a small North American species of maple tree.
One never tires from this beautiful view of Seal Harbor. Little Cranberry, one of the five islands of the Town of Cranberry Isles, Maine, can be seen on the left. Great Cranberry is on the right. Also out there – Baker Island, which marks the southwestern entrance to Frenchman Bay. It’s a very different view this time of year when most of the boats have disappeared from their harbor moorings.
Cheryl took this photo from the charming Ox Ledge gazebo looking out one of its windows. The gazebo opens to this beautiful large flat garden surrounded by majestic trees.
Some of the trees have already lost all their leaves.
On the ground, Wendy inspects a group of leaves – maple leaves and one poplar tree leaf in the lower right hand corner. Mixed in are the leaves of a blueberry bush and some moss. Moss is a slow growing wild plant that I often love to use to create miniature woodland garden arrangements. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish.
Wendy looks up to snap this photo of another changing maple tree next to an evergreen. The colors change largely because of the changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature. The leaves stop their food-making process, the chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange colors emerge.
Here, on a moss-covered rock – a moose maple leaf on top and a regular maple leaf on the bottom. The leaves of a moose maple are broad and soft, three to six inches long with three shallow forward-pointing lobes.
This is down by the shop where we cook lobsters during summer. This maple tree looks so beautiful above the cooker.
In Maine, my vegetable and flower garden are together in one large space completely surrounded by a tall lattice wood fence. Here is the back fence with more fall color behind it.
Wendy took this image of the maple leaves through one of the square holes in the fence.
I love the layers of color created by all the changing leaves. The most brightly colored foliage is found 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.
And here’s another view of the woodland looking from the road to the playhouse. This is peak “leaf peeping” here in the Northeast. Soon all the deciduous trees will be bare. If you’re in the area this weekend, I hope you’re able to enjoy some nature’s gorgeous autumn colors.
Fall preparations for all my potted plants continue around my Bedford, New York farm.
This time of year, my gardeners and all the members of my outdoor grounds crew are very busy - cleaning out the greenhouses, assembling long garden tables for smaller specimens, and repotting many of my precious plants, including some of my camellias. Camellias are highly prized for their exquisite blooms, splendid evergreen foliage, and compact habits. These shrubs blossom prodigiously for weeks, from late fall to mid-spring, showing off beautiful shades of white, cream, pink, and red.
Enjoy these photos.
Camellias are attractive evergreen shrubs. Here is one with a couple of buds just waiting to open.
I love camellias and have a good number of them in my collection. Many are from Nuccio’s Nurseries, Inc. in Altadena, California. Camellias thrive in mild climates from California to Florida and are available in thousands of cultivars. The most common species of camellias are Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua.
Camellias are easy to grow in containers and will thrive with the right care and conditions. Because camellias do not tolerate wet feet, be sure to plant in a container that drains well. I like to place a shard over the drainage hole of all my pots, so none of the potting mix falls out.
Always use fresh potting soil when transplanting as old potting mix tends to be soggy and depleted of nutrients. Here, Brian fills the pot about a third full with the medium.
Camellias prefer well-drained, acidic soil, preferably with a pH between 5.0 and 6.5. We use a well-draining organic soil mix filled with nutrient-rich compost. For camellias, just avoid using fine peat moss in the mix, which tends to quickly become too dry or too wet.
When repotting, be sure to select a container that is at least one size larger than the old pot. This camellia root ball is in good condition.
Using a hori hori knife, Brian scarifies the roots, or cuts some of the old, outer roots to stimulate more growth and promote good aeration.
Brian adjusts the plant in the container, so it sits at the same depth as it did in its original pot. When keeping potted camellias, they will require repotting every two or three years as they outgrow their vessels.
And then backfills the potted plant until just under the rim of the pot, so watering doesn’t get too messy.
Finally, Brian lightly tamps down on the soil to ensure it is well packed.
Each potted camellia also gets a sprinkling of Osmocote fertilizer – small, round coated prills filled with nutrients.
Brian stopped for a quick photo – just one or two more to go…
The leaves of a camellia are alternately arranged, simple, thick, serrated, and glossy.
Buds start to form in mid-summer and then open from fall through early spring.
A couple of my camellias already have gorgeous blooms – this one is still unfurling. Their flowers are usually large and conspicuous, one to 12 centimeters in diameter.
Here is another still opening. The beautiful camellia flowers come in mainly white and shades of pink or red, and various combinations.
This is what a flower looks like in full bloom. This photo was taken last February. Camellia ‘Elizabeth Weaver’ has large formal double flowers in coral pink.
Here’s another pretty camellia flower from last winter – ‘Nuccio’s Pearl’ with full double blooms and pure white petals edged with an orchid pink blush.
These camellias will all be kept in my tropical greenhouse for the cold season, where they can be closely monitored. When selecting a spot for a potted camellia, be sure it gets partial shade and protection from hot afternoon sunlight, as container-grown camellias dry out much faster than shrubs planted in the ground. Also water the plant deeply whenever the top two to four inches of potting mix feels dry to the touch and let it drain completely.
Camellias have a reputation for being somewhat difficult to grow, but if one is willing to meet their needs, they’ll reward you with a long bloom season just when you need it most. I am looking forward to seeing all their stunning flowers this winter.
Here in Bedford, New York, temperatures are just beginning to fall, so lots of work is being done to prepare all my tropical plants for the cold season ahead.
Yesterday, my gardeners tackled the plants inside what we call my "little greenhouse" - located next to my main greenhouse and just outside my flower cutting garden. Like all my greenhouses, this structure is heated and the humidity levels are closely monitored and adjusted when necessary. Some of the plants in this space include my cymbidium orchids, myrtle topiaries, fishtail palms, and a walking iris.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
It was a pleasant day to move some of my tropical plants into their designated greenhouse for the long winter. Here, Phurba and Ryan carry two potted cymbidium orchids into the smallest of my five greenhouses. I have many of these plants and they thrive here at the farm.
Cymbidium, or boat orchid, is a genus of more than 50-evergreen species in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Cymbidium orchids are prized for their long-lasting sprays of flowers, used especially as cut flowers or spring corsages. Cymbidiums are more demanding than many orchids commonly grown as houseplants. They flower from autumn to spring, and produce large flower spikes that can last up to eight weeks each.
Cymbidiums have long, thin, light green, grass–like leaves that arch upright from the pot.
Because the “little greenhouse” has limited room and my cymbidiums are growing so well, we needed to be a bit creative with their storage. We often use leftover stumps from cut trees as bases for our pots – these can make better use of the vertical space.
We also keep smaller scraps of wood to use as shims for under the pots – these help level the planters and allow for better drainage.
Phurba checks to see what kind of wood shim would fit best under this cymbidium.
And then places three underneath the pot to make it secure on top of the stump.
Here is one side where there are no stumps – it looks quite crowded and the plants are too close together.
On the right, the stumps are in place and there is more room and air circulation between the plants.
On this side, all my myrtle topiaries, Myrtus communis ‘Compacta’. Myrtle is any of the evergreen shrubs in the genus Myrtus, belonging to the family Myrtaceae.
Myrtle is a medium-sized shrub with small aromatic, glossy green leaves, which release a nice scent when crushed. It bears showy small white flowers from mid spring to early summer before giving way to small purplish-black berries.
Here, Ryan feeds all the topiaries Osmocote fertilizer – small, round coated prills filled with nutrients. Buy some at my retail shop Martha.com.
Here’s a closer look at the Osmocote prills – these plants just need a sprinkling. Myrtle prefers to be moist but not soggy. They should be watered only when the top layer of soil begins to feel dry.
In another corner, several potted sansevieria – a historically recognized genus of flowering plants, native to Africa, notably Madagascar, and southern Asia. These hardy plants are very popular because of their adaptability to a wide range of growing conditions. They do best in medium to bright indirect light, but can also tolerate lower light as well as direct sun.
Sansevieria are characterized by their stiff, upright, sword-like leaves.
This is a walking iris, Neomarica northiana, also known as North’s false flag. It is a flowering plant native to Brazil. This exotic-looking plant has graceful sword-like foliage. When in bloom, it has white, yellow or blue flowers that resemble a cross between those of an orchid and an iris.
The walking iris is also called the fan iris for the fan-like growing characteristic of its leaves.
Another interesting plant in this greenhouse is the fishtail palm. Caryota is a genus of palm trees known as fishtail palms because of the shape of their leaves. There are about 13 species native to Asia, northern Australia, and the South Pacific.
Here’s a closer look at the leaves – shaped like a jagged fish’s tail, which form thick, swirled layers of ruffled fronds.
I am so glad I am fortunate enough to have several greenhouses for all my well-loved tropical specimens. What are you doing to prepare your potted plants for the cold weather? Please share your comments in the section below.
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