If you’re looking for interesting, easy-to-care-for trees, but don't have a lot of space, consider one of the many unique and attractive tree types with narrow upright habits.
I'm in the process of planting a living maze in a pasture just outside my Winter House. Much of the three-acre area is now complete and all the plants are growing excellently. Some of the latest plants include Parkland Pillar Birch, Betula platyphylla 'Jetpark,' and Green Wall Spire Crabapple, Malus x astringens 'Jefwall' - both from First Editions Shrubs and Trees.
Here are some photos.
I’ve been working hard on my living maze since I started planting it in the spring of 2022. I carefully plan and design every puzzling path and row of plants. And then I print a detailed schematic for my gardeners to follow. I am very proud of how it is growing so far. And yes, like a true maze there is only one right way from the entrance to the goal location. These Parkland Pillar Birch trees are next to be planted. They are thoughtfully placed in a row that has already been stripped and measured.
The Parkland Pillar Birch has dense dark green foliage that turns a beautiful golden yellow in fall. It’s known for its narrow, upright habit and interesting white colored bark.
My crew works hard while there is still time to plant in the gardens. Here is Chhiring digging one of the holes.
When the soil is very dry, I instruct my team to fill the hole with water first before planting.
Each hole is sprinkled with a generous amount of fertilizer. I use Miracle-Gro Organic All Purpose Plant Food.
Chhiring uses a hard rake to carefully scratch the root ball and stimulate growth. Essentially, small portions of the root ball are cut to loosen the roots and encourage new development.
Chhiring places the tree in the hole and makes sure it is planted at the right height. The top of the root ball should be level with the top of the hole when in place.
Then he backfills the hole, tamping down as he goes.
Here they are now – already beginning to show off their autumn color.
I also planted these Green Wall Spire Crabapple trees. These will grow to about 20 feet tall and five feet wide.
Green Wall Spire Crabapples prefer full sun and are drought tolerant.
The foliage is glossy and green in summer, bronze in fall, and in spring, this tree is covered in white flowers.
These crabapples typically produce fruit in late summer to early fall. The red berries attract many birds.
Each hole is dug precisely with enough room for the plant’s root ball. The rule of thumb when planting is to dig the hole two times as wide as the rootball and no deeper than the bottom of the rootball, similar to how it is in its pot.
Once again, Chhiring fills the hole with water.
And then the root ball is scarified. I teach all my outdoor grounds crew members how to scarify.
I always say, “if you eat, so should the plants.” Chhiring sprinkles more Miracle-Gro Organic All-Purpose Plant Food into the hole.
And backfills again – remember, only plant up to the flare, where the tree meets the root system.
I can’t believe how the maze is looking – it’s almost done, and all the trees and shrubs and other plants are all thriving.
The 2025 fall Rosen House Concert Series at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is now in progress - please take the opportunity to attend one of their wonderful events if you're in the area.
Caramoor, which is not far from my farm, is an 81-acre former country estate where art and music enthusiasts Lucie and Walter Rosen built an Italianate-style villa and gardens to entertain their friends from around the world. In 1946, the Rosens opened their property as a performing arts center, which now hosts seasonal concerts, historic house tours, educational programs, and other outdoor affairs and performances. Concerts range from classical, opera, and chamber music to jazz, American roots, global sounds, and the American songbook. Earlier this month, Caramoor welcomed accomplished classical cellist, Abel Selaocoe, to their Music Room stage. Other performers scheduled this year include jazz and soul singer Christie Dashiell, classical guitar sensation Raphaël Feuillâtre, and the talented Poiesis String Quartet. In addition, Caramoor is open all year round and available to visitors who wish to wander the grounds and its historic gardens.
Enjoy these photos, and please visit the website at caramoor.org to see what events are being offered in the coming weeks.
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located in the picturesque hamlet of Katonah, New York and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If you haven’t been, Caramoor is a wonderful place where one can hear exceptional music, enjoy interesting and informative programs, and walk through beautifully maintained and historic gardens.
The Rosens built the estate and restored the grounds gradually during the 1930s, importing many architectural and decorative items from Europe. The Caramoor became a center for the arts and music following the World War II death of the Rosens’ only son.
The Cedar Walk is a 300-foot path through an allée of high eastern and western cedars. A hammock at one end provides respite for visitors.
Also on the Caramoor grounds is this commissioned sound art sculpture, in”C”, created by Trimpin. Born Gerhard Trimpin, Trimpin is a kinetic sculptor, sound artist, and musician. His work integrates sculpture and sound across a variety of media.
The gardens are meticulously manicured and maintained. Some of the original gardens were planted around 1912, making them one of the oldest native features of the estate.
This is the inside of the Venetian Pavilion. The theater is set around Greek and Roman marble columns topped by Venetian arches and protected by a billowy tent. It’s always brilliantly lit and the acoustics excellent.
(Photo by Gabe Palacio)
The Venitian Pavilion is the second-largest building on the property. It was added in the late 1950s as an additional music venue.
The Rosen House is a two story stucco building with a red tiled roof in a variety of asymmetrical gables and hip configurations.
This is a family portrait of Lucie Bigelow Rosen and her children, Walter and Anne. This was painted in their New York City townhouse and is now displayed at Caramoor along with the green desk in the painting.
Here is one wall of the formal Dining Room at Rosen House. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
The Dining room was a central entertaining room at the estate. The room’s design and décor reflect the Rosens’ love for music and the arts.
The “Monkey Bedroom” of the Rosen House was reserved for guests and showed Lucie’s love for nature. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
The La Loggia Bedroom is another elaborate guest space at Caramoor. Every room in the Rosens’ country home was filled with fine decorative art and furniture.
(Photo by Gabe Palacio)
This is the Music Room at Caramoor. This room seats 170 guests and is known for its Renaissance furniture, Gothic tapestries, and stained glass elements.
This 16th century coffered ceiling is from a palace in southern Italy, carved in a design of squares and crosses with rosettes in the center.
Above are 16th century French and Swiss glass windows. Nine of these windows were made especially for the Music Room.
On one side is the Spanish alcove within the Music Room. It features a Gothic 16th century ceiling from an inn near Toledo, Spain. Chairs flank a 17th century Italian table. The Rosen family regularly gathered in this area to entertain and play board games.
The Music Room is now used for intimate musical performances, recitals, opera and lectures. My nephew, Christopher Herbert, performed here in 2018 with his musical group, New York Polyphony, an amazing a cappella vocal quartet that sang both early and new music.
Not long ago, the Caramoor held its first event of the fall season with a performance from Abel Selaocoe, a boundary-breaking cellist from South Africa. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
His captivating solos weaved together Western classical traditions with the rich musical heritage of Africa. Abel released his second album, Hymns of Bantu, this past spring. (Photo by Gabe Palacio)
I encourage you to visit Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts the next time you’re in the area – it’s open all year round. Check out its calendar at caramoor.org or stop in for a pleasant walk through the historic gardens.
One of the best times to plant hydrangeas is in the fall - this gives time for the roots to get established before any harsh weather sets in.
My gardeners and outdoor grounds crew have been planting a lot of hydrangeas over the last week - outside my peafowl pen and horse paddock, and around my half-acre vegetable garden. Hydrangeas are popular ornamental plants grown for their large flower heads, which are excellent in cut arrangements and for drying. These flowering plants are from the First Editions and Endless Summer Collections by Bailey Nurseries. There is still time to get plants in the ground this weekend - happy gardening.
Enjoy these photos.
My farm sits on 153 acres of gardens, pastures, and woodlands. I am constantly thinking of places to add beautiful and interesting plants. This walkway between the fenced areas will look great with a row of hydrangeas.
Before planting, one foot wide strips of sod are removed from the fenced area surrounding my large vegetable garden.
The Little Hottie® panicle hydrangeas are lined up perfectly and spaced evenly. These plants are about two feet apart, which will allow branches to grow together and create a nice hedge.
Hydrangea leaves are opposite, simple, stalked, pinnate, and four to eight inches long.
Chhiring digs a hole appropriately sized for the potted plant. The rule of thumb in gardening is to make a hole two to three times wider than the original pot and slightly deeper.
Chhiring sprinkles fertilizer into the hole and mixes it with the existing and surrounding soil.
Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed provides food for up to three months and is specially formulated to help plants maintain lush foliage and colorful blooms.
As with any plant, the root ball is teased on all the sides and the bottom to stimulate growth.
In the ground, the plant should sit at the same depth it was in the pot.
Now that it is fall, these hydrangeas flowers are beginning to fade, but they’re all in excellent condition and ready to be planted.
This plant is given a thorough watering before it is backfilled.
Along the fence on the south side of the garden I planted White Diamonds hydrangeas. White Diamonds® is an exceptional midsize hydrangea with glistening open white panicles that fade to parchment and pink.
I decided to put these BloomStruck® Bigleaf Hydrangeas outside the peafowl and goose enclosure. Two other sides of this large pen are already planted with the same variety.
These mophead blooms measure three to five inches across. They bloom in rose-pink or violet blue, depending on pH of the soil.
Hydrangeas are long-lived, and extremely vigorous specimens that offer lavish and varied blooms. They thrive best in partial shade with four to six hours of direct sunlight daily.
The Endless Summer Original Hydrangea is a popular, cold-hardy shrub known for its vibrant blooms that can also change color based on soil pH. A selection of these is across from the bird pen.
Here, these newly planted hydrangeas are given another good drink of water. I always say, “if you drank today, so should your plants.”
It’s always important to do research before planting. Make sure to consider the plant’s mature size and light needs when selecting a space. And remember, perennials grow slowly the first year, faster the second year, and then usually reach full size in the third year. There’s still time to plant your garden!
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