We’re expecting a mix of sun and clouds in Bedford, New York today with temperatures in the upper 30s - a little chilly, but still good weather for continuing our outdoor work and early spring chores.
The crew is busy with many projects, including mulching the garden beds, removing the old bales that insulate my hoop houses during winter, preparing the hoses and sprinklers, blowing all the dead grass and leftover leaves, and of course, beginning the task of pulling off all the burlap that has covered my boxwood since last December.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
We had a pretty mild winter here in the Northeast, so my outdoor grounds crew has been able to get a strong start to all our early spring chores around the farm. Among them – blowing and removing all the leaves that were not blown last fall.
Pete and Fernando rake old leaves and other debris off the carriage roads.
Bigger branches pruned from the elm trees outside my Summer House are piled nicely, so they can be picked up later and chipped for top dressing.
Over in my small pond, dead, fallen trees and branches are pulled out carefully.
Here, Fernando rakes and levels the carriage roads. Potholes are formed when precipitation seeps into the pavement causing it to expand and contract, and ultimately crack with freezing and thawing. This is a high traffic intersection at the farm, so tending the roads is done a couple times a year.
In my old vegetable garden, Pete tills the soil, adds a new layer of composted soil, and then tills it again.
We planted two rows of herbaceous peonies here last year, but I also decided to plant other flowers here for a new cutting garden.
I am fortunate to be able to make my own hay right here at the farm. Most of it is fed to my horses, but during the cold season, uneaten or old bales are positioned around the perimeter of each hoop house to prevent drafts. Two-stringed bales can weigh between 40 and 75 pounds, and much more when wet. Jimmy takes the heavy bales to the edge of the carriage road for pick-up.
And here’s the crew after loading the hay onto our trusted Kubota tractor – Cesar, Pete, Juan, and Jimmy.
Pasang is in the woodland blowing old leaves leftover from last fall. He’s using one of our very dependable STIHL backpack blowers.
Just like clockwork, once the weather starts to change, the hoses, which were neatly stored in our stable barn, are all taken out for distribution.
A hose and two sprinklers are neatly placed near every bib. We use hoses and many stand up sprinklers from Gilmour, a Madison, Wisconsin-based company that’s been manufacturing watering equipment and solutions for more than 65-years.
The Equipment Barn floor is blown and washed clean also – making for such a refreshing start to the season.
In the stable office, Carlos cleans all the windows and doors. This is an interior glass door connecting one of the offices to the front vestibule.
The Equipment Barn lunchroom is also given a thorough cleaning.
The window frames and windowsills and all wiped down.
And remember all the burlap? It has held on very well this winter, protecting all my boxwood from the heavy snow and winds. It’s time to take it all off. Here’s Chhiring folding the burlap removed from the boxwood at the pergola.
The burlap is rolled neatly, labeled and then stored until next year.
I love seeing all the greenery revealed in spring.
And mulching also continues. The mulch is carried by wheelbarrow to the beds and then spread out into a thin layer over the bulbs.
Overseeing all the action – my beautiful Chow Chows Empress Qin and Emperor Han. I hope you’re able to get a good head start on your spring tasks wherever you are.
This time of year, anyone who walks around my farm always admires the beautiful hellebore flowers.
Hellebores come in such an artful array of colors, markings and formations, it’s hard not to love these fascinating perennials. Sometimes known as Lenten rose or Christmas rose, these plants are long-lived, easy-to-grow and thrive in shady locations. I’ve had hellebores in my gardens for many years, and I find it so rewarding to have blooms that start in March, and continue through spring until the end of May - to me, hellebores are must-haves for any gardener's collection.
Here are some photos of the hellebores blooming at my farm right now, enjoy.
Hellebores are among the earliest perennial flowers to bloom. They are members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus – about 20 species of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. They blossom during late winter and early spring for up to three months.
Hellebores are widely popular because they are easy-to-grow and are able to resist frost. It is common to plant them on slopes or in raised beds in order to see their flowers, which tend to nod.
I have many hellebores planted around my farm – under allées, in the gardens across from my pergola, and in various beds near my Winter House. Hellebores prefer partial to full shade during the warmer months but require more sunlight in winter. They do best underneath deciduous trees where they are shaded by foliage in summer but are exposed to full sun after the trees have dropped their leaves in fall.
The bright green foliage looks so dramatic against the colors of their blooms. Hellebore foliage is thick, evergreen, and forms a low clump with leaves that are lobed and palm-like.
Hellebores get their common name, Lenten rose, from the rose-like flowers that appear in and around the Christian observance of Lent.
Here is a dark colored hellebore just about to open. The flowers come in a wide range of colors including shades of maroon, apricot, yellow, green, metallic blue, slate, dusky pink, and white, with or without picotee, spots, and freckles.
They also come in a variety of flower forms – single, semi-double, fully double, and anemone.
What’s most impressive is their bowl-shaped blooms. This one is light pink and white with dark edges.
As new growth stalks emerge, any old or damaged foliage can be trimmed back to the base. We just groomed all the hellebores here at the farm.
This hellebore has dark magenta and light green-white blooms with heavy veining.
Unlike the blooms of most other flowering plants, hellebore flowers do not consist of petals, but of sepals, which serve to protect the flower.
The sepals surround a ring of small, cup-like nectaries which are actually petals modified to hold nectar. The sepals and veins on this hellebore are deeply colored to invite pollinators.
These plants are not choosy about their insects, so all types can pollinate the flowers effectively.
These plants are also fairly deer and rabbit resistant.
Here, one can see the stamens – the long white filaments with bilocular anthers. Each flower can have many stamens.
Hellebores can reach up to 36-inches in height and width, so when planting, be sure to position hellebores in protected areas away from winter winds.
They are considered slow-growing plants that can take up to 18-months to reach their mature size.
After the first year, when the plant is well-established, hellebores are very resistant and require little upkeep.
The natural downward facing growth pattern helps protect the blooms from rain, since water sheds well off the sepal backsides.
And look how pretty the flowers are when turned up.
They like to be watered deeply enough to saturate the root zone but then not watered again until the soil feels dry to the touch. These plants are drought tolerant but quite sensitive to soggy soil.
Given the right conditions, hellebores will spread nicely in the garden and look beautiful through the season. Wherever you live, I hope you are able to enjoy some of these early colors of spring.
Wine and food festivals are an excellent way to gather culinary experts, spirits producers, vendors, and consumers, so they could meet and exchange ideas and experiences.
Last week, I participated in the second annual Nassau Paradise Island Wine and Food Festival in the Bahamas. It was held at Atlantis Paradise Island, an oceanside resort and home of the world's largest open-air marine habitat. The five day event was presented by Atlantis and featured tastings, wine pairings, culinary demonstrations and classes, happy hours, and meals led by various experts including Nobu Matsuhisa, Michael White, Robert Irvine, Andrew Zimmern, master mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim, and others. While there, I hosted two events - a sunset cocktail hour and dinner and a mid-afternoon garden party luncheon.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I hope you caught my recent post on Instagram @MarthaStewart48. I just returned from a brief business trip to the Bahamas! Here I am with one of the dolphins at Dolphin Cay, a world-class marine habitat, focused on creating a safe and sophisticated environment for dolphins and other species at Atlantis.
If you’ve never been, the Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean. My niece, Sophie Herbert Slater, who accompanied me on the trip, took this photo as we neared our sunny destination.
This was the second annual wine and food festival. Proceeds from the event support the Atlantis Blue Project Foundation, dedicated to saving marine life and its habitats throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean seas.
The five-day affair was held at Atlantis Paradise Island, a lush and exclusive resort now celebrating its 25th anniversary. It includes Aquaventure, one of the world’s largest waterparks, five unique lodging options,more than 40-restaurants, bars and lounges, an award-winning 18-hole golf course and sports center, the marine-habitat, and more.
Here I am with Lee Schrager, the festiival’s co-director. You may recognize him from another iconic wine and food event – Lee is the mastermind of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
On our first day, we had some time to visit with some of the marine life on the island.
There are many sea creatures that call the area home including starfish.
Underwater tanks allowed us to see some of the 250 marine species here at Atlantis.
This sandy, shallow lagoon is home to young stingrays.
We also saw this sea turtle.
… And this black-tipped reef shark.
Later in the evening, I hosted a ‘Sunset Soiree’ followed by a wine dinner. Wait staff greeted guests with refreshments.
Here are some of the wines served at the soiree, including of course – 19 Crimes Martha’s Chard.
After the soiree and before dinner, I participated in a short interview with radio and television host, Billy Bush – I brought the wine.
Don’t forget, “work hard, play hard, and drink Martha’s Chard.”
Here is a giant sand culture made for the event.
The weather was perfect during our stay – sunny skies and the clearest views of the ocean.
The next day, I hosted a garden luncheon. Here I am with Audrey Oswell, President and Managing Director of Atlantis Paradise Island. I am wearing an Oscar de la Renta dress.
Here’s Chef Alon Shaya at Silan, his new restaurant at Atlantis. He is holding his book, “Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel: A Cookbook.”
And just before leaving, we made one last stop at the famous McKenzie’s Conch Shack to experience the Bahamas’ most authentic flavors. Kenneth McKenzie has been making his delicious dishes for 35-years and is among the favorites here on Paradise Island – one must try his conch salad.
And here’s a photo of me and my team – John Rice, Daisy Schwartzberg Toye, Sophie, and Ben Levine. What a fun trip to the Bahamas!
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