My living maze is getting more "a-mazing" with each row of plantings.
My three-acre living maze is located in a pasture just outside my Winter House. I started planting it a little over a year ago with a variety of different hedges, espaliers, trees, and shrubs. All of the specimens will grow tall enough to prevent walkers from seeing the paths ahead. We've been planting a section per week while the ground is still soft. Most recently, we planted a row of hedge maples, Acer campestre, and a row of American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana. Both are deciduous tree types and turn beautiful colors in fall.
Enjoy these photos.
This view looks down the pasture to the London planetrees, which is the center focal point of the maze. We still have a long way to go, but we’re making progress every week and all the plantings are doing excellently.
Planting any row of specimens always starts with a carefully measured line. The maze is drawn out on a map, so the area is marked according to the map’s specifications.
The next step is to remove the sod from the designated area. This is done with our Classen Pro HSC18 sod cutter. This sod cutter is so easy to maneuver and so sharp, Chhiring finishes one row in just minutes.
It cuts the sod in two strips, which are then cut and rolled into sections, so they can be removed. Sod is quite heavy. The sod will be used in another section of the farm, so nothing is wasted.
This is what the cleared area looks like once all the sod is pulled up.
Then, all the potted trees are placed right where they should be planted. Everyone works in an efficient production line process. All the trees are positioned first before any planting begins. This is a row of hedge maples.
The leaves of a hedge maple are two to four inches wide, with opposite arrangement and three to five lobes each. Here, one can see the green foliage and the bright yellow color that follows in autumn.
And here is a row of American hornbeam. Songbirds are attracted to its forked branches, dense crown and tasty seeds. These will mature nicely in the maze.
The American hornbeam has leaves that are oval with pointed tips and finely toothed edges. They become golden yellow to orange in autumn.
Each tree hole is dug with enough room for the plant’s root ball. The rule of thumb when planting trees is to dig the hole two times as wide as the rootball and no deeper than the bottom of the rootball to the trunk flare. The flare of the tree should be at or slightly above the soil grade. More simply, the tree should be planted similar to how it is in its pot.
Byron places the potted tree in the hole to make sure it is the right size. When planting, always check that the plant is positioned with the best side facing out, or in this case, facing the path.
Here is the hole – perfectly sized for this tree.
Then, a good handful of fertilizer is dropped into the hole. We use all-natural fertilizers enhanced with beneficial bacteria that works naturally within the soil to help plants establish fast, withstand environmental stress, promote deeper roots, better blooms, and improve soil structure.
Before planting, Byron removes the tree from its pot and scarifies the rootball. Scarifying stimulates root growth. Essentially, he teases small portions of the root ball to loosen the roots a bit and create some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
Then Byron places it into the hole and backfills with soil. It’s that easy to plant a tree!
Once it is planted, the surrounding soil is tamped down to ensure good contact between the plant and the soil.
After a group is in the ground, Byron looks down the line to make sure they are all planted straight up and down and in line with each other.
Hedge maples will grow to be about 35 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of about 30 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of four feet from the ground. These trees are expected to live for 80 years or more.
The American hornbeam is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree that grows slowly, about a foot per year, reaching an average height and spread of 20 to 30 feet over a life span of 50 to 150 years. The last step is a good, deep drink. Remember, if you drink and eat, so should your plants and trees.
Recently, we also planted this row of holly. Many varieties of holly, Ilex, have compact habits and glistening, bright green foliage, that’s excellent for hedges, borders, and yes, mazes.
In August, we planted this row of yews. Yews are known for being slow-growing, but in the right conditions, yew hedge trees can grow about 30-centimeters per year. These yews are spaced closely, so they become a closed hedge in time.
We also planted these privets. Ligustrum ovalifolium, also known as Korean privet, California privet, garden privet, and oval-leaved privet, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family native to Japan and Korea. It is a dense, fast-growing, deciduous evergreen shrub or small tree.
And this is a Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’, American sweetgum. As this tree mature, it will maintain its erect, columnar form, growing up to 50 feet tall and only about four-feet wide.
My overall plan is to plant as many interesting trees, hedges, espaliers, and shrubs as possible in this space and to create a fun and challenging living maze. Follow along and see it develop with me!
Autumn is a busy time for gardeners in cold weather regions - it's a race to get all the tropical plants stored indoors and safe in their greenhouses.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, I currently have four hoop houses designated specifically for warm weather specimens. The hoop houses are constructed from steel frames and Polyethylene panels. While they are extremely durable and long lasting, it was time to replace the existing cover and curtains on the structure located between my Equipment Barn and my vegetable greenhouse. My crew took on this task while the weather was still mild.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This is one of three large hoop houses where I keep many of my tropical and citrus plants during the cold season. The plants that are displayed at Skylands, my home in Maine, are brought back to Bedford every fall for proper storage and care. The Polyethylene “skin” or cover on this structure was several years old and needed replacing.
Last year, this house was used to store all my potted citrus plants. This year, this house will store other tropical specimens. I decide where the plants are placed at the end of the season based on the number of specimens and how much they’ve grown.
The first step is to remove the old “skin.” It is removed from the hoop house and neatly rolled. What is salvageable is stored and what is not is discarded.
Here is the hoop house without its skin. The skin covers a frame built using heavy gauge American made, triple-galvanized steel tubing. I chose this gothic style because of its high peak to accommodate my taller plants.
The new skin comes in two rolls – one is a heavy-duty, woven polyethylene that features an anti-condensate additive to reduce moisture buildup and dripping. The other side contains UV additives that allow the fabric to maintain its strength through the seasons.
Using our trusted Hi-Lo, Doug, Cesar, Pasang, and Phurba hoist the rolls spooled on steel pipes on top of the frame and start to unroll them. Both fabric pieces must be perfectly in line to cover the structure properly and fully.
This process takes about 45-minutes. The greenhouse fabric is very heavy, but my crew is very strong. The greenhouse is about 60-feet by 40-feet so there is a lot of space to cover.
Next, the crew unfolds the fabric over the sides – they do this slowly, so the fabric pieces remain together and straight.
Next, Pete secures spring wires in the metal channels that support the plastic and keep it taut.
These three and four foot long spring wires compress and elongate when installed within the metal channels. They are installed all around the structure.
Pete secures the wire at the top of the hoop house and along all the edges.
Here, Pete and Doug re-install the inflation blower. This centrifugal blower maintains the air in the space between the poly film layers to provide insulation.
Once it is turned on, the space between the two layers of plastic fills with air to keep the hoop house warm and insulated. The air layer prevents heat loss at half the rate of single-paned glass.
Outside, Pete moves onto the curtains. These manual roll-up curtains attached to a steel pipe that runs along the length of the hoop house will raise and lower the bottom section of the Polyethylene fabric for ventilation when needed.
Strong polyester curtain cords are looped through these screw eyes to hold the curtains in place.
The cords are also spread along the curtain in a zigzag pattern for best hold and even lifting and lowering.
Doug trims any excess plastic around the structure. On the front and back of the hoop house are polycarbonate clear wall sheets. Significantly lighter than glass, these sheets are easy to install and will help insulate the structure from both the front and back.
Look what Doug saw on a nearby plant – a praying mantis watching all the activity around the hoop house. Mantids are warm-region insects. The Chinese mantis, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, and the common European mantis, Mantis religiosa, were both introduced to the Northeast for insect control. All are known by the common name praying mantis. Although 1,800 species exist worldwide, only 11 are found in North America. They are two to four inches long when fully grown. Ranging from green to brown in color, they blend in well among grasses and shrubs. It is the only insect that can rotate its head 180-degrees. They also have very good eyesight and may see possible prey from 60-feet away.
Here is the new skin – notice how full the top of the structure is after it is fully inflated. This Polyethylene fabric is designed to stand up to just about any climate. It also resists rips and tears, so it could last up to 10-years depending on the weather.
Here is Pete checking that all the edges are tight and secure around the structure, trimming wherever is needed.
The steep roof slope of this structure will also prevent snow accumulation during the winter months. It fits so well in this location. I am very fortunate to have the space here at the farm to accommodate these hoop houses for my plants.
The finished hoop house is now ready for storing my tropical plants. This greenhouse works by heating and circulating air to create an artificial tropical environment. It includes three fans and a propane fueled heater inside. It is an excellent way to ensure my warm weather specimens survive the cold winters of the Northeast. Wait until you see how many plants we can fit in here – you’ll be amazed.
If you're looking for something new and different to plant outside your home, take some time to visit your local nurseries to learn what specimens do well in your area.
Yesterday, after a long and busy morning of shoots, phone calls, and meetings, I stopped in at Select Horticulture Inc. in Pound Ridge, New York to check on their current inventory. Select Horticulture offers an extensive collection of premium quality trees and shrubs including large sizes, unusual and rare specimens, with both stand-alone and mature espaliered options. I'm always searching for interesting and healthy plants and trees to add to my gardens, allées, and now my living maze. And there's always something for everyone at Select Horticulture Inc.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Select Horticulture Inc. has locations in Lancaster, Massachusetts and here in Westchester, New York right off route 137. It is owned by Scott Richard and Jim Freeborn who are often at the nurseries ready to answer any questions.
The nursery is filled with beautiful and well maintained specimens, which can be seen from the road.
Every row of trees and shrubs is neat, tidy, and every item properly identified. It is so nice to see such a well organized nursery.
Among the many specimens – evergreen shrubs and mature trees.
During my recent visit, I quickly spotted two Picea orientalis ‘Skylands.’ Do you know… why this is one of my favorite trees? Its name is “Skylands” after all – the same as my beloved home in Maine.
Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’ is a yellow-needled cultivar that grows to around eight to 10-feet tall with an erect, conical to pyramidal habit.
Ilex x aquipernyi ‘Dragon Lady’ is a narrow, hybrid, columnar holly with stiff, glossy, dark green foliage.
The glossy dark green leaves are oval to almost rectangular, with downward-curling tips. And it will produce red fruit in fall and winter when planted near a male blue holly.
Thuja plicata ‘Green Giant’ a large, woody, needled evergreen tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae. It is a hybrid cultivar of the western red cedar and Japanese arborvitae that was developed in the 1930s in Denmark and introduced to the United States in 1967 when the U.S. National Arboretum received a specimen.
Thuja plicata ‘Green Giant’ has dark green sprays of small, glossy, scale-like needles that keep the deep green color through winter. This tree can grow three to four feet per year in optimal conditions and reach a mature height of 40 to 60 feet with a width of 12 to 18 feet.
These giants are columnar Carpinus betulus Frans Fontaine – a dense hornbeam with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit.
Every tree is connected to an extensive water irrigation system. There are multiple stakes in each root ball that connect to the water source.
Here’s a closer look at the stakes, which feed the water directly into the root ball.
I always notice the boxwood right away. Select Horticulture Inc. has a beautiful selection of boxwood. These boxwood shrubs come in a variety of sizes from small to medium-sized specimens to mature giants. I have many boxwood shrubs at my farm.
This is Buxus ‘Green Mountain.’ It is a vigorous evergreen shrub with bright green foliage that retains good color throughout winter. The upright, naturally cone-shaped habit makes it an excellent candidate for planting free-form or for a sculpted hedge.
Buxus ‘Green Velvet’ is a full-bodied boxwood well-suited for dense, low hedges. Its foliage also retains its rich green color throughout winter and develops a vigorous form.
These are Bloodgood Japanese maple trees – several being trained on this trellis. In its maturity, the Bloodgood Japanese maple will reach between 15 to 20 feet tall, with a small narrow trunk.
One of the most attractive features is its ability to retain its color throughout the seasons – a deep burgundy in spring that lasts throughout summer and then changes to a bright red in fall.
This is Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’ – a weeping blue atlas cedar. This is a beautiful, pendulous evergreen tree. And because it is a free-form weeping plant, it can be trained, trellised, espaliered, and even grown as a bonsai to fit various garden spaces.
The pendulous branches are clad with clusters of bluish-green needles.
Taxus media ‘Viridis’ is a slow-growing, narrow columnar tree with light green foliage. It grows to about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches.
Taxus med ‘Viridis’ has bluish-green evergreen foliage which starts as chartreuse in spring and then holds its bluish-green color through winter.
And here’s one you may recognize – it’s a ginkgo tree, and its leaves are already a bright autumn golden yellow. I have many ginkgo trees at my farm. These yellow leaves remain until after the hard frost sweeps down the east coast. Then this ginkgo, along with countless others in the area, drops its leaves to the ground leaving a gorgeous carpet of color below. If you’re looking for a selection of quality trees or shrubs, and live in or around Pound Ridge, New York, or Lancaster, Massachusetts, be sure to visit Select Horticulture Inc. You’ll learn a lot and most likely find something you love to take home.
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