My garden maze here at my Bedford, New York farm now includes three weeping camperdown elm trees, Ulmus glabra 'Camperdownii.'
As many of you know, I am in the process of building a living maze, a botanical puzzle of interesting trees, hedges, espaliers, and shrubs. I started this three-acre maze project in the spring of last year, and it's already beginning to stump some of those who stroll through its pathways. Some of the other specimens include European beech, European hornbeams, boxwood, parrotias, espaliered apple trees, American sweetgums, barberry, London planetrees, privets, yews, and now these camperdown elms.
Enjoy these photos.
Just outside the kitchen to my Winter House, I have two of these weeping camperdown Elms. Camperdown elms slowly develop broad, flat heads and wide crowns with weeping branch habits that grow down towards the ground. This is how it looks in spring.
The tree’s seed pods are a light, silver green. This photo was taken in late April.
This is what it looks like now in summer. This is one of three young weeping camperdown elms to plant in this area of the maze.
I also have weeping camperdown elms in front of my maine greenhouse. Here is a more mature specimen in summer.
Its leaves are dark green, oval or egg-shaped with a pointed tip. The leaf has double-serrated leaf margins. Since it is deciduous, it will shed all its leaves in winter.
The bark of the camperdown elm is grayish. When it matures, it will have a darker colored bark and a more twisted form.
Once Chhiring marks the exact locations for the trees, the digging begins. Chhiring maneuvers our Kubota M62 tractor loader and backhoe to dig a hole for each camperdown elm.
Backhoes are extremely versatile. I am fortunate to have this attachment for our tractor. Backhoes come with a bucket and digging arm that can perform many different tasks, such as digging, moving materials. We use it very often here at the farm.
Camperdown elms prefer partial to full sun, but will also grow in light shade. The maze is a perfect environment for these trees.
After all the holes are dug, Chhiring uses landscaping twine to make sure the trees will be aligned properly. When choosing trees or plants, be sure to consider the size of the specimens when they are mature.
Here, Chhiring manually digs a bit more soil out of the hole. The rule of thumb when planting a tree is to dig the hole two or three times as wide as 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. Remember, planting a tree too deep can kill it.
These camperdown elms were stored and nurtured at Skylands, my home in Maine. They were planted in pots, so there is no wrapping to remove or wire cages. Here, Chhiring pulls out the tree and exposes the rootball.
Next, he scarifies the rootball. When a tree has been growing in a container and the roots have reached the sides of the container, it’s important to scarify or tease the roots to stimulate growth.
Chhiring uses the end of his pruners to rough up the surface of the rootball on all sides and on the bottom.
Then he slowly and carefully rolls the tree into the hole. The twine is where the trunk of the tree should be.
This task takes a few minutes to get into the perfect position. Once it is placed, Chhiring checks that the trunk is straight and that the best side of the tree is facing the path.
Then he gives it a generous sprinkling of fertilizer specially made for transplanting.
He sprinkles fertilizer on the rootball and on the surrounding soil.
The camperdown elm is now ready to be backfilled. He does this manually to ensure it is done to the right depth. Once he is finished, he steps on the soil, so it has good contact with the rootball.
Chhiring does the same for all the camperdowns. Later, I may decide to plant some bulbs underneath the canopies.
Lastly, the tree pits are top-dressed with a two inch layer of composted mulch and given a thorough drink. These deciduous top-grafted weeping ornamental trees will ultimately reach a mature height of 15 to 20 feet with a spread of 20 to 30 feet – they all have ample room to grow and flourish here in my maze.
Every year, I try to spend two or three weeks - give or take - at my beautiful refuge in Seal Harbor, Maine. This year, the weather was fantastic and I enjoyed many local day trips with friends, walks along the beaches, and a special birthday celebration at Skylands with my family.
Here are more photos from my time in Maine - enjoy. And see more photos on my Instagram page @marthastewart48.
August 3rd is my birthday. I always spend it in Maine with close friends and family. This is an old daily calendar, which is updated first thing every morning by Cheryl DuLong, who helps me care for my beautiful home, Skylands.
A yearly tradition – a birthday card made by my granddaughter – this year, Jude made it with her friend, Jade. It is the best one ever. And everyone at Skylands signed it. I love the handmade origami butterflies!
On this day, I hosted a special luncheon for the Beatrix Farrand Society, a non-profit organization
dedicated to preserving the memory and legacy of the landscape architect Beatrix Farrand. For this meal in my dining room, I used my Copeland Spode Sherman Bar Harbor plates – each one is different, showing a scene from around Seal Harbor and Acadia National Park.
Our main course included russet potato baked, smashed, and served with creme fraiche, chives and caviar, roasted beet salad, green string beans, and braised artichoke hearts. All the vegetables were picked fresh from my gardens.
For dessert, citrus granita and homemade shortbread. It was a most refreshing and delicious meal.
This is Andy Goldsworthy, acclaimed sculptor and artist, who is working on a very big project at the College of the Atlantic. It is called Road Line and it is his first permanent artwork in the state of Maine.
Road Line is made of a single continuous line of granite curbstones. It begins its route through the COA campus and will run its path to the coast of Frenchman Bay.
It is a very extensive project Andy hopes “will resonate with the students who will also pass through the college on their own journeys and that, wherever life takes them afterwards, they will always be reminded of their time in Maine.”
Back at Skylands, look at the kiwi vine – it is thriving. The vines are “ancient” actinidia, which are small kiwi. They are original to the home and have done exceptionally well all these years. This great, fast-growing, sturdy vine is fruit producing.
Beneath the vine and brought out every summer are the two glazed terra-cotta sphinxes. They are designed by Emile Muller and guard this entrance to the house.
Below the ledge and lying beneath the West Terrace is the lady – La Riviere by Aristide Maillol. The original terms of the commission were intended to honor Henri Barbusse, noted author and pacifist. Maillol initially conceived the figure as a woman who had been stabbed in the back, falling at the viewer’s feet. However, when funds proved to be insufficient to complete the memorial, Maillol re-conceived the figure as a more timeless theme, the personification of a river. Here, she is surrounded by ferns, tree peonies, Japanese maples, blueberry bushes, and Lady’s Mantle. I had just cleaned the garden around her when I took this photo.
Wendy Norling, my gardener at Skylands, made all the floral arrangements this season. Every one of them was beautiful. This one includes colorful snapdragons grown by Wendy and picked the same day right from my garden.
This arrangement is made with lacecap hydrangeas and Ammi majus, the false Queen Anne’s Lace.
On this day, we walked along Bracy Cove’s stony beach.
At another point, we also saw this handsome great blue heron just sitting and watching. The great blue heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America.
I also enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Docksider Restaurant in Northeast Harbor. The wait staff was so friendly…
… and the lobster rolls were so amazing. Stop if you’re ever in the area.
Here I am with my two dear friends, Susan Magrino and Terre Blair. We are in the gazebo of my property at Ox Ledge.
On this evening I took four of my Skylands crew to dinner – Emilee, Amos, Wendy, and Peter. We ate at Copita, also in Northeast Harbor.
And here’s another nighttime view from my terrace looking at the dark night sky and the gleaming stars. I love Skylands – it is so magical any time of day, any time of year.
Whenever I go to Skylands, my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, the days are always filled with lots of great activities and good quality time with family and friends.
This summer was especially memorable. I hosted more than 17 guests my entire stay. The weather was pleasant. The flowers from my gardens were abundant and beautifully arranged, and with the vegetable gardens in Bedford and at Skylands producing so much bounty, our meals were interesting and sensational - we all ate and ate and ate so many delicious foods.
This is the first blog featuring some of the highlights of this summer in Maine - enjoy.
I never tire of the stunning photos taken from the terraces at my home at Skylands. This was captured in the early morning hours. It is a super sturgeon moon on August 1st. The full moon in August is called sturgeon moon because of the large number of sturgeon fish that were once found and more easily caught in the Great Lakes in North America during this time of year. It was a name used by native American tribes. My granddaughter Jude and I took several photos of this gorgeous moon over Seal Harbor.
One of the first meals I enjoyed this summer at Skylands was made with freshly picked chanterelle mushrooms. Jude and her friends carefully harvested these after a good rain at Skylands. Chanterelles are among the most popular of wild edible mushrooms. They are orange, yellow or white, meaty and funnel-shaped.
We enjoyed them that evening served with a delicious pasta.
We’ve had such an abundance of cucumbers this season. I made a giant batch of bread and butter pickles. Here they are in a big bowl with onions – also from my garden.
I enjoy canning and do so every year.
These old-fashioned bread and butter pickles have a crisp texture and a well-balanced sweet and sour flavor.
I enjoyed several boat rides out on the Harbor. The skies were just amazing.
On this day, it was also a little chilly. Here I am “under cover.”
This summer at Skylands was very busy. I had more than 17-guests stay with me. The kitchen table was always full.
On one night we enjoyed a Japanese themed dinner with miso. Here are the vegetables all cut and prepared – mis en place.
We made miso soup all from scratch. The word miso means ‘fermented beans’ in Japanese. Miso paste is nearly always made with fermented soy beans, and is a staple of Japanese cooking.
We also made miso cod from scratch.
And miso eggplant using eggplant from my garden. The eggplants have been growing so wonderfully. The meal was excellent – everything was devoured.
On another day, we had a survival expert come out to teach the children how to survive in the woodland. Here I am in the teepee the children built.
This year, my gardener Wendy Norling arranged all the flowers cut from the gardens. She did such an amazing job. This is just one of them – an all white hydrangea arrangement sitting in the alcove just outside my dining room.
And look at the beautifully display of yellow lilies on the table – all flowers freshly picked the same day. This table was set for another themed dinner – Mexican night.
Chef Lazaro made a delicious spread with homemade salsas, dips, tortillas, and all the fixings.
Carnitas, literally meaning “little meats”, is a dish of Mexican cuisine that originated in the state of Michoacán. Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or lard until tender.
We also had tamales. A tamale, or in Spanish tamal, is a traditional dish made of masa, a corn dough, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves.
And here is Jude’s plate – another wonderful meal, grandchild approved. Healthy, homemade and so flavorful. Tomorrow, I will share more photos from my summer in Maine. Stay tuned.
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