It's a bit cooler here this week at my Bedford, New York farm - temperatures overnight dipped into the high 30s - but we're still carrying on with our spring gardening tasks.
My gardeners have been busy potting up some of our outdoor containers. I have a rather sizable collection of tropical specimens. During the winter, they are stored in special greenhouses. Once the warm weather arrives, they are all brought out for display around the farm. Ryan and Brian just potted up six sago palms, or cycads, which were cut as pups from a mother sago some time ago. They are displayed in six beautiful new pots I purchased from Michael's Garden Gate in nearby Mt. Kisco.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I have many, many cycads. The sago palm, Cycas revoluta, is a popular houseplant known for its feathery foliage and ease of care. Native to the southern islands of Japan, the sago palm goes by several common names, including Japanese palm, funeral palm, king sago or just plain sago palm.
In warmer weather, I display these and other tropical plants around the farm. This photo taken a couple years back shows large sago palms in my Winter House courtyard.
I also like to cut the pups, or the “babies,” from larger sago palms and nurture them. This photo shows a group of young sago palms which were cut right here at the farm several years ago.
Recently, I bought six large containers to use around the property. This week, I asked my gardeners to pot them all up with sago palms.
The first step is to line the inside of the vessel with some industrial weed cloth.
The cloth is placed into the vessel to protect its interior. This also makes it a lot easier come fall when the plants are removed from these pots and returned to their designated greenhouse where they live during the colder months.
Then we fill about a third of the pot with compost. This nutrient-rich compost is made right here at the farm.
Here is Brian pouring some of the compost to the bottom of the pot, weighing the cloth down in place.
This will provide level ground for the plant and keep it at its proper height inside the pot. It will also allow for good drainage.
This is actually one of those smaller sago palm pups now. Although sago palms are slow growing, this has grown quite a bit in the last five to six years.
Also to save some effort later, Ryan and Brian insert the potted plant into the larger container. The black plastic pot is also the perfect size for this sago palm. These plants prefer to be slightly root-bound, so it’s best to choose a somewhat snug pot for growing them.
And of course don’t forget the food. We use Organic Palm-Tone which is long lasting and provides slow-release feeding with special microbes.
Here, Brian and Ryan fill the rest of the pot with soil to cover.
Ryan cuts the excess weed cloth hanging over the side of the container and then tucks the ends into the soil.
He also tamps down on the soil to ensure good contact with the plant. And he looks to see that the plant is straight from all sides and makes adjustments where needed.
Notice the sago palm’s trunk. It is a rough, symmetrical trunk which becomes leafless as it ages and gives way to its evergreen crown of upward pointing fronds. When pruning, only cut off the old and dying leaves, especially towards the base of the tree where they are oldest. And cut them off as close to the trunk as possible.
Sago palm fronds resemble those of palm trees The glossy, pinnate leaves are typically about four to five feet long at maturity, and up to nine-inches wide.
Here is one all potted up outside my gym building. I think it looks so handsome in this new pot. The frond tips are quite pointy and sharp, so it’s best to plant it away from lots of foot traffic.
Here’s another near my long and winding pergola. Although they’re tropicals that can take full sun, sago palms need part shade to prevent their leaves from burning.
It sits across another sago on the other side of the carriage road. When watering, water so the top inch of soil is moist (check it with your fingertip if you need to) and let it dry out between waterings about once a week.
And here is a view of the same pair – I think they look great here and will thrive through the warm months in this location.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm all the spring flowers are blooming everywhere. My long and winding pergola is putting on such a colorful and gorgeous display.
Soon after I bought this property, I built a long pergola along the carriage road leading up to my home specifically for clematis. Over the years, I've planted lots of bulbs and perennials in the garden that bloom at different times throughout the season. Right now, the Camassia and alliums are covering the area in an eye-catching palette of purple and blue - it's just stunning.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
What a difference a few weeks make in a spring garden. This is the pergola garden in late April. The new growth is just beginning – everything around the farm is showing signs of life once again.
A week later, the foliage of many of the flowers has emerged. This pergola starts across from my perennial flower cutting garden and runs along one side of the carriage road leading to my Winter House. The uprights for this pergola are antique granite posts from China – originally used as grape supports in a valley that was going to be dammed and flooded to create a reservoir.
And here it is now, filled with beautiful blooms. This palette of colors is a big favorite at the farm – it grows more colorful and vibrant every year. In a couple of months, this border shall transform once again and feature lovely shades of orange.
Early morning is one of the best times to take pictures in the garden when the sun is low in the sky.
Bordering the garden on both sides are these boxwood shrubs. There are more than 300 boxwood shrubs planted here. These boxwood shrubs were grown from small saplings.
The most prominent plant right now is the Camassia – it’s blooming profusely and so beautifully.
Camassia leichtlinii caerulea forms clusters of linear strappy foliage around upright racemes. Camassia is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to Canada and the United States. It is best grown in moist, fertile soil and full sun.
Camassia also grows in this darker shade of blue. On this, one can see the six-petaled, two-inch, star-shaped flowers.
Both the lighter and darker shades look so good growing together in this garden.
The flower stalks stand 24 to 30 inches tall and display dozens of florets that open from the bottom up. Camassia is also known as camas, wild hyacinth, Indian hyacinth, and quamash. The bulbs are winter hardy in zones 4 to 8 and both the plant and the bulbs are resistant to deer and rodents.
Another beauty in the garden – the alliums. Alliums are often overlooked as one of the best bulbs for constant color throughout the seasons. They come in oval, spherical, or globular flower shapes, blooming in magnificent colors atop tall stems.
This is Allium aflatunense ‘Purple Sensation’, with four to five inch wide violet-purple globes. An allium flower head is a cluster of individual florets and the flower color may be purple, white, yellow, pink, or blue.
Alliums require full sunlight, and rich, well-draining, and neutral pH soil. This is Allium ‘Ambassador’ – among the tallest and longest blooming. It is intensely purple with tightly compacted globes that may bloom for up to five weeks.
Spanish Bluebells, Hyacinthoides, are unfussy members of the lily family, and native to Spain and Portugal. They are pretty, inexpensive, and good for cutting – they add such a nice touch of blue.
Symphytum is a genus of flowering plants in the Boraginaceae family. You may know it by its common name, comfrey. It is a dynamic accumulator in the garden – drawing minerals out of the soil and into the roots and leaves. It is also a wonderful compost accelerator and weed suppressant. Comfrey has large, hairy broad leaves that bear small bell-shaped flowers of various colors.
Catnip has jagged, heart-shaped leaves and thick stems that are both covered in fuzzy hairs. The botanical name for catnip is Nepeta cataria. The name Nepeta is believed to have come from the town of Nepete in Italy, and Cataria is thought to have come from the Latin word for cat.
Growing low to the ground is Ornithogalum. It features spear-like flower stems with multiple star-shaped white blooms.
In the center and at the ends of this winding pergola are wisteria standards. Right now, these beauties are cascading over the pergola and giving off the most intoxicating fragrance. Wisteria is valued for its beautiful clusters of flowers that come in purple, pink and white. Looking closely one can see flowers drape down from the soft green heads of foliage.
One one side of the pergola is this giant weeping copper beech tree – I love these trees with their gorgeous forms and rich color. I have several large specimens on the property.
On the the other side of the pergola and across the carriage road – a stand of stately bald cypress trees, now full of gorgeous soft green needle-like foliage.
And behind the pergola and across the “soccer field,” where my grandson, Truman, loves to play whenever he visits, are six matched standard weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus ‘Pendula’. Weeping hornbeams can grow to be about 50-feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 40-feet. These are very rare and precious trees and I am so happy they continue to grow well here.
I am so proud of this garden – it fills in and grows more beautifully every year. What flowers are blooming in your garden right now?
The tree peonies are blooming so beautifully in my garden right now! I hope you've seen my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
I adore tree peonies and have been collecting them for quite some time. As many of you know, I have a long tree peony border planted in a semi-shade of giant sugar maples just outside my Summer House. Many of the specimens were transplanted from my Turkey Hill garden in Westport, Connecticut and over the years I've added many more - all of them continue to thrive here at my Bedford, New York farm. Unfortunately, the tree peony season is short - only about seven to 10 days, so I make sure not to miss them when they flower. I love seeing their colorful show every year.
Here are some photos, Enjoy.
These tall and striking sugar maple trees, Acer saccharum, are located at one corner of my farm – just outside my Summer House and its formal sunken garden. These maples are covered with climbing hydrangea, and beneath them is one of my favorite gardens this time of year…
…my tree peony garden. I love my curved border of tree peonies, Paeonia suffruticosa. There are very few plants that can compete with a tree peony in full bloom. They flower from late April to early May, but the season can often vary from year to year.
We started to see these gorgeous blooms begin to unfurl just last week – these petals are so delicate and pretty.
And then within days it was showing off its beautiful colors.
The tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa, has upright flowers that bloom above the foliage.
And, unlike the more common herbaceous peonies, which flop over if not staked, tree peonies bloom on graceful woody stems.
Tree peony leaves are easily distinguished from herbaceous peonies by their dissected three pronged appearance.
Here is a white tree peony blooming perfectly. Although tree peonies can thrive in full sun, they prefer partial shade, with three to four hours of sunlight.
Tree peonies come in colors that include all ranges of white, yellow, pink, magenta, and dark maroon.
The pink varieties are more fragrant than the darker maroon flowers. This one has slightly ruffled petals with a gold center.
Here is a darker salmon variety still opening. This peony has enormous semi-double flowers. The petals are somewhat cupped, giving the flower a very full appearance. It also has a light, sweet fragrance.
Tree peonies typically reach only about four or five feet tall. Once their blooms have died, the green-leaved shrubs provide an attractive backdrop for other plants. They grow best in climates with hot summers and cold winters, making them great specimens for much of the eastern, midwestern, and western United States. I love how these looked backed by the blooming azaleas.
I have both Chinese and Japanese varieties. Chinese tree peonies are more robust and bushy. Their flowers are also more likely to be fragrant. Japanese types, by contrast, are renowned for their beauty and elegance.
Every year, these shrubs become more and more prolific, producing large flowers. And remember, tree peonies should not be cut back. Tree peonies are very slow growing and will not send forth new growth if pruned. The only cutting should be to remove any dead branches.
Here is a stunning majenta tree peony.
This peony has lovely pink flowers and a darker pink, burgundy, and gold center.
Smaller flowering plants grow among the peonies in this bed including Spanish Bluebells, late-blooming spring bulbs. These flowers are in the asparagus family, as are lily-of-the-valley and Adam’s needle. The flowers are a charming blue color, bell-shaped and about 3/4-inch long.
This is Ornithogalum. It features spear-like flower stems with multiple star-shaped white blooms.
And there are lots of beautiful bright green colored ferns.
Behind my Summer House, in the formal sunken garden, I have more tree peonies showing their colors. These are planted between the tall wall of American boxwood and the smaller European boxwood. Tree peony plants like to grow in soil that is well-drained, with a pH that is neutral or slightly alkaline. They will thrive in a loamy soil fortified with compost. Tree peonies have medium water needs and should not be overwatered – water deeply after the top four inches of soil have dried out.
This darker pink cultivar has several rows of petals around a golden interior – an eye catcher in this bed.
And look at this soft creamy yellow tree peony. Tree peonies are heavy feeders and respond well to a generous, early autumn top dressing of bone meal or rose fertilizer. The high potash content encourages flowers to develop. A light sprinkling of a general fertilizer can also be applied in spring.
Here’s a view from above the bloom.
The peony is a perennial plant that can survive up to 100-years when it is cultivated under optimal conditions. I look forward to many seasons of these most stunning flowers.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
