The landscaped areas around my Bedford, New York farm continue to evolve.
I love planting interesting and beautiful specimens that add texture, growth and beauty at different times throughout the year. I also enjoy arranging large groups of certain plantings to create borders and appealing displays. Last week, we planted a group of large Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Filicoides' or Fernspray Hinoki cypress bushes along the carriage road just past my allée of lindens near the entrance to my Japanese Maple Woodland. I thought the space would look even prettier planted with these upright, bushy conifers - and it does.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Filicoides’, the Fernspray Hinoki cypress is a large-growing, upright, bush, with long, ascending branches. I knew several would be perfect at one end of the Linden Allée leading to my vegetable garden.
Once they are delivered, each bush is placed carefully where it will be planted. Each grows about six to eight inches per year.
Chhiring measures and marks exactly where the hole will be dug.
Chhiring uses white landscape paint to make a circle where the bush will be planted. These specimens should have at least four feet of space between them.
Fernspray Hinoki cypress ‘Filicoides’ do best with medium moisture, in well-drained soils. They also prefer full sun to part shade and some shelter from high winds. These bushes are placed in an area surrounded by other trees and a barn – I think they’ll do wonderfully.
Here is a closer look at the foliage which is bold, emerald-green in color with various brown highlights.
The team begins digging. The holes must be pretty wide – each one should be at least two to five times as wide as the root ball, but no deeper than the root ball. Once in the hole, the top of the root ball should just be slightly higher than the soil surface, much like it was planted at the nursery. The hole sides should also be slanted. Digging a proper hole helps to provide the best opportunity for roots to expand into its new growing environment.
Here, Pasang removes all the plastic and burlap wrapping. These wrappings help to support the root ball during loading, shipping, and transplanting.
Here, Pasang shows all the material that was removed from around the root ball. Some leave them in the ground, but I prefer to remove them completely, so there is nothing blocking the growing roots.
When moving heavy specimens, only hold it by the root ball and the base of the planting – never by its branches, which could easily break. Because these bushes are being planted along the carriage road, Chhiring is able to maneuver the Hi-Lo and position the bush in its hole. Doing it this way instead of by hand saves a lot of time. Once the cypress is in its hole it is turned so it is straight and its best side is facing the road.
A good fertilizer made especially for new transplanted specimens should always be used. This is Organic Bio-tone Starter with mycorrhizal fungi, which helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
A generous amount of fertilizer is mixed in with the nutrient-rich soil.
Finally, the crew backfills the holes until they are properly filled. And remember, don’t plant it too deeply – always leave it “bare to the flare.”
Each specimen is given a good drink of water – we’re not expecting any significant rain for several days.
Next, Chhiring brings a bucket filled with compost from our big pile. I am so glad I can make good compost right here at the farm. Chhiring is using our Kubota M62 tractor, which comes equipped with a 63 horsepower diesel engine, a front loader, and a powerful backhoe. It is among the most used pieces of equipment we have here at the farm.
Once a bush is completely planted and watered, Chhiring removes the protective tie.
It looks so beautiful after it is completely unwrapped.
Here is one view of the cypress bushes after they are all planted.
And here is a view looking northeast down the same carriage road.
They look great at the entrance to the Japanese Maple Tree Woodland. I am looking forward to seeing these Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Filicoides’ bushes thrive here at Cantitoe Corners.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! There's a new one-of-a-kind Palladian Tree by Baccarat set-up at the Neiman Marcus Downtown flagship store in Dallas, Texas - and it's up until December 24th! If you're in the area, stop in a see it!
Here’s the beautiful Palladian Tree on the first floor of the Neiman Marcus Downtown store. It can be seen from the inside… (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
… And the outside – it’s beautifully illuminated. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
Neiman Marcus Downtown also features dedicated holiday window installations – this one displaying the signature bright red Baccarat boxes under the tree. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
Here’s another holiday window also showing a stunning Baccarat vessel. Neiman Marcus and Baccarat have been brand partners since 1983, so they have partnered together on many displays over the years. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
And here are lots of holiday sweets underneath one of Baccarat’s legendary crystal chandeliers.
Jim Shreve is president and CEO of Baccarat North America. He addressed all the guests and thanked everyone for attending the special unveiling. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
Here I am with Jim. If you follow this blog regularly, you may recall Jim visited my Bedford, New York farm when I first launched my Collection with Baccarat last spring. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
Two of the pieces in my collection include Tumblers and this crystal Martharita Pitcher. All the pieces are heavy, deeply cut, gorgeous crystal. My fine pieces were inspired by Baccarat “Nancy” glassware I found at Skylands, my home in Maine. I updated and modernized the design for my Collection.
Down this hallway, more window displays. Throughout the holiday season, Neiman Marcus Downtown is offering Baccarat gift shops featuring free engraving services for customers. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
Customers, friends, and media influencers also attended an intimate cocktail hour I hosted for the Neiman Marcus and Baccarat event. It was so nice to see everyone out and enjoying themselves. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
Santa Claus also made an appearance, taking photos with guests in front of the Palladian Tree. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
Here’s Santa with Jodi Kahn, Neiman Marcus VP of Luxury Fashion. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
And here I am with Jodi, Jim, and Santa. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
It was a delightful visit to the Neiman Marcus Downtown flagship store and a nice event to ring in the season. I hope you can visit Neiman Marcus Downtown if you’re in or near Dallas for the holidays. (Photo provided by Neiman Marcus Group)
And here's a TikTok I did at Neiman Marcus Downtown sharing some holiday decorating ideas.
Time for some pruning and maintenance on the trees at my Bedford, New York farm.
As the owner of a working farm with many gardens, groves, and allées, I am constantly looking at all the plants and trees, making sure they are in perfect condition. Pruning is one of our biggest and most important tasks. Proper pruning improves the health of the plants, prevents disease, and encourages better growth. There are different pruning strategies for different times of the year, but overall the goals are the same - to control the shape, to keep bushes and trees fresh and open, and to allow for better air circulation through the center of the specimen. This week, my outdoor grounds crew "limbed up" the majestic pin oaks and pruned back the low branches to keep them from hitting any cars on the carriage road and to allow enough light to filter down to the plants below.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The pin oak allée is the first allée guests see when entering my farm. These trees are tall and impressive. Pin oaks, Quercus palustris, are popular landscape trees because they are fast-growing and easy to maintain. This is a photo of the pin oaks in June.
And here they are in September just as the leaves start to turn. On the pin oak, the lower branches tend to droop, the middle branches are horizontal, and branches in the upper part of the crown grow upright.
Pin oaks have leaves that are three to six inches long, bristle tipped, deeply lobed with wide circular or U-shaped sinuses.
The bark on the straight, erect trunk of a pin oak is relatively smooth. Shallow fissures develop as it matures, creating a distinctive diamond-like pattern running longitudinally on the trunk with a reddish-brown color in the crevices.
This is the allée in October. The lower branches are turning golden yellow.
A couple weeks later all the trees are yellow-bronze in color. Pin oaks are known for the gorgeous fall color they produce.
In winter, the trees are completely bare. The pin oak is deciduous, meaning it will abscise, or shed, its leaves each fall after dropping its zygote-bearing acorns. The pin oak does so to conserve water and nutrients for the next year.
But here they are just this past week with some trees still holding strong to their leaves. The last time these trees were pruned was three years ago – they were in need of a good pruning.
Pasang Sherpa is our resident tree pruner and groomer here at the farm. He oversees a lot of the smaller tree pruning projects. In this photo, he is assessing where he has to cut. The first to go are any dead, damaged, or diseased branches.
He also looks up to see which branches may be crisscrossing. I instructed them to “limb up” by cutting the lower branches that are hanging too low over the carriage road.
As he works, Pasang makes sure the branches that remain are in perfect line with those of the other pin oaks in the allée.
Here he is cutting one of those lower branches.
Pasang uses a STIHL in-tree saw, which is made especially for those who need lightweight and powerful equipment that can effectively prune and shape high above the ground. I always remind the crew to bring everything they may need to every job, so they don’t have to run back and forth to get equipment.
Pasang moves from tree to tree in the cage of our trusted Hi-Lo. Because this allée is on a carriage road, it is easy to maneuver the Hi-Lo up and down the road.
There are a lot of branches to cut, but already there is more light and air circulating through the allée, and one can see more clearly underneath the trees.
He also uses a STIHL battery powered telescoping pole pruner. It has a quiet, zero-exhaust emission, and is very lightweight. Plus, this telescoping pole pruner can cut branches up to 16-feet above the ground. For larger tree branches Pasang makes two cuts to safely remove the limb without stripping any bark. The first cut should be about a third to halfway down the branch. Cutting in sections also prevents splitting and allows the large portion of the branch to fall and not tear into or damage the tree.
Then Pasang cuts off the remaining branch by cutting back to the branch collar. Here is what is left – clean and undamaged.
As branches are taken down, they’re gathered and placed into tidy piles, so they can be cleaned up easily and quickly. After the job is done the crew will chip the branches and use the wood chips as top dressing in another area of the farm. Everything is always reused, repurposed or recycled when possible.
Here is one side already finished – it looks great.
And here is the Pin Oak Allée once it is completely “limbed up”. I am so pleased these trees continue to thrive here at Cantitoe Corners.
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