My long and winding pergola is full of striking orange-colored tiger lily blooms.
This pergola, located on one side of a carriage road near my Tenant House, goes through several transformations during the year. In late spring, a palette of bold purple and white alliums covers the area, followed by the delicate shades of lavender and blue from the flowering clematis vines that wrap around each of the granite posts. Now, hundreds of brightly spotted tiger lilies line the garden bed for all to see - and they are thriving.
Enjoy these photos.
Tiger lilies, Lilium lancifolium, bloom in mid to late summer, are easy to grow and come back year after year.
Native to China and Japan, these robust flowers add striking beauty to any border. I love how they look with their bright and showy orange colored blooms.
In early spring, this garden is filled with bold green stems of new growth.
By late May, this pergola garden is filled with lots of blue and purple flowers. This palette of colors is a big favorite at the farm – it grows more colorful and vibrant every spring.
In early June, the granite posts are filled with gorgeous clematis flowers.
And then the entire garden goes through another dramatic transformation in summer. Here it is now – bursting with gorgeous orange. This side of my long pergola is one of the first areas I see when I drive into my property. This pergola has thousands of waist-to-shoulder-high lilies.
Tiger lilies are covered with black or deep crimson spots, giving the appearance of the skin of a tiger. They have large, down-facing flowers, each with six recurved petals. Many flowers can be up to five inches in diameter.
Lilies are well-known for having heavily pollinated stamens, which stain. Here, it is easy to see those pollen-filled anthers. When cutting, always remove the anthers to prevent a clothing disaster – just pinch them off with gloved fingers.
The blackish, round “seeds” that develop in the axils of the leaves along the main stem are called bulbils.
The leaves can grow to three inches long and about 3/4-inch wide. They are medium green, narrow, smooth along their margins, and glabrous, clasping the stem at their bases.
There are also a few white lilies in this bed – adding more interest to the long floral display.
And some lighter orange lilies.
And there are still more lilies that have yet to open.
In various spots along the pergola garden are some of the dried alliums which I leave through the season.
In this garden, we also have pops of daylilies. The daylily is a low-maintenance perennial—easy to grow, virtually disease- and pest-free, and able to survive drought, uneven sunlight, and poor soil. The daylily’s botanical name, Hemerocallis, comes from Greek hemera “day” and kallos meaning “beauty”. The name is appropriate, since each flower lasts only one day. Despite their name, daylilies are not “true lilies.” Leaves grow from a crown and the flowers form on leafless stems called “scapes,” which rise above the foliage.
On the granite posts, there are a few lasting clematis flowers. I have always loved clematis, and over the years I have grown many varieties of this wonderful plant. When well-maintained, clematis can bloom profusely from early summer to early fall.
There are a few bell-shaped clematis flowers that are still going strong too. These have slightly fragrant blooms.
Not far from 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 this afternoon, the clouds were also rolling in – look at the sky. Unfortunately, rain did not follow.
And across the “soccer field,” where my grandson Truman loves to play when 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 thrive here.
On the other side, across the carriage road – a stand of stately bald cypress trees, now full of gorgeous soft green needle-like foliage.
In front of the tiger lilies is a border of boxwood shrubs I grew from cuttings. They’ve developed and grown into nicely sized specimens. Buxus is a genus of at least 70-species in the family Buxaceae. There are more than 300 boxwood shrubs planted on both sides of the pergola.
The entire pergola border and its surrounding gardens, trees, and other specimens provide a spectacular show every summer. Straight ahead is my perennial flower cutting garden – also filled with beautiful lilies this time of year. All the gardens are looking spectacular, but here in Bedford, New York, we’re still waiting for some much needed rain. I hope we get some soon.
As many of you know, every now and then I enjoy opening my gardens for private walking tours at both my Bedford, New York farm and at my beloved home in Seal Harbor, Maine.
Last week, I hosted a summer walk at Skylands for the Decorative Arts Trust - a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting and fostering the appreciation and study of the decorative arts. Unfortunately I was not able to join the tour, but my gardeners, Mike Harding and Wendy Norling, guided the group of 30 through the wooded paths, sunny terraces, and gardens.
Cheryl DuLong and Wendy keep me updated by taking photographs, enjoy.
Before the tour began, Wendy took this photo looking down from Terrace 1 to the large “cracked ice” terrace below. This time of year, everything is so lush and green.
This group included members from across the country. They were all on a multiple day tour of several homes and gardens in the area known for its amazing Gilded Age architecture. Here they are gathering in front of Skylands.
This guest was in awe at the beautiful tall evergreens seen from my driveway.
This center garden in the driveway is planted with hay-scented ferns, which turn yellow in fall, purple smoke bushes, and spruce trees, Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’. When I found these trees, I got many to plant here in Maine.
The tour brings guests up the steps from the guest house to my main house. The rocks on the outside of the stone steps toward the top are called “Rockefeller’s Teeth” – large blocks that serve as guardrails. These stone steps are cut roughly and spaced irregularly to create a rustic appearance.
Ferns are members of a group of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The exterior of Skylands abounds with naturalized ferns of many types.
This rhododendron near one of my natural pools begins to bloom in July with gorgeous pale pink and white flowers.
Look at its blooms. Rhododendrons are prized for these big, showy flower clusters and the glossy green foliage.
This part of the woodland is filled with beautiful moss. Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations.
And here’s a view that never gets tiring. Taken through the woods, this view looks out to Seal Harbor and the Cranberry Isles beyond.
Here’s my gardener Mike Harding speaking with one of the members about the plants that thrive at Skylands.
The wild blueberries here in Maine are some of the sweetest – and they’re ready for picking.
Here’s a view of the wall ledge with “Rockefeller’s Teeth” at the top.
This look shows Seal Harbor with Sutton Island in the distance.
On my large terrace, all the gorgeous potted plants are doing so wonderfully since we planted them in May.
Here is the sphinx “guarding” the terrace for the season. She is one of two glazed terra-cotta sphinxes designed by Emile Muller. Émile first used plain ceramic products on buildings and industries. Then, in 1884 he developed the glazed terra-cotta, which he continued to use for many architectural decorations and art reproductions. These ladies are stored indoors and taken out as soon as the warmer weather arrives.
Behind her, just some of the many lilies blooming in the terrace garden. Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants that grow from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. The beautiful blooms can be enjoyed as cut flowers in an arrangement or growing in the garden – some at two feet, and others as tall as eight feet. I have been growing them for years – Asiatic, Martagon, Candidum, American, Longiflorum, Trumpet and Aurelian, Oriental, and various interdivisional hybrids.
These succulents are planted in a long stone trough I bought several years ago from Trade Secrets. Notice the pink gravel used to top the soil surrounding these plants – it is the same pink gravel that covers the carriage roads at Skylands.
This view is from my guest house looking through the trees onto the harbor. If one looks closely, my boat, Skylands II is out there secured to its summer moorings.
And here’s a group photo taken on my terrace. This day was warm, but so perfect for a tour at Skylands. I am glad everyone enjoyed their visit.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, we're picking lots of wonderful and nutritious vegetables from the garden.
Earlier this week, my housekeepers Enma Sandoval and Elvira Rojas harvested a bounty of beautiful vegetables - beans, artichokes, peppers, Swiss chard, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and more. While the heat has affected some of the cold-weather vegetables, others are thriving.
Here are some photos.
There has been so much growth in this vegetable garden in the last couple of weeks. Many of you ask what I do with all these vegetables. I share most of them with my daughter, Alexis, and her children, Jude and Truman – they love all vegetables. I also serve them at my dinner parties and share them with my friends and staff here at Bedford. And, I use them for various media shoots whenever needed, or when we test recipes here at the farm. Nothing is ever wasted – whatever isn’t used goes to my chickens, geese, and peafowl.
One can harvest any time of day, but when possible, the best picking time is early morning, when the sun is just clearing the eastern horizon and greens are still cool and dew-covered from the previous night. Here’s Elvira picking some of the peppers.
Sweet peppers, such as these banana peppers, have a long shape that tapers down to one to three lobes at the bottom. We have so many peppers growing.
The cauliflower also looks great. Cauliflower is filled with nutrients. They hold plenty of vitamins, such as C, B, and K. Cauliflower is ready to harvest when the heads are six to eight inches in diameter. When picking, cut the stalk just below the head, leaving a stem of about two inches long.
The right time for cabbage harvesting will depend on the variety of cabbage planted and when the heads mature. Look for heads that are firm all the way through when squeezed – that’s when they’re ready.
Red, or purple, cabbage is often used raw for salads and coleslaw. It contains 10-times more vitamin-A and twice as much iron as green cabbage. We picked several heads of cabbage.
Look at our bed of kale – very pretty with ruffled leaves and the purple and green colors. Kale or leaf cabbage is a group of vegetable cultivars within the plant species Brassica oleracea. Notice, the central leaves do not form a head.
Kohlrabi, also called German turnip, is a biennial vegetable – a low, stout cultivar of wild cabbage. White kohlrabi bulbs have a neutral, sweet, and subtly peppery flavor close to broccoli, turnips, or cabbage, but bulbs are much milder. The leaves and stems are also edible and have a taste similar to collard greens or kale.
You can find green, purple, white, and even blue fleshed kohlrabi. Typically found at farmers markets, purple kohlrabi is favored for its crunchy texture and sweet flavor, utilized in both raw and cooked dishes.
Under the leaves in this area are the edamame beans – whole, immature soybeans, sometimes referred to as vegetable-type soybeans. They are green and differ in color from regular soybeans, which are typically light brown, tan, or beige.
Elvira also picked beans. Beans grow best in full sun and moist soil. Bush beans are second only to tomatoes as the most popular vegetables in home gardens. Bush beans, or snap beans, are eaten when the seeds are small. They are also called string beans because of a fibrous string running the length of the pod. Purple beans are so pretty – violet-purple outside and bright green inside with great flavor.
These yellow beans are also pretty. Bush beans grow on shrubby plants and are very prolific producers. They can continually produce throughout the season with the proper care. In general, bush beans should be ready in 50 to 55 days.
And here, the green colored beans are also ready for picking.
Everything is collected in buckets or large bowls like these and then brought up to my flower room, where they are washed if needed, then bagged and stored in the refrigerator. I am looking forward to many meals with all this wonderful produce.
Swiss chard always stands out in the garden, with its rich red stalks. Swiss chard is a leafy green vegetable often used in Mediterranean cooking. The leaf stalks are large and vary in color, usually white, yellow, or red. The leaf blade can be green or reddish in color. Harvest Swiss chard when the leaves are tender and big enough to eat.
We’re always growing lettuce. Lettuce, Lactuca sativa, is a cultivated plant of the daisy family, Asteraceae. Lettuce is a fairly hardy, cool-weather vegetable that thrives when the average daily temperature is between 60 and 70-degrees Fahrenheit. We always grow several varieties.
Lettuces can generally be placed in one of four categories: looseleaf, butterhead, crisphead, and romaine.
We planted more than 100-tomato plants this year. All the plants are now well-supported by bamboo stakes. We’re growing both hybrid and heirloom varieties. There are already so many fruits growing, but they need a little more time before harvesting.
Sweet bell peppers are popular in the garden – all grassy in flavor and super-crunchy in texture. I love making stuffed peppers – so easy and so delicious. Enma wipes them down before putting them in the fridge. I’ll wash them just before cooking.
She does them same for these peppers. Be careful when picking peppers – always keep the hot ones separated from the sweet ones, so there is no surprise in the kitchen.
Here’s a bowl of garden fresh artichokes. I love artichokes. We have many growing! Artichokes are actually flower buds, which are eaten when they are tender. Buds are generally harvested once they reach full size, just before the bracts begin to spread open. When harvesting, cut the stem approximately one to three inches from the base of the bud. The stem becomes a useful handle when trimming the artichoke.
And look! Our first bounty of fresh, organic peaches from my orchard!! We have so many fruits growing this season – so sweet and delicious!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
