With many upcoming events here at my farm, there is always so much work to do to get everything ready.
My outdoor grounds crew is busy moving large potted tropical plants to their designated warm weather locations. Seven months out of the year, these specimens are kept inside temperature and humidity controlled greenhouses where they can be properly maintained, but it's so nice to see them outside in beautiful ornamental urns. Yesterday, the team potted up and arranged a collection of sago palms, or cycads, in the large courtyard outside my stable.
Enjoy these photos.
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.
Although sago palms are slow growing, mine have grown quite a bit in the last five to six years. These two will be repotted into larger, more accommodating vessels.
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.
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.
Mature sago palms, both the male and female varieties, produce pups around their trunks. The pups can be used to grow new sago palm plants. These pups were carefully chiseled off the mother tree and will be repotted.
Here’s Fernando holding one of the 40 sago palm pups. Fernando has worked with me for more than 35 years. He’s learned quite a lot over that time, right Fernando?
Sago palms outgrew these two pots – one is a heavy lead vessel and the other is a much more manageable and lightweight resin container. Do you know which is which?
To start, Pete and Fernando cover the drainage hole of the new pot with shards. This will help with drainage and prevent soil from coming out of the pot’s drainage hole.
Then Pete fills about a third of the pot with composted soil. This nutrient-rich compost is made right here at the farm.
Fernando mixes a generous amount of Miracle Gro fertilizer into the bottom soil. More will be sprinkled on top after the sago palm is potted up.
The sago palm trunk is wrapped carefully and securely with moving blankets and rope and carefully lifted out of the old pot and above the new. Fernando controls the forklift of the Hi-Lo while Pete maneuvers the sago over the pot.
Pete then gives the sago a fresh cut at the bottom, so it can be planted properly in its new container.
Next, Pete uses the edge of a shovel to make intentional cuts in the root ball. This is called scarifying. This stimulates root growth and allows for good circulation.
The sago is then lowered into its new pot at place at the proper height.
Pete and Fernando fill the rest of the pot with soil until it is secure – just under the top rim of the container, so when watered, soil does not flow out. Pete also tamps down on the soil to ensure good contact with the plant.
Pete looks from all sides to make sure the sago palm is straight, making adjustments if needed. Once everything is in place, the moving blankets are removed carefully. Everything is intact.
The frond tips are quite pointy and sharp, so it’s best to plant it away from heavy foot traffic.
Two other large sago palms are placed in the center flanking a large sugar pot. Sugar kettles were used on 19th century Louisiana plantations for the production of sugar. Sugar cane was placed in the large, spherical vessels and cooked down to make syrup. Because they could withstand such high heat, they were also used for cooking. I have started to collect them whenever I see one. They make instant and effective fire pits, and can be moved to different locations on the farm.
Although they’re tropicals that can take full sun, sago palms need part shade to prevent their leaves from burning. This courtyard is shady in the afternoon.
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.
Here’s Fernando and Pete after a day of repotting. These sago palms will be very happy here outside my stable.
Displaying potted plants around the home during summer is a great way for one to enjoy these interesting specimens during the season.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, we're always working off a long list of gardening tasks. This time of year, these projects include putting out lots of my potted plants.
During the warmer months, I always display lots of potted plants around my home - on the terrace parterre, in the courtyard behind my Winter House, on the stone ledges around my carport, along the carriage roads, outside my stable, and various other locations. Last week, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew moved a collection of potted agaves and fan palms out to my pool. Using beautiful container plants is an easy way to decorate any outdoor space.
Enjoy these photos.
My pool was built to run north to south in this space, so I could enjoy all the gorgeous views of the landscape. The pool project was completed in 2018 and has quickly become one of most popular spots to gather.
At one end of the pool, I have these five antique staddle stones.
I bought the staddle stones in 2017 from the annual NYBG Garden Furniture & Antiques Fair. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders.
They typically looked like giant stone mushrooms, but mine are square – a more rare and unique version.
Around the pool, I have chaises longues and side tables from Restoration Hardware. The big square shade umbrellas are from TUUCI.
Some of you may remember last spring I planted six of these Ginkgo biloba Goldspire™ Obelisk trees from Select Horticulture Inc. in nearby Pound Ridge, New York.
The term “obelisk” refers to the tall, four-sided, narrow tapering which ends in a pyramid shape at the top. They’re doing so well here and are showing lots of lush green growth.
The trees sit feet away from the pool – just enough to fill in the lawn space nicely. Ginkgo Goldspire™ is a highly ornamental, non-fruiting male tree originating in Italy. It has a very upright, tight fastigiate habit, and the foliage tends to be smaller than other species.
New foliage on the Ginkgo Goldspire™ emerges a rich shade of green, fan-shaped, and slightly curled. It keeps its color through summer, then turns buttery shades of yellow and gold in autumn before dropping.
Mixed in are some potted agaves. I always take out many of my tropical plants and display them in beautiful ornamental urns around the farm during summer.
This is one of several potted Agave bracteosa, or Squid Agaves. Agave plants have rosettes of fleshy leaves, some soft and smooth, while others have sharp spines.
Agave leaves are filled with gel allowing the plant to survive in extreme dry conditions for a period of time.
Agave prefers a sunny location with at least six hours of direct sunlight. Full sun plants always do so nicely here by the pool. The tough skin of the leaves is able to withstand even harsh solar rays without burning.
These Mexican fan palms prefer full sun to partial shade – they will do well pool side also until they are brought back into their designated hoop house in the fall.
Mexican fan palms have large, three to five foot wide fronds that are palmate, meaning shaped like fans.
The Mexican Fan Palm is native to Mexico, but has naturalized in several states including Florida, California, Hawaii, and Texas. It’s a beautiful palm tree with shiny, deep green fronds.
Here one can also see its trunk, which can reach up to 100 feet tall.
Under the pergola, another potted agave, which will also thrive in full sun.
This evergreen succulent perennial produces a beautiful rosette of silvery-green leaves without teeth or spines.
This is one of the best spots at my farm during summer – I look forward to any time I can spend by the pool. I hope this inspires you to display some potted specimens outside in your yard.
My large “iced terrace” at Skylands, my home overlooking Seal Harbor, is planted for the summer!
Every year, I like to spend Memorial Day weekend up in Maine planting all the large outdoor urns, pots, and troughs. It is quite an undertaking, but it's become a fun tradition especially with the friends and colleagues that accompany me every year. Many of the tropical specimens we use are stored in hoop houses at my Bedford, New York farm during winter, and then carefully loaded onto a trailer and delivered to Skylands for the summer months. As soon as I arrive there, I design the layout of where things will go and we all get to work.
Enjoy these photos.
It’s among my favorite traditions – going up to Maine for a spring weekend with good friends to plant the terrace. Rain or shine, we always get it done. Here I am with this year’s group – Douglas Friedman, Hannah Milman, Ryan McCallister, Kevin Sharkey, and the “Lady.”
Here is my handsome Chow Chow Emperor Han guarding his ledge – the dogs love to go up to Maine with me too.
Look at all the planters waiting to be filled. And this is not even all of them…
I have all different sized planters. They are put away for the winter or covered in place and then displayed around the terrace when I arrive.
These trays of succulents were propagated over winter in the Skylands greenhouse. Before we start planting, I make sure all the supplies are ready – the urns, the potting mix, and of course the plants.
My greenhouse at Skylands cannot accommodate a lot of plants, so many are wintered over at my farm and then brought to Maine. Here are some of the plants that came up the day before. I decide where each plant will go before they are moved – staying organized saves lots of time and energy.
Peter Grub, a member of my Skylands crew, is young and strong! He’s carrying one of the potted plants, a bird’s nest fern, from the front driveway to the west terrace.
One of the first meals was a hardy early morning breakfast. I used my delicious farm fresh eggs and scrambled them in butter and then served them with croissants I got from New York City’s Ladurée.
Then it’s planting time. The containers and plants are carefully positioned in or close to where they will be displayed for the season. The small pieces of wood are shims which will be placed under each pot. This is a Lunaform vessel. Lunaform is a coastal Maine studio where beautiful handmade garden containers are made.
To protect the rather porous and fragile pots, I like to line them with garbage bags, so the pots don’t soak up too much water. The garbage bags have drain holes at the bottom and are neatly tucked inside the pot, so they are not visible. It’s also easier to clean up after the season.
Here’s my gardener, Wendy Norling, moistening the potting mix in this long trough. I bought this stone trough at Trade Secrets in 2013. It has worked perfectly here at Skylands.
The trough is planted with something different this year – succulents and ornamental grasses. In less than a month, this trough will be so full of gorgeous growth.
This planter is filled with small succulents and then top dressed with pink granite gravel stones. Everyone takes turns doing everything – from moving and preparing the plants to moistening the potting mix, to filling the pots, to planting.
Another one is filled with dark burgundy succulents.
And once planted, the shims are put in place. Elevating the pots helps to prevent drainage holes from getting blocked. It also allows better air circulation and looks more aesthetically pleasing on the wall.
More succulents and agaves are planted in these containers. The antique faux bois planter on the left is extremely heavy – about four to five hundred pounds.
Agaves are long-leafed succulents with shallow roots and showy, spiked leaves. A little extra care should be taken whenever working with such sharp plants – always protect the eyes and face when handling agaves. This is an Eric Soderholtz pot – a deceptively simple turned pot, with Soderholtz’s scarab trademark impressed on the side.
I am fortunate to have such a good crew up in Maine who can care for all these plants when I am not here.
Many of the urns are also planted with ground covers that will spread and fall over the sides of the container.
For lunch on this day, we enjoyed smoked salmon, fresh brioche, mozzarella drizzled with balsamic vinegar, cucumbers, and refreshing orange slices from my orangerie.
The terrace looks excellent after all the hard work – I can’t wait to see it all filled out the next time I return.
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