Enjoy these photos, and be sure to take a look at all my holiday offerings on the QVC website.
Here I am in my studio living room surrounded by lots of my newest holiday items for QVC. We spent an entire day – 24-hours – celebrating my Collection. It’s a lot of work, but always fun.
Our tree looks so pretty this year. Look at all the glistening ornaments. As part of my Collection, I am offering 13-piece Tree Decor Kits – complete with stars, wreaths, beaded birds, and metallic bursts. Buy one set, two, or even three and use them on your own tree or give away as gifts.
Here is one of the beaded stars included in the kit.
And here is one of the metallic bursts – they really do brighten up the tree and add a nice variety of decorations all in one group.
This season, one can also get a set of six of these Metallic Feathered Birds with clips. As many of you know, I love birds, and these make such a nice addition to the holiday decor. They come in silver or gold.
They can run for 266 hours and have a multi-function timer.
I decorated the mantel with my lights, flocked trees, and my popular flameless candles.
This is my 16-inch Down Swept Flocked Tabletop Tree with 30 battery-operated LED lights. Place it on the mantel, bookcase, or table and decorate it with clip-on birds.
I also offer sets of two Glittered Holiday Tree Pillars in six-inch and nine-inch sizes. These are white, but they also come in silver, champagne, and gold. And they run on a multi-timer remote control.
These birds come in a set of six and are made of blown glass on easy to use clips. They look so pretty perching on your holiday tree branches.
Use my Jingle Bell Star Ornaments as part of your gift decor – attach to the bow and make them even more special.
On my windowsill are these cheerful Flat Jeweled Pedestal Trees which can be swept up or down for display. And look, my TSV Color Change Globe Lights can be positioned around the base of the trees for a more festive effect.
My TSV lights can also be mixed with holiday ornaments and placed in a cloche – look how festive they are.
Drape the lights on your logs when the fireplace is not being used. It adds a beautiful look, especially at night.
This is one of a pair of Tinsel Fur Penguins. My Color Change Globe Lights look so fanciful used as a necklace.
Place the pair on pedestals – a large one looks up as the other smaller penguin looks down.
And don’t forget the wine. Order this for yourself or give as a gift. This wine set includes a choice of three 750-ml bottles of wine and three gift bags. The wine selections are Spencer Family Sauvignon Blanc, Bayshore Pinot Grigio, Monarch Glen Merlot, and Sierra Trails Zinfandel.
And, because it’s “Christmas in July” – why not light up some beautiful summer roses? Place them around the smaller vase containing the flowers, and then put in a larger glass vessel. These lights can be used in so many different ways in any season. We had so much fun talking about these holiday decorations. I hope you visit the website to see more of my new offerings. It may be July now, but the holidays will be here before you know it.
It’s always so exciting whenever we have babies here at the farm. Inside my stable feed room we currently have three peachicks, two chicks, and five keets, plus more youngsters in an outdoor enclosure.
I’ve been raising chickens and other fowl for quite some time. I love keeping chickens for their fresh, delicious eggs, but I also enjoy raising other birds and learning about the different breeds and varieties. Earlier this week, five keets and a peachick hatched in my kitchen where I keep a small incubator specially designed for eggs. My friend, Christopher Spitzmiller, also gifted me with two Burford bronze peachicks, eight young Buff Orpingtons, and four lavender Araucanas. They will all be great additions to my flock.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
Whenever we’re expecting baby birds here at the farm, my stable manager, Helen, who is very experienced in raising chickens, sets up my large bird cages with bedding, feeders, and proper heating elements. These cages are located in the feed room of my stable.
The feeders are filled with organic chick starter for the first six to eight weeks.
This feed is kept wet, so it is more palatable for the babies.
A heat lamp is placed into the cage to keep it warm – chicks less than a month old do best in temperatures around 80 to 85-degrees Fahrenheit.
Helen adds wood shavings for strong footing. It is important that growing chicks don’t slip. Slippery surfaces are the most common cause of spraddle leg – a condition where the chick essentially does splits and has difficulty walking or getting up.
And here they are. In this photo – a baby lavender Araucana chick and a baby Burford bronze peachick. Baby chicks need constant monitoring until they are at least four or five weeks old. Here in the Stable feed room, they are checked several times a day. This room is also free from drafts.
Burford bronze peafowl are bred from a color mutation. The origins of this breed date from the 1980s when they were developed by Burford Abbott of Marysville, Tennessee. Full grown, the males will have stunning dark olive green iridescent necks and dark iridescent bronze trains with touches of copper. These two peachicks from my friend Christopher hatched within hours of each other, which is good so they are not lonely.
Here, one can see the markings on the peachick – already so beautiful. Peachicks, or baby peafowl, are difficult to sex until they’ve reached roughly five months of age, when more of their physical characteristics are visible.
This is a lavender Araucana. Araucana chicks are strong, fast growers and mature quickly. This one is also quite curious. All these chicks have clear eyes and are very alert – signs of good health.
These chicks are also from Christopher. They are light gray in appearance.
These chicks all get along wonderfully and are already learning to roost together.
This yellow peachick hatched in my Winter House kitchen. And because it was raised around humans from the moment it hatched, it is very interested in people and just wants to greet everyone who comes in to visit.
It wasn’t long before the peachick came up close to say hello.
And here is one of the beautiful baby Guinea fowl, also known as a keet. Guinea fowl keets are cute, chirpy, curious and somewhat clumsy at first. This one will mature to a dark gray color with tiny white spots. Enma holds it up for a photo before placing it in the cage.
This one will be a lighter gray in color when full grown. Right now, these keets are nothing short of adorable.
It is very difficult to sex Guinea fowl. The best way to tell males from females is by their cry. When they’re older, the female Guineas will make a two-syllable call that sounds something like “buckwheat, buckwheat”. Males can only make a one-syllable sound similar to “kickkkkk kickkkkk”. The males also have larger gills or wattles.
Guinea fowl enjoy being with their own kind and will always maintain their own social groups even when integrated into the coop with the other chickens and geese. And do you know what a group of Guinea fowl is called? The collective noun for guinea fowl is “confusion” or “rasp.”
I’ve raised many different chicken breeds and varieties over the years – they are all so fun to observe. These gold colored chicks are Buff Orpington chickens. Introduced from England in the late 1800s, they became one of the most popular farm fowls in this country. It is also Christopher’s favorite chicken breed. These birds will grow to be large and stately with quiet, friendly dispositions.
These birds are a bit older than the others and are residing in an outdoor coop. Every chick is personally shown where their food and water sources are, so they know where to find it. All my chicks get a balanced diet of medicated chick crumb with some treats and fresh greens from my gardens.
At first the chicks are a bit unsure of their surroundings, huddling together in one corner.
But after a few minutes, they’re eager to explore the space. A slightly older lavender Araucana perches on the water container while the young Buff Orpington watches nearby – maybe he’s hoping for a perching spot too.
These young chickens will stay together for several weeks. And then, once the chickens are old enough, they will be moved down to the first coop in the chicken yard to join the others.
Right now, they’ll share their space with my stunning Silkies. I wonder what the Silkies are thinking about their new friends. If you’re unfamiliar with Silkies, underneath all that feathering, they have black skin and bones and five toes instead of the typical four on each foot. Silkie chickens are known for their characteristically fluffy plumage said to feel silk- or satin-like to the touch. I think they’ll all be very happy here at Cantitoe Corners.
The clematis is blooming so beautifully here at my Bedford, New York farm this season.
I have always loved these flowering vines and over the years, I have grown many varieties of this exquisite plant. When I moved to this property, I knew I wanted to build a long, winding pergola and have clematis growing all over it. After the pergola was constructed, I concentrated on creating a palette of blue-flowering cultivars. Each year, the floral display gets better and better - stunning lavender, blue, and purple clematis. I also have some growing across the carriage road on the trunks of the majestic bald cypress trees.
Enjoy these photos.
Right now, these beautiful flowers stand out as soon as you near the winding pergola. There are several different clematis varieties planted here, but each pair of posts supports the same kind.
Wire is wrapped around each post, so the climbing tendrils of the clematis vines could attach easily. The uprights for this pergola are antique granite posts from China originally used as grape supports. They’re perfect for use as posts because they don’t rot over time like wood.
Clematis is a genus of about 300-species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine. (Photo by Ryan Mesina)
They are native to China and Japan and are known to be vigorous, woody, climbers. (Photo by Ryan Mesina)
Clematis leaves grow in pairs along the stems. The clematis leaf shapes vary with different varieties, but knowing how they grow can help differentiate them from other vines.
Most species are called clematis, but it has also been called traveller’s joy, virgin’s bower, leather flower, or vase vine. It’s also been called “Old Man’s Beard,” because of the long fluffy seed heads that look similar to an old man’s beard.
The standard clematis flower has four to six or seven petals, measuring five to six inches across. Colors range from lavender to deep purple, white to wine red, and even a few in yellow. (Photo by Ryan Mesina)
For this area, I chose various shades of purple, blue, and lavender.
Some of the flowers are very light colored – almost white – with interesting centers.
Many clematis are lightly scented. Flowers vary in shape and sizes. They can be flat, tubular or bell-shaped and can be as small as one-inch wide.
Some clematis cultivars will bloom in partial shade, but to really thrive, they need at least six-hours of sun each day. Just think, “head in the sun, feet in the shade.” The vines like sun, but cool, moist soil. (Photo by Ryan Mesina)
Once established, clematis should be watered about an inch or so weekly, and more deeply during dry spells.
Some of the cultivars grown here include ‘Parisienne,’ ‘Blue Angel,’ ‘Jackmanii,’ and ‘Eyers Gift.’
This is Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’, which has slightly fragrant, bell-shaped flowers that bloom from summer to fall.
Here is another bell-shaped clematis variety in pink.
Known as the “Queen of the Climbers”, Clematis plants will train onto trellises and fences, or arch gracefully over doorways.
It can take several years for a clematis vine to mature and begin flowering prolifically. To shorten the wait, purchase a plant that’s at least two-years old. Clematis also prefer soil that’s neutral to slightly alkaline in pH.
The timing and location of clematis flowers varies – spring blooming clematis flower on side shoots of the old season’s stems. Summer and fall blooming vines flower on the ends of only new stems.
Across the carriage road from my pergola, I also have some clematis vines planted at the base of several bald cypress trees.
It is important to understand how each variety blooms in order to properly prune them. They should be cut back to about four or five-inches from the ground in late winter or early spring the first year after it is planted – to promote a bushier, stronger, tighter growth habit.
Clematis plants are also heavy feeders and benefit from a low nitrogen fertilizer such as 5-10-10 in spring, when the buds are about two-inches long. Alternate feedings every four to six weeks with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer and then continue this alternate feeding until the end of the growing season. The blooms appear constantly for many weeks making their everblooming nature a must-have in any garden.
Guests love to photograph these beautiful flowers whenever they visit. This photo, and several others, was taken by our Creative Services VP, Ryan Mesina, who is an avid photographer.
And look what’s coming next – wait until you see all the gorgeous tiger lilies, Lilium lancifolium, that flower in mid to late summer and come back year after year. A hand-full of these are already opening. It’s another dramatic transformation in this pergola garden and I can’t wait to see all the many orange blooms.
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