Another important project is checked off our list here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Last year, I decided to convert the first floor of a guest house, so it could function more as a production work space and studio. I redid the studio kitchen and outfitted the prep kitchen, changed several of the doors, installed a cookbook library, and created adequate work stations for the crew. I also wanted to create a more usable work area in the garage. Yesterday, we had a team from CertaPro Painters here in Westchester County, come to coat the concrete garage floor with a special poly flake finish. The entire process took a full day, but the end result was great.
Here are photos of the transformation, enjoy.
Until now, this two-car garage had been used for storage – mostly items needed for various video and photography shoots. I knew it could be utilized more efficiently, so I decided to convert it into a shoot prep area and an organized storage space for production props and equipment.
We called in a crew from CertaPro Painters, a national residential painting company that also specilaizes in concrete floor coatings.
The flake floor coatings can be done in one of more than 40-different color patterns.
I chose this light gray and white flaked patterned floor – it will look clean and bright.
The very first step was to empty the garage completely.
Next, Omar grinds the floor down until the entire space is smooth. It must also be clean and free from any dust or debris that may inhibit adhesion of the resins.
Next, any cracks in the concrete are filled with a fine sand.
Here, Jordan pours in a crack filler over the sand to fill all the voids.
Omar follows with a putty knife and evens out all the cracks, spreading any excess sand or filler liquid.
After a short wait, Omar grinds the cracked areas.
And then Jordan thoroughly vacuums the entire floor.
The next step is to prepare the glue or Polyaspartic – a tinted primer base coat that will allow the flakes to adhere to the surface.
Omar uses a floor painting roller to apply this base coat. This will ensure maximum adhesion to the prepared substrate. Priming also helps to seal any air in the concrete that could cause bubbling on the finished surface.
Then, Omar puts on special spiked sandals and broadcasts the entire floor with flakes. It is important to cover the entire space thoroughly and quickly.
These flakes are actually polymer paint aggregates made up of a combination of acrylic and vinyl resins. The combination creates thin chips that easily adhere to the floor.
The flakes need a couple hours to dry completely. The next step is to scrape any loose chips from the surface. Omar uses a large scraper to also knock any chips that are protruding.
As Omar scrapes, Jordan blows the loose chips to the back of the garage.
These loose chips can be recycled and saved for another floor.
Then Omar removes the painter’s tape from cove joints, where the floor meets the wall.
The last step is to cover the floor with the sealer, or top coat. Jordan starts by cutting in at the edge all around the perimeter of the garage. He does this with a regular paint brush.
Next, he pours generous amounts of polyurea clear coat and sealer in the middle of the floor.
Omar uses a commercial grade squeegee broom to spread the sealer.
And here is the finished floor once the entire floor is coated. This floor will be left to dry for 48-hours.
It looks great and so different from before. It’s an affordable way to upgrade any concrete surface. And it doesn’t need re-finishing later – it is a maintenance-free floor. It will be a perfect work space for our production crews very soon.
Here in the Northeast, we're all crossing our fingers for a good soaking rain.
We're expecting some precipitation today in Bedford, New York and up at Skylands, my beloved summer home in Maine. It has been so very dry in this region - we haven’t had significant rain for quite some time. Fortunately, we've been able to keep many of the trees, shrubs, and plants irrigated with our watering supplies from Gilmour. I use many of their hoses, sprinklers, and nozzles.
Here are some photos of how we water around Skylands, enjoy.
Up at Skylands, views of the moss-covered woodlands are just as picturesque as those of Seal Harbor. This summer has been particularly hard on the plantings – it’s been very, very dry all along the eastern seaboard.
Here is one section of a pine-needle covered footpath that meanders through the property. On both sides, one can see lots of moss growing. During the summer, I always fill several of my garden planters with some of the natural elements found in the woodlands. Various mosses, lichens, seedlings, pine needles, and old pieces of wood are brought in to create miniature forests that last all season long.
Here, more moss, young trees, and ferns in the foreground. Moss is a slow growing wild plant that should never be harvested in large amounts – in fact, it is illegal to take any moss from national forests without permission. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish. All these plants need our watering help.
And so does my flower cutting garden, which is now filled with so many gorgeous blooms.
To keep everything well-irrigated until the next rainfall, we use watering supplies from Gilmour, a Madison, Wisconsin-based company that’s been manufacturing watering equipment and solutions for more than 65-years. With so many trees, shrubs, and plants to maintain, it’s important we use only the best quality outdoor tools.
My Skylands gardener, Mike Harding, begins to uncoil the hose for watering. These Gilmour hoses curve without kinking, connect without leaking, and are easy to store. A hose and at least one sprinkler are placed at every bibb, or faucet. And here’s a tip… to keep it from kinking, when it’s new stretch it along a path or the edge of the lawn and then loop the business end back to the tap.
Mike uses a tripod sprinkler to water this area. Tripod sprinklers are best used where there is a need for far-reaching water. This sprinkler has a coverage area of about to 20 to 35-feet in radius.
Mike positions the feet securely in the ground. To avoid dry spots, sprinkler heads should be positioned so they overlap slightly in their coverage areas.
The collar of these tripod sprinklers can be adjusted for partial to full circle coverage. A pin diffuser allows for a customized spray from powerful jet to gentle mist. I show every member of my crew how to use the sprinkler, so they can water properly and efficiently.
Never direct hard spraying sprinklers at trees – this may mar the bark. Instead, use harder sprays for more open spaces or limit watering between the trees.
During the summer, a good watering is done to a depth of about six to eight inches. An even, intermittent sprinkling is best for thorough, deep watering.
The tripod sprinklers are also very, very sturdy, and because they’re all metal, they can stand up to frequent use around the property.
Gilmour also makes oscillating sprinklers that are easy to control in a variety of areas. They provide thousands of square feet in water coverage. They feature a tube with multiple openings that move back and forth to provide even watering.
Here is one positioned on a rock watering another section of ferns and moss.
This is an older model circular sprinkler with a base. Its spray pattern adjusts from partial- to full-circle coverage, and its spray force can be set to powerful jet or gentle rain.
Gilmour sprinklers hold up so well through the seasons. I’ve had this sprinkler for several years.
This is a small area stationary sprinkler.
It attaches to the hose lower to the ground for more delicate plantings.
And at the end of the day, each hose is coiled up once again neatly by its designated bib – ready for the next job. And be sure to turn off the water at the source. Just turning off at the sprinkler puts a lot of pressure on the hoses and pipes.
Meanwhile, we have lots of beautiful tomatoes ripening on their vines at Skylands.
And so many dahlias filling the beds with color.
My gardener, Wendy Norling, took this photo a few days ago, but today, it’s cloudy, with rain in the forecast. Let’s hope it’s a good rain.
Beautiful, colorful dahlias continue to bloom at my Bedford, New York farm.
Dahlias begin to bloom with great profusion just as other plants pass their prime, and they last right up until the first frost. My all-dahlia garden was planted in a large bed behind my vegetable greenhouse and we saw our first dahlias of the season already blooming in June. We have flowers ranging from small to giant dinner-plate size in all different colors and shades - many from Swan Island Dahlias in Oregon, from Floret in the State of Washington, and from The Flower Hat, a flower farm based in Bozeman, Montana.
Here are more of the gorgeous flowers in bloom, enjoy.
I have already cut many dahlia flowers to decorate my home this season, but there are still many to enjoy out in the garden.
There are about 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. A member of the Asteraceae family of dicotyledonous plants, some of its relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia.
The genus Dahlia is native to the high plains of Mexico. Some species can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica as well as parts of South America where it was introduced.
Dahlias were first recorded by Westerners in 1615, and were then called by their original Mexican name, acoctli. The first garden dahlias reached the United States in the early 1830s. Today, dahlias are grown all over the world. I love the many striking colors and forms.
It is also the official flower of both San Francisco and Seattle.
The Dahlia is named after the Swedish 18th century botanist Anders Dahl, who originally declared the flower a vegetable, as the tubers are edible.
Flowers come one head per stem. The blooms can be as small as two-inches in diameter or up to one foot across. They are divided into 10 groups: single, anemone, collarette, waterlily, decorative, fall, pompon, cactus, semi-cactus, and miscellaneous.
It can also vary in height, leaf color, form, and shape. This is because dahlias are octoploids, meaning they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two.
Dahlias produce an abundance of wonderful flowers throughout early summer and again in late summer until the first frost.
Dahlias are popularly grown for their long-lasting cut flowers. This is a cactus dahlia with its beautiful ‘spiny’ petals rolled up along more than two-thirds of its length.
Dahlias thrive in rich, well-drained soil with a pH level of 6.5 to 7.0 and slightly acidic.
The majority of dahlia species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars, but they are brightly colored to attract pollinating insects.
There are some 57,000 varieties of dahlia, with many new ones created each year.
Josephine Bonaparte, wife of the French Emperor, was so enamored of dahlias she grew prize varieties in her garden at Malmaison.
The dahlia was also a favorite bloom of England’s Queen Victoria.
Dahlias come in white, shades of pink, red, yellow, orange, shades of purple, and various combinations of these colors – every color but true blue. In the 19th century, a London newspaper offered a pound, or a little more than a dollar, to the first breeder to create a blue dahlia—the reward was never claimed, but there have been many attempts that are near-blue. Like many flower varieties, there is also no pure black variety—only dark red and dark purple. This one is white with soft lavender tips.
From the side, many dahlia petals grow all around the flower head giving it a very full appearance.
When planting dahlias, choose the location carefully – dahlias grow more blooms where they can have six to eight hours of direct sunlight.
And to prevent wilting, cut only in the early morning or late afternoon. And only cut them after they open to mature size – dahlias will not open after cutting.
This is a single dahlia with just one row of petals surrounding the center disc.
Here’s another dahlia just opening. I hope to still be seeing beautiful dahlia blooms through the season – maybe even until Halloween. Visit the American Dahlia Society website for the many classifications and colors. What are your favorite dahlias?
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