Today at my Bedford, New York farm, I'm hosting a very special party to celebrate all those who have worked with me for 20-years and more.
With so much to do, everyone pitched in yesterday to get everything ready. Among the many tasks on our list - mow the lawns, weed the garden beds, mulch the carriage roads, harvest the vegetables, bathe the donkeys, and make the tablecloth and centerpieces for the outdoor sit-down dinner. We got so much done and fortunately this week's weather is fantastic.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
My peafowl have the perfect “bird’s eye view” of all the party preparations going on at the farm. Here are three sitting atop one of the chickens coops “taking it all in.”
The courtyard is where everyone will gather – it is looking so pretty with the large potted sago palms on the cobblestone courtyard.
All the surrounding areas near the stable are freshly groomed. Here’s Domi mowing the lawn in front of the peafowl and goose enclosures.
Nearby, my stable manager, Helen, wipes down all the stall doors.
My vegetable garden is looking so lush and green. It was also cleaned and weeded.
These beets were harvested early in the day. The beetroot is the taproot of the beet plant, and is often called the table beet, garden beet, red or golden beet or simply… beet. Beets are highly nutritious and very good for maintaining strong cardiovascular health. It’s low in calories, contains zero cholesterol, and is rich in folates, vitamin-A, B-complex, and antioxidants.
Vicia faba, also known as the broad bean or fava bean is an ancient member of the pea family. They have a nutty taste and buttery texture. I always grow lots of fava beans. A trug bucket full is also picked for the party.
And here’s a bowl of fresh eggs from my gorgeous and most productive chickens.
Herbs are potted for use as our centerpieces. It is always nice to utilize natural elements to decorate the tables. Green is also a theme color for the table setting. It will go so nicely with my Drabware dishes.
Dawa is weeding the perennial garden across from the chicken coops – it’s all hands on deck for this special gathering.
And of course, the donkeys are getting bathed for the occasion.
Truman “TJ” Junior and Clive don’t seem to mind – these baths cool them down on a warm summer’s day.
Here’s Domi carefully weed whacking around the antique posts of the Asian pear espalier. I bought these posts from China. Originally, they were used as grape supports in a valley that was going to be dammed and flooded to create a reservoir. Now, I use these beautiful posts for various projects around my farm – including this row of espaliered fruits.
Inside my Flower Room kitchen, Chef Pierre Schaedelin from PS Tailored Events, cuts the beets into bite-sized pieces for a delicious salad.
Here’s sous chef Moises carrying a tray filled with citrus – ready for the cocktails and fruit popsicles.
Phurba puts fresh mulch around the boxwood in the long Boxwood Allée. Mulch is a layer of material applied to the soil surface. It helps to conserve soil moisture, improve fertility and health of the soil, reduce weed growth, and enhance the visual appeal of the area. All the organic mulch we use is made right here at the farm.
The peafowl have moved for a closer look – here they are on top of the mulch filled dump truck.
Here, Chhiring, who is celebrating his 20 years with me today, is burning all the pesky weeds that grow in between the cobblestone pavers.
Lorna unrolls the fabric to make our handmade tablecloths. I chose this dark gray color – it will look so pretty with the Drabware and herb centerpieces.
And here’s a tray of homemade currant fruit popsicles ready for the freezer.
We’re almost set for our fun summertime party! And I think the peafowl approve. This peahen is sitting on the rim of a giant stone birdbath in front of my Stable Office building – she is so interested and curious. I’ll be sure to share more photos of this party in my next blog – stay tuned.
My tall English hornbeam hedges always look so beautiful after a fresh pruning.
This week, my outdoor grounds crew trimmed the hornbeam hedges in front of my main greenhouse - the hedges surrounding part of my formal lily garden beds and the large sculpted hedge nearby. Botanically known as Carpinus betulus, the hornbeam is a fast growing deciduous tree that can grow up to several feet per year. I like to maintain the hedges using a traditional European style of pruning, so they have a nice, sculpted appearance. This means, it’s crucial that they be trimmed regularly, so they don’t look overgrown and unruly.
Here are some photos.
This tall hornbeam hedge grows at the edge of the gravel topped parking area directly in front of my main greenhouse. It is quite pretty here, but serves primarily as a privacy and noise barrier from the road. This photo was taken before any pruning began – one can see all the lush new growth.
With proper care, the hornbeam grows quickly, so it is important to trim and sculpt it regularly. Hornbeam is also very hardy and frost resistant, which is good in this area.
Carpinus betulus is native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. Because of its dense foliage and tolerance to being cut back, this hornbeam is popularly used for hedges and topiaries. Hornbeams are often confused with the common beech because of their similar leaves; however, the hornbeam leaves are actually smaller and more deeply furrowed than beech leaves. The leaves are deciduous and alternate, with serrated margins.
Looking inside the hedge, the hornbeam has pale grey bark with vertical markings. All of these hornbeams are planted in a very straight line just a couple feet apart. One can see the sturdy branches and how they grow outward and slightly upward.
The crew does most of the pruning by hand. Everyone uses Japanese Okatsune shears specially made for trimming hedges. These shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes. It is more time consuming to trim these hedges by hand, but it is also more exact and provides straight clean cuts – very important when sculpting formal hedges.
We trim the hornbeams every year around this time. Pasang keeps the shears close to shoulder level. This allows the best control. He also holds the shears closer to the base of the blades.
Here, one can see what has been cut and what hasn’t.
It doesn’t take long for the ground to fill with clippings – and this is just from the front of the hedge.
Once the front of the hedge is done, our Hi-Lo is moved in, so Pasang could trim the uppermost sections and the top. The Hi-Lo is very useful, and because the hedge is accessible from the parking area, it always comes in handy for this task.
Manning the Hi-Lo is my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa. He’s been working with me here at the farm for 20-years! He positions the Hi-Lo and its cage and makes sure Pasang can safely reach what he is pruning.
Once an area is trimmed, Pasang uses a soft rake to clear the top of any cut branches and leaves.
Next, he uses a long bamboo stake to ensure the hedges are all level and equal in height.
From above, the tops look flat with well-trimmed corners.
Here is a side view showing how the front is sculpted with the taller sections protruding just a bit. It is looking very straight and square.
And here is the finished hedge – trimmed beautifully. I can’t believe how much these grow every year.
Across the gravel road is the hornbeam hedge surrounding my formal white lily and hosta garden. Chhiring uses orange twine along the top of the hedge, so it can be trimmed straight.
Here, Chhiring uses a level to check that everything is perfectly even from one end to the other.
Here is a view once it is pruned. The dark green of the hornbeams look so nice in contrast to the lighter green of the lily foliage and hostas in the foreground.
At the side entrance leading to my berry bushes and rose garden, I decided to create a more sculpted top, so this bit will remain untouched while it grows. It will look so nice once we shape it.
And here’s the other side. Look how lush this garden is – I will be sure to share more photos once the lilies are blooming. Next to be done is the long European hornbeam hedge that runs along the back of my Summer House and Winter House. It’s a busy summer here at working farm – there’s always lots to do, but the gardens, allées, and groves are all looking so wonderful.
It's so important to keep up with the maintenance and care of the many trees here at my Bedford, New York farm. My grove of American beech trees, Fagus grandifolia, is undergoing a soil treatment program to make sure they continue to thrive.
As many of you know, I tour the grounds every day and keep track of what needs pruning, feeding, and mulching throughout the year. Early last month, I noticed something wasn't quite right with my American beech trees. The trees just didn't look as vibrant or as full. I also knew there was a relatively new beech leaf disease that is spreading rapidly through the Northeast killing both mature American beeches and saplings. I called on True Nature tree and soil expert, Sebastian “Rocky” Camarillo, to take a look right away. Rocky assessed the trees, took many soil samples for testing, and started a thorough feeding plan. Yesterday, Rocky came back to see how they were doing.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This is my grove of American beech trees. This grove is located at the east end of my long Boxwood Allee not far from the carriage road leading to my hayfields. This photo was taken last fall when my American beech tree grove looked lush and healthy.
This spring, i noticed the trees were getting bare. I was concerned they had gotten the beech leaf disease that’s been plaguing trees across the country. The disease, which was first spotted in northeastern Ohio, causes parts of leaves to turn leathery and branches to wither and then kill a tree within six to 10 years. I definitely needed to make sure these beautiful specimens survived.
True Nature owner, Rocky Camarillo, came to the farm last month and noticed there was clearly something wrong.
Rocky took many samples of soil from around the trees for testing. Soil helps regulate the water, supports biodiversity, filters pollutants, provides support, and cycles nutrients. Soil tests are available at garden shops and online. It is a good idea to test one’s garden soil every three to five years.
And then he treated the roots around every tree in the grove. It is crucial to feed the roots and the soil in order to feed the trees. Rocky used a solution containing nitrogen, iron, sulfur, magnesium, manganese, boron, and zinc and went all the way out just past the drip-line of every tree.
Unfortunately, the leaves looked withered and many had not grown.
Held up to the sunlight, the leaves also showed dark bands – a sign of the beech leaf disease. An invasive nematode is believed to be responsible for disease. These microscopic worms are present in the leaves and buds of infected beech trees. Hopefully the added nutrients could strengthen the tree and fight the disease.
In the weeks following that first treatment, I already noticed a little improvement. Rocky returned to the farm yesterday to check on the grove.
While many of the leaves still looked diseased, new growth showed green, smooth, healthy leaves. The trees were doing better, but the soil still needed some more nutrients. The soil tests showed a low CEC, or Cation exchange capacity, a property of soil that describes its capacity to supply nutrients for plant uptake.
Rocky’s son, Eric, puts together the AirSpade – a hose attachment for a compressor that can shoot air and uncover sensitive tree roots without harming them.
Using the AirSpade, Rocky clears the area around the tree’s base. The trunk base, where it widens, is called the root flare or root collar or root crown. This is a key area on any tree. The rule of thumb when planting trees is to be sure the tree is “bare to the flare.”
Rocky also cuts any roots that are wrapped too tightly against the flare roots.
This tree now has a well-exposed flare.
Next, Rocky uses the AirSpade to make holes around the tree. Rocky does this in many locations under the canopy and all the way out just past the drip-line of every tree. The drip-line is the area directly located under the outer circumference of the tree branches. When the tree canopy gets wet, any excess is shed to the ground along this drip-line. This is also known as a tree’s critical root zone or root protection zone.
Meanwhile, Eric mixes a solution of compost and biochar, which is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and ashes.
He then adds bokashi, a fermented organic fertilizer that contains beneficial microorganisms and nutrients. Bokashi is different from compost because it uses fermentation to break organic waste down and compost uses decomposition.
Here, Rocky mixes the elements together.
And then Freddy pushes generous amounts of the mixture into each hole around the tree.
Each hole goes down at least a foot deep into the soil.
The next step is to spray the surface soil with fertilizer. The same liquid fertilizer he used in his first visit.
Freddy sprays the fertilizer generously around each tree. We’re also expecting some rain this week which will hopefully help the tree roots absorb the new nutrients.
The trio stopped for a quick photo – here’s Rocky, Freddy, and Eric.
Rocky will be back again before the summer is over to check on this grove and all the other American beech trees around the farm, including the purple columnar beech trees around my pool, the fastigiate beech trees outside my Winter House, and the weeping copper beech trees. I am looking forward to seeing these trees look even better in the weeks ahead. I will keep you all updated – stay tuned.
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