The gardens at my Bedford, New York farm are changing every day.
One of the most anticipated sights on the farm is my herbaceous peony garden in full bloom. No garden is complete without these beautiful plants, which are covered with large, imposing flowers in May and June. True perennials, herbaceous peonies can live for 100-years, becoming more impressive over time. Yesterday, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew staked all the herbaceous peonies in the bed across from my Winter House. At maturity, these plants grow to about three-feet tall and need good support, so the massive flower heads don’t flop over once they bloom.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Herbaceous peonies are very hardy perennials and thrive in USDA zones 3 to 8. In early April, most of the herbaceous peonies begin emerging from the ground, but they grow very quickly and need to be supported to protect the large heavy flowers.
Once the stems are several inches tall, it’s time to stake each of the rows of peonies, so they are well-bolstered as they mature. I planted various peony flower types in this bed: single, semi-double, double and anemone-type blossoms.
Peonies are native throughout the northern hemisphere and have been cultivated for centuries both in Europe and Asia.
Instead of rings that are available at many garden centers, I use these metal stakes that I designed myself for my farm. Each metal support has two eyes, one at the top and one in the middle.
The stakes are about three feet tall.
These herbaceous peonies are all surrounded in the garden within a hedge of rounded boxwood shrubs, making it a focal point on the property and in the overall landscape here at my farm.
The first step is to insert a stake every four-feet around the perimeter of each row. My peony garden is planted with 11 double rows of 22 herbaceous peony plants, 44 in each row of the same variety.
Each of the stakes is positioned, so the eyes face the same direction.
Because there are so many rows, Phurba works to position the stakes…
As Brian follows pushing the stakes several inches deep into the ground.
We use a natural jute twine for this project and for many gardening projects around the farm. Twine like this is available in large spools online and in some specialty garden supply shops.
After all the stakes are in place, Phurba and Brian begin lacing twine through the middle stake eyes in a zigzag pattern all the way down the row. Herbaceous peonies need an area with fertile, well-drained soil and full sun.
Phurba ties one end of the twine to the lower eye of the first stake.
And then feeds it through the eyes all the way down the aisle. It is easier to do the bottom row first.
I designed the eyes to be big enough for the many threads of twine. These have worked so well for me over the years.
Once the bottom is done, Brian laces the top row in the same manner.
Another line of twine is also secured around the entire row to hold all those heavy blooms at the edge.
It takes several hours to do all the beds, but it’s the perfect time to stake them since they are not yet full height.
Here is what a row looks like all done – very neat and tidy, and every peony plant supported by twine. The stakes and twine create such an artistic and geometric pattern.
This technique allows support from every direction. In just a few short weeks, this garden will be filled with stunning shades of pink and white. I am so happy to say, this garden is a huge success and joy every year.
Here's a short video showing the bed now, with all the stakes and twine ready for the season. Now we just wait for this garden to bloom.
Our annual seedling planting project continues at the farm.
My gardeners and outdoor grounds crew recently potted up hundreds of bare-root trees and other small seedlings. Yesterday, they also transplanted a large grouping of young hollies in a section of my vegetable garden where they can be carefully maintained until they are large enough to move to more permanent locations.
Enjoy these photos.
Holly is among the most recognizable plants with its shiny leaves and red berries in fall and winter. Known botanically as Ilex, holly is a genus of about 480 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae. The species include evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide.
I have both male and female holly specimens. To grow holly berries, one needs to plant both for pollination. Holly’s glossy leaves look crisp and beautiful all year long. They have alternate simple leaves, and the leaves of many species have wavy margins tipped with spines. These leaves are from Holly ‘Blue Boy’ – a handsome shrub with glossy, blue-green leaves and purple stems.
And these leaves are from Holly ‘Blue Girl.’
For this planting project, Phurba uses leftover jute twine to create nice straight lines that will guide the planting. Here at the farm, I encourage the crew to reuse, repurpose and recycle whenever possible. It’s important to me that we continue to be mindful of our environment.
Phurba secures twine at one end of the fence and walks it backwards to the other end.
Once he gets to the other side, he measures the width of the section to ensure it is exactly the same as the previous one. These lines are about a foot-and-a-half apart.
Next, Phurba looks at the line and measures the width again – just to be sure.
The twine is well-secured at both ends and easy to see.
Here is a top view of the spacing we created using the twine. This will be just enough room for the young holly bushes.
Here, a generous amount of triple super phosphate is sprinkled on the existing soil. This an enriched source of phosphorus. This will help root growth, and fruit formation.
Once the twine is secure, the seedlings are placed evenly along the length of the twined row.
The seedlings are perfectly lined up under the twine. Until established, these holly plants will need at least weekly watering.
Next, Brian begins digging holes for each of the seedlings. He is using a small pointed shovel, which is specially designed with a sharp angled head that can slice through hard soil and gnarly roots when planting, edging, weeding, or transplanting.
Here, one can see that these holly plants are also lined up with the young boxwood growing nearby. The boxwood seedlings have already grown quite a bit since they were planted one year ago.
Each hole is about four-inches deep. We had a lot of rain earlier in the week, so the soil was still moist and soft.
Brian carefully plants each specimen in a hole.
Here is one just removed from its pot. These two to three year old seedlings are only a few inches tall, but they will thrive in this nutrient-rich soil. Holly bushes have very deep, strong roots. They grow between 17 and 25 inches below the dirt. The root system is a taproot. This means holly bushes have one large root that grows straight down and then smaller, less hearty roots that spread out.
Large bright markers are used to identify which are the male plants and which are the females.
In general, it takes one mature male per acre of females to provide the pollen for honeybees to pollinate the flowers and to create the berries. It will be so nice to see these develop.
Holly bushes make attractive additions in the landscape. It is wonderful to be growing these gorgeous specimens right here at my farm. I will continue to share photos with you as they mature.
Time for some high pruning and maintenance for the trees at my Bedford, New York farm.
Yesterday, my longtime arborists at SavATree came with a crew to do some upkeep on various trees including a grove of old sugar maples located outside my Summer House. These trees are original to the farm and provide dappled shade over a collection of tree peonies and azaleas. The arborists from SavATree are well-trained and use different climbing methods to reach some of the high dead branches that needed to be removed.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This day was perfect for some maintenance tree work – mild temperatures and very little wind. While my own outdoor grounds crew can tackle many of the smaller tree jobs, I occasionally call in a crew from SavATree to do the larger tasks, like cutting the dead wood out of these tall sugar maples.
This is a view of the maples from last fall. Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage.
SavATree has been caring for my trees since I purchased the property. The crews include well trained arborists with all the necessary equipment for safely and efficiently maintaining all kinds of trees. The safety belts with all the carabiners and ropes can easily weigh about 25-pounds.
Ricardo prepares his double line with what is called a “Blake Hitch Knot” which is a friction, or slide and grip hitch. It is often used by arborists for ascending and descending.
Ricardo uses a traditional method for climbing this tree. First he assesses his route and ensures his lines are all secure.
Ricardo starts carefully by finding a clear spot on the tree to ascend. The crew is very careful not to disturb any of the plantings below or the climbing hydrangea vines on the trunk of the tree.
Ricardo uses both legs of the line to climb up the side of the tree. He uses his body to bring himself up. This technique is one of the first climbers must learn, and one of the safest to use.
This technique is also one of the quickest and most effective ways of ascending a tree. It took only minutes for Ricardo to reach the necessary point.
He also uses two lines tied in two places in the tree. The climbing line is tied at the higher point, while the climber moves the lower tie to where he is on the tree.
Once Ricardo is at the right spot, he carefully cuts down the needed branch that is already tied to another line. When the branch is severed, it goes down slowly to the ground instead of dropping.
On another tree, Alejandro prepares himself for a single line rope wrench technique. Alex helps him at the base. This method incorporates a rope wrench with tether, foot locks, and a chest harness.
All the climbers are trained in tying a variety of safety arbor knots.
Alejandro uses his feet to grip the rope and advance up the climbing line. Climbers who use this technique must already be very experienced in using the traditional double line method.
Here, one can see how Alejandro climbs the rope using his arms to pull him up and his feet to grip the single line.
Once he is at the needed height, he positions himself at a sturdy crotch of the tree.
Then he secures himself with the proper arbor tie.
And cuts the dead wood.
The crew from SavATree also uses STIHL equipment. These arbor saws are lightweight and easy to transport when climbing.
The branches that are taken down are brought over to the SavATree chipper nearby.
After all the wood is chipped, it is dumped in my compost yard and used later for wood chip dressing.
The crew then carefully puts all their equipment – ropes, harnesses, and belts away, so they’re all ready for the next job.
Proper, regular pruning removes dead, diseased or damaged branches. Maintaining the tree’s structure also helps to enhance the tree’s natural shape, ensures enough sunlight, air, and moisture get through the branches, and mitigates the risk of broken limbs and falling branches. I look forward to seeing these beautiful mature trees with all their bold green foliage later this season.
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