Soon after moving to my property, I built a winding 300-foot pergola along one side of a carriage road leading to my home. Under it, I dug six-foot-wide beds and a grassy footpath. Supporting the wooden beams are antique granite posts from China originally used as grape supports. Every year, this area blooms with beautiful color. In May, a palette of lavender, violet, purple, and blue Camassias, alliums, croci, clematis, muscari, and others. Later in summer, hundreds of orange tiger lilies fill the border gardens. Now, as part of a restoration project, I am replacing the 20-year old timeworn wood with new beams and cedar rafter tails carved from a pattern I conceived and designed myself. Last week, the old wood came down and it's looking markedly different already.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Since building this pergola I’ve added lots of bulbs and perennials that bloom at different times throughout the season. Here is the pergola garden in late May. Boxwood line the beds on both sides.
And gorgeous spring-flowering bulbs emerge along the entire length of the pergola.
In the center, a cross section supports beautiful sweet-smelling wisteria standards.
Here they grow over the rafters.
And on the vertical granite posts I grow several different varieties of clematis.
Each pair of posts supports the same variety and every summer they stand out in all their gorgeous colors.
Later in the season, the gardens change. Here is the pergola in early August when the beds are filled with bold orange tiger lilies. I always encourage guests to walk along the footpath underneath.
From above, one can see the pergola’s structure. This pergola extends from the carriage road in front of my flower cutting garden all the way to the west end of my soccer field.
Last week was phase one of the project. Here’s Fernando Ferrari, who has worked with me for more than 30-years. He saw the original pergola go up. Now he is helping to take it down, one board at a time.
Pete is also a longtime member of my outdoor grounds crew. He is removing the wooden boards carefully, so as not to damage the antique granite posts.
Most of the beams in this section are removed. A lot of them have deteriorated over time.
The copper wire for the clematis vines remains. Here, Fernando moves the wire and any supporting screws and nails from the top of the posts.
The entire removal phase took several days. Thankfully, the milder weather cooperated.
As each piece is taken down, it is placed in a pile at one end of the pergola.
Here is the pergola mid-week. Pete and Fernando have done a fast job.
Next are these old decorative rafters. They must also be removed carefully.
The entire job is done by hand to protect the posts and the gardens below – no big equipment can be used. Pete is close to finishing.
This is what it looks like now – quite bare. The burlap covers the boxwood hedge and shrubs that border the gardens.
Soon, the building will commence and a new pergola will take shape. Follow to see the next phase of this restoration project.
It’s always exciting to have babies at my farm - especially when they're cute, fluffy, delicate little chicks.
Recently, I incubated and hatched nine Silkie chick eggs from Stonebrook Silkies. I got the eggs from this year's Northeastern Poultry Congress in Springfield, Massachusetts. Silkies are best known for their characteristically fluffy plumage said to feel like silk or satin. The chicks are now about a month old and thriving - very alert, healthy, and so curious. They will remain in my stable feed room where they can be closely monitored until they are big enough to move into an outdoor enclosure.
Enjoy these photos.
Right now, the youngest residents at my farm are nine fluffy chicks – eating, chirping and strutting around their cage.
The Silkie, also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken, is a breed of chicken named for its atypically soft and showy plumage.
Here in my stable feed room, they are checked several times a day. This room is also well heated and free from drafts.
All these chicks have clear eyes and are very alert – signs of good health.
There are eight Silkie color varieties accepted by the American Poultry Association. They include black, blue, buff, gray, partridge, splash, and white.
Silkies have black eyes, dark beaks, combs, and wattles.
And underneath all that feathering, they also have black skin and bones and five toes instead of the typical four on each foot.
As soon as the chicks are able to walk, they’re up and about and playing and interacting with each other. They also peck at each other playfully.
At this stage, the chicks are already communicating with each other. In general, chickens are quite vocal. They make around 30 different calls, expressing everything from “I am hungry” to “there’s a predator nearby.”
These Silkies are already greeting visitors that enter the room – I am looking forward to seeing them mature with the rest of my flock.
They are full of expression from the very start. I wonder what this chick is thinking.
Here, one is perching atop a stuffed toy. Chickens love to perch. It gives them a sense of safety, especially when they sleep.
The Silkie is one of the oldest breeds of chicken in the world. It was originally bred in China and then made its way to the West through maritime trade. The breed was recognized officially in North America in 1874.
Silkies grow a bit slower than other chicken breeds and shouldn’t be outside until they have all their feathers and have lost all their fuzz.
Because the Silkie’s feathers lack functioning barbicels, similar to down on other birds, they are unable to fly.
These chicks are great eaters. They get specialized chick food as well as micro greens I grow here at the farm.
Silkies also have a distinctive head – very fluffy, soft and fur-like.
Silkies are adaptable, playful, and friendly. And, they are naturally more calm than most other breeds.
It is always nice to see such a strong and energetic group of babies.
In another few weeks, these chicks will be outside enjoying the early spring weather.
What does one do with thousands of spring-blooming bulbs late in the planting season? Hurry to get them all in the ground at the first sign of a brief winter warm up and thaw.
Every year, I plant thousands of spring-flowering bulbs here at my farm - under my long and winding pergola, behind my Tenant House, in my Summer House sunken garden, in the gardens around my Winter House, and under various allées of trees. This year, I decided to also plant an abundance of bulbs along my stone walls - camassia, crocus, iris, squill, and muscari. Low temperatures and snow cover kept the beds frozen for weeks until just recently when the weather warmed up enough for my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew to get out their dibbers and plant.
Enjoy these photos.
There is always renewed excitement every spring when the flowers emerge around the farm. Crocus is an early season flower that pops up usually in shades of white, yellow, and purple.
This is camassia. Camassia is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to Canada and the United States. Common names include camas, quamash, Indian hyacinth, camash, and wild hyacinth. They grow to a height of 12 to 50 inches and vary in color from pale lilac or white to deep purple or blue-violet.
Squill or Siberian squill, is also known widely by its botanical name, Scilla. It is a spring bulb with green grass-like foliage and arching flower stalks that support one to three nodding blue or white flowers.
Striped squill is also known as puschkinia. Puschkinia is a genus of three known species of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to the Caucasus and the Middle East. Puschkinia shows off short flowers with six petals that are white with a blue stripe down the middle, which can be seen in the front, the back, and the sides of the blooms.
And I grow masses of beautiful muscari. Muscari is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, most commonly blue, urn-shaped flowers that look like bunches of grapes in spring.
Many of my bulbs are from Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs – a third generation flower merchant in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. Late in planting season, Colorblends had a surplus of bulbs available. I was excited to purchase bags of small flowering bulbs I love.
Bulbs are packaged in batches of 50, 100, 500, and a thousand. They come in these breathable sacks and crates. They are also packed in paper bags, boxes, and plastic pouches depending on the bulbs’ humidity needs. They must be kept moist without being wet.
I was thrilled to have enough to plant along some of the stone walls of my farm. The first step is to rake the beds, so they are clear of any debris.
Then my head-gardener, Ryan McCallister, throws batches of bulbs down on the ground. He does this randomly across the bed to create a more natural appearance when they grow.
For planting smaller bulbs, my gardeners use T-handled dibbers, which are pressed into the soil to make narrow holes.
Bulbs come in different sizes and forms. Shown here is a crocus bulb, a squill bulb and a muscari bulb. True bulbs can be either tunicate, with a papery covering or non-tunicate without the covering. On many bulbs, it is also easy to see which end is the top and which end is the bottom.
Each bulb is placed in a hole about three to five inches deep. The dibber is perfect for planting these bulbs.
Here is a bulb getting placed gently into its hole.
Bulbs are always positioned with the pointed end faced up, or root end faced down. This is very important, so the plant grows properly from the bulb. Here is a bulb inside the hole – at least several inches deep.
My foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, also made a long handled dibber from timeworn pieces that had been saved.
These long handled dibbers are a big hit – allowing the crew to remain standing and make a series of holes more quickly.
While one or two works low to the ground, others work upright, getting lots of holes made for the bulbs.
The crew took turns with each function – it was a very efficient assembly line process.
Once a section is planted, Matt sprinkles fertilizer.
Always be sure to add the proper food to the bed. It should be a balanced fertilizer. Fertilizing spring-blooming bulbs also helps them fight off diseases and pests. I use Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed All Purpose Plant Food.
And after all the bulbs are planted and fed, the areas are raked, so it looks neat and tidy.
Raking closely also helps to make sure every bulb is covered. I don’t want any missed.
And here is an area all done. I can’t wait to see all these bulbs erupt with gorgeous color come spring.
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