It’s time to plant all those spring-blooming bulbs!
Every year, I plant thousands of spring-blooming bulbs here at my farm. Yesterday, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew started planting in my pergola garden - one of the first areas I see when I drive into my property. They planted camassias and alliums. The bulbs are from Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs - a third generation flower merchant in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. I always find it exciting to plant bulbs in the fall that stay hidden underground for many months - it's such a wonderful surprise of color when they bloom in spring.
Enjoy these photos.
If you haven’t yet planted your spring-blooming bulbs, this is the time to do it. Every year, I order lots of bulbs in batches of 50, 100, 500, and a thousand. These bulbs are from Colorblends – they come in these breathable sacks and crates. This year, 10-thousand bulbs in all.
The Colorblends facility is housed in an old factory originally built in 1879. Colorblends has been selling bulbs for more than 50-years.
The Colorblends warehouse is large and filled with all kinds of bulbs that arrive from the Netherlands in early fall. While Colorblends does handle some bulb order pickups, the company mainly ships bulbs to customers from online catalog orders and by phone. Once the bulbs are ready, they are delivered according to a planting map. After the first frost in one’s area, bulbs can be planted safely for about two months.
Once at the farm, my head-gardener Ryan McCallister organizes them by type and groups them where they will be planted.
One of the first areas we plant is the long pergola garden across the carriage road from my beautiful bald cypress trees – look at the gorgeous russet brown colored fall foliage of these trees. The feathery needles look so pretty covering the ground.
There are several different tools used for planting bulbs depending on the size of the bulb. Here we have traditional long handled bulb planters made with powder-coated steel. The six inch barrel is perfect for planting most bulbs and has a 37 inch long handle for planting ease. We also use the shorter bulb planters – each crew member has his favorite tool.
Ryan sprinkles a generous amount of fertilizer first. I use Miracle-Gro. The food should be a balanced fertilizer that has a good amount of phosphorous. Fertilizing spring-blooming bulbs feeds and helps them fight off diseases and pests.
Here I like to plant lots of camassia and alliums. When purchasing bulbs, always look for those that are plump and firm, and avoid those that are soft. These bulbs from Colorblends are in great condition. Bulbs come in a variety of sizes depending on the flower – the bigger the bulb the more time it has to grow and the bigger the flower bloom.
This is an allium bulb. True bulbs can be either tunicate, with a papery covering or non-tunicate without the covering. This is a tunicate bulb. On many bulbs, it is also easy to see which end is the top and which end has the roots.
Alliums are often overlooked as one of the best bulbs for constant color throughout the season. They come in oval, spherical, or globular flower shapes, blooming in magnificent colors atop tall stems. An allium flower head is a cluster of individual florets and the flower color may be purple, white, yellow, pink, or blue.
This is an elongated tunicate camassia bulb. And do you know… these bulbs are actually edible? Camassia bulbs were a major food source for some Native American tribes and early European Settlers, but they were very difficult to distinguish from other bulbs, which were deadly poisonous.
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.
Ryan tosses the bulbs naturally along the entire length of the pergola garden. Where they fall is where they will be planted.
Using the stand-up bulb planter, Phurba is able to make holes faster without kneeling.
This tool is best for planting larger bulbs that need to be buried at least six-inches deep. He makes a hole just next to where the bulb was tossed.
One by one, each bulb is carefully placed into a hole, with the pointed end faced up, or root end faced down. This is very important, so the plant grows properly from the bulb.
Because the pergola garden is long, this bed will need hundreds of bulbs to fill it. Most bulbs do best in full sun with at least six hours of direct sunlight a day and well-drained soil.
Ryan uses a stainless steel bulb planter drill attachment.
In general, holes should be three times deeper than the bulb’s length.
Each of these bulbs is planted in a hole at least six-inches deep. There are already many other bulbs planted here, so Phurba and Ryan are very careful when planting additional bulbs in this space.
Phurba works fast. He is able to get hundreds of bulbs planted in just a few hours.
The area will also get a covering of composted mulch made right here at the farm. I am glad the weather has allowed us a good head start this season. I cannot wait to see the fruits of our labor, and the swaths of color that will emerge in spring.
Orchids are among the largest and most diverse groups of flowering plants with more than 25 thousand species found around the world.
The Orchid House at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is a place where one can view some stunning orchid specimens. Longwood features hundreds of beautiful potted orchids displayed in a newly restored gallery-like room on custom frame trellises. The garden's collection was started by founder Pierre S. du Pont and his wife, Alice, in the 1920s and now includes more than 5000 different plants representing 2000 different groups.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The Orchid House at Longwood displays 250 to 300 different orchid plants at any time. They are hand-selected and rotated several times a week.
The gallery-like space which was restored in 2022 still includes a lot of the original bronze detailing and ironwork, but now includes a much more advanced system for maintaining the proper heat and humidity in the room.
Cattleya orchids are known for their large, fragrant flowers. This is x Rhyncholaeliocattleya Star of Bethlehem ‘Tall Oaks.’ It is an orchid hybrid from 1976.
A slipper orchid, specifically the lady slipper orchid, is characterized by its slipper-shaped pouch that resembles a shoe.
This slipper orchid, Paphiopedilum Maudiae ‘Magnificum’ is a unique green and white orchid with variegated leaves. It was first registered in 1900.
This is an Oncidium orchid, commonly known as a dancing lady orchid. These epiphytic plants are loved for their vibrant colors and unique flower shapes. This variety is Oncidium Lisa Devos.
Phalaenopsis I-Hsin Sesame ‘OX1178’ has fine red spots on white to cream colored petals. Phalaenopsis orchids are also called moth orchids and known for their long-lasting flat blooms.
This orchid is x Bratonia Pelican Lake ‘Talisman Cove’ – an interesting hybrid created in 1988. These hybrids are loved by orchid enthusiasts because of their unique and vibrant colors.
Another hybrid is x Lysudamuloa Yi-Ying Sakura. Many hybrid orchids are easier to care for than their parent species making them very popular for growers and orchid enthusiasts.
Phalaenopsis OX Red Sesame ‘OX1699’ features a charming blend of delicate and vibrant red and white blooms.
This unique specimen is Bulbophyllum rothschildianum ‘Red Chimney’ with large deep red umbells that emerge in late October to November. Bulbophyllum orchids have fringed petals, glossy textures and sometimes unique scents.
Here is a deep red slipper orchid Paphiopedilum King Arthur. These orchids thrive in bright, indirect light in temperatures from 65-degrees Fahrenheit to 80-degrees Fahrenheit whether indoors or out.
Another beautiful orchid is the Dendrobium Jaquelyn Thomas ‘Uniwai Supreme.’ This hybrid is part of a group of Jaquelyn Thomas orchids developed and cloned at the Universiry of Hawaii in the 1970s. The 18 to 24 inch flower spikes are topped with spoon shaped flowers in white, purple and pink.
This hybrid x Rhyncholaeliocattleya Greenwhich ‘Elmhurst’ is bright creamy yellow with a bold purple lip edge. Orchids are defined by their unique flower structure, specifically the reproductive parts which are fused into a single column and distinguishes them from other flowering plants.
Bulbophyllum Elizabeth Ann ‘Buckleberry’ stands out with its long drooping flowers and unique striped pattern.
This orchid is Miltoniopsis Mary Catherine Messina. These Miltoniopsis orchids are often known as the “Pansy Orchid” due to the large, fragrant flowers. Another unique feature of the orchid is their pollen which forms sticky balls called pollinia or pollen sacs.
This Phalaenopsis is Chi Yueh Four Peace. Notice, it features a third petal instead of a lip, which makes it rare and more sought-after by growers.
This Oncidium sotoanum is from South Mexico & Central America. The flowers are on arching to pendulous stems with numerous long-lasting, small pink flowers that are intensely fragrant.
And this is x Bratonia Charles M. Fitch ‘Izumi,’ with star-shaped flowers adorned with purple petals and a purple lip.
Miltoniopsis Hajime Ono ‘Standing Tall’ is also known for its fragrant blooms. The flowers have white and deep pink colored petals. This particular orchid variety is sensitive to drought and needs frequent watering to thrive.
There are so many different types of orchids to see and admire. If you love orchids as much as I do, and can visit the Orchid House at Longwood, please do so an talk to the experts – your visit will be informational and inspiring.
I have thousands and thousands of trees at my farm. Many were already well-established when I purchased the property, but the rest I've planted - in allées, in groves, as privacy hedges, around my pool, and in rows of my living maze. One type of tree, however, stands out this time every year - the ginkgo.
Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back 270-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history. Ginkgo trees have beautiful green leaves that turn a luminous golden-yellow in autumn. This time of year, the female trees also start dropping their fruits. Ginkgo nuts are a delicacy in China, Japan, and Korea, and are prized for their flavor, nutritional value, and medicinal properties.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
These six Ginkgo biloba Goldspire™ Obelisk trees surround my pool. I planted the narrow upright tower trees in the spring of last year and I am so pleased with how they are doing.
In early October, one could see the slight change to the color of the leaves – here they’re just beginning to turn.
Now in November, these trees are golden yellow and their leaves are falling. Ginkgo Goldspire™ is a highly ornamental, non-fruiting male tree originating in Italy. It has a very upright, tight fastigiate habit.
The foliage of these trees also tends to be smaller than other species.
These ginkgo trees are in my sunken Summer House garden. The giant tree in the back is a female and the main focal point of this formal space. Here they have also changed colors – there is only a little tinge of green on the trees.
The change of color happens after the breakdown of chlorophyll, the pigment responsible for the green. As the days get shorter and temperatures drop, plants prepare for winter by shutting off chlorophyll production.
Within weeks, all the ginkgo trees have changed. The Ginkgo biloba is one of the most distinct and beautiful of all deciduous trees. It prefers a minimum of four hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day. The ginkgo has a cone-like shape when young, and becomes irregularly rounded as it ages.
The leaves are fan-shaped, up to three inches long, with a petiole that is also up to three inches long. This shape and the elongated petiole cause the foliage to flutter in the slightest breeze.
The trunk of the ginkgo tree is a light brown to brownish-gray bark that is deeply furrowed and highly ridged. The ridges become more pronounced as the tree ages. The trunk circumference of the giant female tree measures more than 14-feet.
Mixed with the fallen leaves below the female tree are newly fallen ginkgo tree fruits. The most noticeable thing about these is the smell – it is hard to miss, and the stench is quite disagreeable. The outer, nasty smelling pulp is known botanically as sarcotesta.
The ginkgo seeds contain urushiol, which is the same chemical that causes poison oak, ivy, and sumac, so always wear gloves and protect your skin whenever handling the fruit.
Inside is a single hard-shelled seed enclosing an edible kernel. The kernels are often roasted and used in Asian cuisines.
I often collect the fruits and give them to chef friends for use in their Asian dishes – they are always excited to receive them.
And I have so many this year! What a bounty.
Ginkgo trees are dioecious, meaning that male and female reproductive parts develop on separate plants. Ginkgo trees typically reach sexual maturity around 20 to 30 years old. Male trees do not drop fruit. This ginkgo tree is in one corner of my herbaceous peony bed.
And this ginkgo is outside my Winter House across the carriage road from the peony garden.
These ginkgo trees are in a grove not far from my chicken coops outside my fenced pastures. The leaves are still holding on.
This ginkgo is outside my raised bed vegetable garden. It is the first to lose its leaves here at the farm. Typically, on one day after a hard frost sweeps down the east coast, most of the ginkgos at my farm and countless more in the area, drop all their leaves, but with such mild temperatures this autumn, the “great fall” seems less dramatic.
After they fall, all the leaves carpet the area below with gold.
A week after the first photo was taken, the Ginkgo biloba Goldspire™ Obelisk trees around my pool are also mostly bare.
Have the ginkgo trees dropped their leaves where you live? If not, maybe it will happen very soon.
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