I hope you saw my blog earlier this week when I shared photos of the pond cleaning process - the removal of old trees, stumps, and decades of silt, that decaying organic material that had accumulated and settled on the pond floor. The next step was to repair and reinforce the pond walls and rebuild a more functional and appealing spillway.
Enjoy these photos.
Once the pond was cleaned and emptied, work began on the repairs. My main goal was to restore the pond so it supported a healthy ecosystem and was aesthetically pleasing.
Boulders and rocks which I already had here at the farm were put to good use at the pond. They were transported from my compost and materials yard to the pond’s edge.
And then the rocks were placed strategically and thoughtfully to bolster the walls of the pond.
As the pond walls were reinforced, so was the littoral land, the area surrounding the pond. It was leveled and smoothed.
The team from Pennella Contracting Inc. in Brewster, New York used concrete and more of my giant rocks to rebuild the spillway.
The plan was to create a crenellated wall to allow the water to pass through easily and naturally.
It took a few weeks to build the structure properly. Work also depended largely on the weather. Thankfully, we had more good days than bad.
To keep the rocks level and in place, concrete slabs were made.
Concrete was also used to bond the rocks together. Here, one can see the spillway taking shape.
On the other side, rocks were carefully positioned for good flow out of the pond.
And stones around the culvert were also assessed and modified where needed for controlled water flow entering from other sources.
As work was completed, water was directed back into the pond. Here it is almost filled up.
Here is the crenellated spillway complete.
… And look how nicely the water flows through. Spillways are crucial for water control. They ensure surplus water flows through safely and efficiently, preventing any flooding.
The surrounding areas are also looking more finished.
The little structure by the pond’s edge was cleaned and repainted my signature “Bedford Gray.”
The water is much cleaner now that all the silt has been removed. Reflections of the bare trees can be seen in the water.
This is how the pond looked yesterday.
The next phase will include selecting and planting the best trees and other specimens for the pond’s edge. The right plantings will not only look beautiful but will also provide a good habitat for wildlife.
This will soon be such a wonderful area to visit here at my farm. Follow along here and on my Instagram page @marthastewartblog to see the final phase of my pond restoration project.
I've already started my spring planting, have you?
Every year I add lots of plants to both existing gardens as well as new spaces. Earlier this week, I purchased a selection of beautiful potted hellebores for an area outside my Tenant House that gets partial shade and dappled sunlight. I already have hellebores growing in these gardens, but I wanted to fill in the spaces a bit more. Hellebores begin to bloom in March and continue through the spring until the end of May.
Enjoy these photos.
Hellebores are among the earliest perennial flowers to bloom in spring. Hellebores are members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus – about 20 species of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. They are very popular because they are easy-to-grow and are able to resist frost.
They are sometimes known as Lenten rose or Christmas rose because of the appearance and early flowering time. I’ve had hellebores in my gardens for many years.
Hellebores come in a wide range of dark and light colors including shades of white and cream, maroon, apricot, yellow, green, metallic blue, slate, and dusky pink with or without contrasting markings.
To me, hellebores are must-haves for any gardener’s collection. I grow them under my allée of lindens, outside my studio, and in the beds near my Tenant House.
Earlier this week, I purchased a variety of flowering hellebores. The plants behind them are azaleas for another exciting gardening project.
I decided these hellebores would be great planted outside my Tenant House, adding to the hellebores planted there last year. Ryan fertilized all the areas to be planted.
We use an all-purpose formula with a good balance of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.
Ryan brings all the hellebores to the planting site, so he can determine which ones will go where.
Then he places the potted specimens in the exact planting locations.
Hellebores should be planted about two-feet apart since they spread. The area is mixed with other perennials with foliage and blooms in similar colors. They will come up soon.
A hole is dug at least twice the size of the plant’s root ball. Fortunately, the ground is pretty soft, but use a spear-headed spade like this if necessary.
This hole is about six to eight inches deep.
Before planting, the root ball is scarified, meaning the roots are teased and sometimes intentionally cut to encourage and stimulate growth.
Matthew places the specimen into the hole so it is at the same height as it was in the pot.
Once the hellebore is in the hole, it is backfilled and the surrounding soil is gently tamped down to create good contact.
Here is one completely planted. Hellebores do best underneath deciduous trees where they are shaded by foliage in summer, but are exposed to full sun after the trees have dropped their leaves in fall.
Unlike the blooms of most other flowering plants, hellebore flowers do not consist of petals, but of sepals, which serve to protect the flower. These flowers also tend to nod.
These plants are also fairly deer and rabbit resistant. Some of the varieties planted in this space include Helleborus ‘Pink Frost,’ Helleborus hybrid ‘Lenten Rose,’ Helleborus ‘Rio Carnivale,’ Helleborus ‘Frostkiss Anna’s Red and ‘Frostkiss Molly’s White,’ Helleborus ‘Frostkiss Pippa’s Purple,’ and Helleborus ‘Pink Frost,’
While hellebores do spread, they are considered slow-growing plants that can take up to 18-months to reach their mature size.
Overnight showers provided a good drink. Once the plants are well-established, hellebores require little upkeep. If you’re out shopping for spring plants, consider the hellebore – you’ll love them in your garden. And please pick up a copy of my latest book, “Martha Stewart’s Gardening Handbook: The Essential Guide to Designing, Planting, and Growing.” It’s out now!
Today is the first day of spring and all of us here at my Bedford, New York farm are thinking about the gardens. In fact, the season’s first peas are already in the ground.
Peas thrive in cool weather, and young plants can even tolerate light frosts. It’s important to plant peas as soon as possible in spring in order to get a full harvest before hot summer temperatures arrive. Yesterday, my gardeners planted different varieties of peas outside in my vegetable garden. They also planted fava beans, also known as the broad bean, an ancient member of the pea family.
Enjoy these photos.
Snow, snap, and shelling peas are all members of the legume family. Snow peas are also known as Chinese pea pods. They are flat with very small peas inside, and the whole pod is edible. Snap peas are a cross between snow peas and shelling peas – the whole pod is eaten and has a crunchy texture and very sweet flavor. Shelling peas are also sometimes called garden peas, sweet peas or English peas. The pods are firm and rounded, and the round peas inside need to be removed, or shelled, before eating. The peas are sweet and may be eaten raw or cooked.
Peas grow vertically and hang from tendrils latched on trellis structures. I have always grown peas in my garden.
These are shelling peas. The pods can range in size from four to 15-centimeters long and about one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half centimeters wide. Each pod contains between two and 10-peas. In general, shelling pea plants yield about a half-cup of peas per plant.
Peas are packed with nutrition – high in protein and fiber.
This season’s peas are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, a source I have used for many years. Johnny’s Selected seeds is a privately held, employee-owned organic seed producer in Winslow, Maine. Johnny’s offers hundreds of varieties of organic vegetable, herb, flower, fruit and farm seeds, along with all sorts of gardening supplies and accessories.
Out in the vegetable garden, Matthew cleans and rakes the large center bed for peas. We plant them in this bed surrounded with trellis fencing.
The bed is all prepped. Ryan and Matthew discuss which side will be dedicated to edible pods and which side will have shelling peas.
Matthew starts by digging a shallow furrow in the soil using a hoe. The furrows don’t have to be deep – two inches will work nicely.
The pea seeds are hard, wrinkled, and inedible.
The types of peas are written on large markers and placed at the edge of the bed.
Matthew drops the seeds into the furrow about one to two-inches apart.
Here, one can see the seeds well-placed in the furrow. Sow pea seeds four to six weeks before the last spring frost, when soil temperatures reach 45-degrees Fahrenheit.
Once all the seeds are in the ground, Matthew uses the back of a soft rake to cover them.
Nearby, this year’s fava bean bed is also cleaned and raked. In my garden, I always practice crop rotation. This is the practice of planting different crops sequentially on the same plot of land to improve soil health, optimize nutrients in the soil, and combat pest and weed pressure. Last year, this bed was used for kale.
Ryan uses Johnny’s Bed Preparation Rake to make furrows in the bed.
Another marker is used to indicate what crop and variety is planted.
These are fava beans, Vicia faba. Fava bean pods grow on bushy plants with several stems, reaching two to four feet tall.
Here they are shelled. They have a nutty taste and a buttery texture.
Matthew drops the seeds in the furrows making sure there is ample space in between them to grow. This is called direct sowing, or planting seeds in the garden, rather than starting seeds indoors earlier and transplanting them outside. Some crops do better planted directly into the ground. These plants won’t experience the stress of transplanting and will not need time to adjust to their new growing conditions.
Matthew fills about a third of the bed with fava beans. And do you know… Fava beans are also nitrogen-fixers? They improve soil quality by adding nitrogen.
The seeds are planted at least four or five inches apart.
After dropping all the seeds, Matthew follows behind and pushes each seed about two inches into the ground with his finger.
And then the furrows are backfilled and the area is raked. A marker is also placed where planting ended. The gardening season is here!
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