To create a successful perennial garden, it's important to select the right plants for the area, use nutrient-rich soil, and monitor the growth - feeding, grooming, and adjusting care as specimens develop.
Some of the most beautiful growth this time of year is behind my Tenant House and around my gym building. In these areas I've planted Epimediums, trout lilies, mayapples, ferns, Syneilesis, Polygonatum, Cotinus, Stewartia trees, and other interesting plantings.
Enjoy these photos.
Behind my Tenant House I designed lovely perennial gardens that come alive this time every year. The burgundy tree is a Japanese maple. With more than a thousand varieties and cultivars, the iconic Japanese maple is among the most versatile small trees for use in the landscape.
I always look for the most interesting plants to add to my gardens. This is Syneilesis – a tough, drought-tolerant, easy-to-grow woodland garden perennial that prefers moist, well-drained, slightly acid soils. If in the proper environment, syneilesis will slowly spread to form an attractive colony. Commonly called shredded umbrella, it has leaves that are narrow, dissected, and cascade downward like an umbrella.
All around, I also have lots of ostrich ferns growing. Matteuccia struthiopteris is native to North America. Once established, these grow to a height of three to six feet. Ostrich fern grows in vase-shaped clumps called crowns. The showy, arching, sterile fronds are plume-like and reminiscent of the tail feathers of – you guessed it – ostriches.
Astilboides is an interesting plant with huge, bright green leaves that are round and flat and measure up to 24-inches across. The effect is dramatic, and beautiful among other hardy perennials.
The hellebores continue to show beautifully at the farm. Hellebores are members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus – about 20 species of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. They blossom during late winter and early spring for up to three months. Hellebores come in a variety of colors and have rose-like blossoms.
Uvularia grandiflora, the large-flowered bellwort or merrybells, is a species of flowering plant in the family Colchicaceae. Blooming mid to late spring, the flowers are twisted both in bud and in flower giving it a slightly droopy appearance.
Lungwort plants, Pulmonaria, are most often grown for their interesting leaves, which are green with random white spots. The leaves also have a rough, hairy fuzz covering them. The flowers, commonly known as lungwort, are bell- or funnel-shaped with five petals. They typically start out pinkish and mature to violet blue.
And we still have daffodils bordering the garden beds with bright colors! My daffodil blossoms come in many combinations of yellow, orange, and white.
Podophyllum peltatum is commonly known as mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake, and ground lemon. Mayapples are woodland plants, typically growing in colonies from a single root. The leaves are deeply lobed and can grow up to one foot wide making them stand-out in the garden bed.
These are Snowflakes – not to be confused with Snowdrops. The Snowflake is much taller and has more than one flower per stem. Snowflake petals are even, each with a green spots on the end, whereas Snowdrops have helicopter-like propellers that are green only on the inner petals.
This is a trout lily. Its delicate blooms, which resemble turks cap lilies do best in dappled light.
Anemonella thalictroides is an easy-to-grow, deer-resistant, durable, but dainty looking plant. The genus name Anemonella roughly translates as ‘little anemone’ because its flowers are miniature copies of the windflower. These are a light pale pink.
Heuchera plants grow into mounds and are exceptionally heat tolerant. Heuchera is a genus of largely evergreen perennial plants in the family Saxifragaceae, all native to North America. Common names include alumroot and coral bells.
I planted several Stewartia trees in this space. Stewartia is a species of flowering plant in the family Theaceae, native to Japan and Korea. All varieties are slow-growing, all-season performers that show off fresh bright green leaves in spring, white flowers in summer, and colorful foliage in autumn. And do you know why I love Stewartia trees? Well, Stewart is my last name after all. However, there is no relation. “Stewartia” is named for Scottish nobleman and botanist, John Stuart, who had imported the plant to his personal London garden. He later served as British prime minister from 1762 to 1763.
Nearby, the Cotinus are leafing out too. Cotinus, the smoketree, or smoke bush, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae, closely related to the sumacs. Their smooth, rounded leaves come in exceptional shades of deep purple, clear pinkish-bronze, yellow, and green.
All the hostas are also growing quickly. The lush green foliage varies in leaf shape, size and texture, and their easy care requirements make them ideal for many areas.
Epimedium, also known as barrenwort, bishop’s hat, fairy wings, horny goat weed, or yin yang huo, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Berberidaceae. The leaves are made up of leaflets, which can range in number from three to 50 and in size from as tiny to six inches long. They are generally heart-shaped, but can range from round to arrow-shaped.
Sprays of pink, white, yellow, orange, or lavender flowers appear this time of year.
Ipheion uniflorum, commonly called spring starflower, is native to Argentina and Uruguay and features grass-like foliage and solitary star-shaped flowers on six-inch tall stems. Flowers range in color from almost white to violet blue. Flowers have a mild spicy fragrance, and when bruised the foliage emits an oniony aroma.
Every year, more and more plants grow in these beds, cover the space, and create a lush, green carpet of beautiful foliage.
We're expecting good, warm spring weather the next few days - perfect for getting lots of tasks done in the gardens.
Last week, my gardeners potted up another large delivery of bare-root roses - this one from Edmunds' Roses, a Randolph, Wisconsin based company that offers a range of hybrid and heirloom rose varieties. Once they arrived, the bare-roots were soaked in water and then carefully potted up and placed into my "nursery" where they can be properly maintained until they are planted in their more permanent locations.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
All these rose varieties are selected specifically for my growing area. It’s crucial to soak them for several hours or even overnight, but not more than 12-hours before potting or planting.
My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, also added Miracle-Gro Quick Start – a starting solution that provides nutrients to help root growth.
Bare-root roses are dug up in late fall through early winter and shipped when dormant. This makes them easier to handle and transport. Healthy bare-root roses should have plump stems and roots with no evidence of mold or damage. The canes should be also thick with good branching.
Here at my farm, I make my own nutrient-rich compost in a back field. It is used for all my garden beds and these potted bare-root specimens.
And don’t forget to feed. A generous sprinkling of Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Plant Food is added to the composted soil and mixed in thoroughly.
Bare-root cuttings are difficult to identify when there are no leaves or flowers, so my team is careful to keep them separated by cultivar and always properly marked.
Depending on the nursery, they may come in bundles of 10, 15, 25, or more. To ensure there is no confusion, Phurba removes the twine and works with one bundle at a time.
Roses have two kinds of fibrous roots – thick roots to help stabilize the plant and keep it upright and thin feeder roots that absorb all the nutrients from the soil.
The root section of each bare-root rose should fit into the pot without being crowded at the bottom.
Phurba positions the root so that the bud union is below the soil when filled. Holding the plant with one hand, he then backfills just to under the pot’s lip.
Phurba continues to hold the rose securely until there is enough soil around the plant to keep it in position.
This pot is an appropriate size for this bare-root. It should be two to three times bigger than the root ball and always with drainage holes at the bottom.
Lastly, he gently tamps the soil down around the plant, so there is good contact with the roots.
The crew has devised an efficient production line process for potting massive amounts of bare-roots. Phurba pots them up as another loads them onto a wheelbarrow.
And do you know… while roses are sharp, they don’t actually have thorns, they have prickles – there’s a difference. Unlike a thorn, a prickle can be easily broken off the plant because it is really a feature of the outer layers rather than part of the wood, like a thorn.
Matthew loads each pot by variety into a wheelbarrow.
And then wheels the potted roses to their designated row in the “nursery.”
Bare-root roses are often between one and three years old. These will thrive in these pots and could even flower this year.
Initially, these roses will be watered daily to keep their roots and canes properly hydrated. Then they will be watered every couple of days to keep the root zones moist. Some of the varieties in this group include: ‘Florentina,’ ‘Joseph’s Coat,’ ‘Pearly Gates,’ ‘Golden Opportunity,’ ‘New Dawn,’ ‘Tangerine Skies,’ ‘Pretty in Pink,’ ‘Westerland,’ ‘Kiss Me Kate,’ ‘William Baffin,’ ‘Laguna,’ ‘America,’ and ‘Quick Silver.’
All these bare-root specimens will have ample time to develop good root systems. I am looking forward to planting them in the gardens when they are ready.
At the end of the day, they are all potted and placed in an area that gets good morning sun for optimal growth.
Here in the New York City area, we're expecting rain and possible thunderstorms with temperatures in the upper 60s - a good watering over the gardens after a couple of days in unseasonably warm weather.
It always amazes me how quickly plants and trees grow from day to day. And, while many of the flowers are erupting with vibrant color, we've also been taking photos of the various trees and all the precious buds just beginning to open on their branches.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Every single day I am home, I tour the farm to see how all the trees and plants are doing. Every specimen is special. Here are two of many Japanese Maple trees on the property showing off their vibrant red spring foliage.
In my soccer field, a large stretch of lawn where my grandson Truman enjoys playing when he is here, are these weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus ‘Pendula’ – the branches of these trees gracefully weep creating umbrellas of foliage that reach the ground.
This is my Pin Oak Allée. The trees are beginning to leaf out, but at this time it is easier to see its recognizable branch habit, where the lower branches hang down, the horizontal middle branches flare out and the upright upper branches point up.
My orchard surrounds three sides of my pool. I planted more than 200-fruit trees here, many of which started as bare-root cuttings.
These are the pink buds of one of my peach trees – so many of them are blooming.
Fruiting pear trees bloom from April to May, with stunning white flowers.
From a distance, it is easy to notice the golden-yellow weeping willows. This grove is at the edge of my pinetum. The golden hue looks so pretty against the early spring landscape.
These medium-sized trees have arching branches that sweep down to the ground.
When the tree blooms late winter to spring, yellow catkins such as these appear. The catkin flowers are one to two inches long, and each blossom consists of hundreds of hairlike protrusions. The flowers mature to yellow before they are disbursed by wind or rain.
This is a weeping larch, Larix decidua ‘Pendula’. It has bright lime green needles in spring, which turn gold before dropping in fall.
Here, one can see how the foliage grows on the tree giving it an elegant sculptural effect. This tree is planted at the intersection between my pin oaks and my great Allée of Boxwood.
Aesculus hippocastanum is a large deciduous tree commonly known as the horse chestnut or conker tree. I have two of these large specimens in front of the stable at the foot of the Boxwood Allée.
Here are the leaves of the horse-chestnut. Even at this early stage, one can clearly see leaves and developing flowers. By mid-May to early June, these trees will be in full flower.
Outside my vegetable garden is a grove of mature crabapple trees. In spring, these crabapples bloom with bright magenta blossoms that can be seen from April to May, depending on the variety. These flowers are often fragrant and create a stunning display in garden.
Down outside my chicken coops is this cherry tree. Cherry trees belong to the genus Prunus and are in the family Rosaceae. These trees are famous for their sweet or sour stone fruits called drupes and their eye-catching blossoms. Unfortunately, we all wait with anticipation for the fruits, but oftentimes squirrels beat us to them.
This is a weeping Japanese cherry tree in pink, which does not bear edible fruit. This was gifted to me a couple of years ago and is planted at the east end of my Boxwood Allée.
I have several Cercis canadensis ‘Merlot’ trees, or eastern redbuds. They’re all just starting to show off their beautiful early season purple-pink flower buds.
Growing as large shrubs or trees, Magnolias produce showy, fragrant flowers that are pink, white, cream, red, purple, or yellow.
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Look how bold and bright these flowers are. The magnolia family is one of the oldest trees in existence. Because of this, their flowers do not have true petals and sepals; instead, they have petal-like tepals. Also, the flowers do not produce real nectar, but attract pollinating beetles with fragrant and sugary secretions.
Up near my Winter House, just outside my kitchen, is my dwarf apple espalier – also showing gorgeous spring flowers.
The majority of apple tree blossoms begin as pink buds and bloom as crisp white flowers.
Across the carriage road are the beautiful Malus ‘Gravenstein’ espalier apple trees, also flowering. I am hopeful we will have a very productive apple season this year.
On my terrace parterre and on one side of my home are weeping katsura trees, one of my favorites. Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. pendulum has pendulous branches that fan out from the crown and sweep the ground. Caramel-scented foliage emerges bronze or purple-red, turns blue-green, then fades to gold or apricot in autumn.
And here is one of two Camperdown Elms outside my kitchen. Camperdown Elms slowly develop broad, flat heads and wide crowns with weeping branch habits.
Its leaves are broad oblong-obovate to elliptic, rough-textured and serrated. Spring has sprung with such energy and growth. I hope you appreciate something new in the garden every day.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
