It's that time of year when my herbaceous peony garden is blooming!
I’m always amazed by the dazzling display of these beautiful flowers - it’s one of the most anticipated sights at my Bedford, New York farm. Friends and family love the peonies as much as I do and rush to see them in all their splendor. When I first planted this garden, I knew I wanted many, many peonies in one large area. I chose a location across from my home, where there's lots of room and full sun - a spot where I could see the floral show right from my window.
Enjoy these photos.
Of all the flowers at my farm, one of the most anticipated is the sight of these blooming herbaceous peonies. Everyone is always so excited to see this peony garden explode with color.
By mid-April my herbaceous peony bed is filled with knee-high stems and dense green foliage.
Before the flowers appear, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew put up stakes, so the peonies are well-supported as they grow. We use natural twine and metal uprights I designed myself for this purpose.
Then the buds begin to appear.
Not long after, one can see hundreds of buds atop their stems. When I first planted my peony garden, I focused on pink varieties, and planted 11-double rows of 22-peony types. I chose the varieties for their colors, their forms and their long blooming periods.
By the third week of May, the blooms appear. One of the reasons these peonies thrive here at my farm is because of the soil. It has a pH of 6.5 to 7.0, which is ideal. It is also amended with superphosphate and Azomite, a natural product mined from an ancient mineral deposit in Utah. These natural additives improve root systems and overall plant vigor, resulting in this fantastic profusion of blooms.
Look at the transformation – rows and rows of gorgeous blooms.
The peony is any plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America.
There are approximately 33 to 40 different species of peony.
The leaves of the herbaceous peony are pointed with a shiny, deep green color.
Peonies are one of the best-known and most dearly loved perennials – not surprising considering their beauty, trouble-free nature, and longevity.
Herbaceous peonies grow two to four feet tall with sturdy stems and blooms that can reach up to 10-inches wide. We spaced the plants about three to four feet apart to avoid any competing roots.
Peony blooms range from simple blossoms to complex clusters with a variety of petal forms.
The peony’s fragrance can vary, but most have sweet, clean scents. And, do you know… pink peonies tend to have stronger fragrances than red peonies? Double form white peonies are also very aromatic.
Semi-double peonies are those which have single or double rows of broad petals encircling more broad petals and an exposed center crown.
Flower colors come in pink, white, yellow, red, and coral and the various shades and tints of each.
The majority of peonies are hybrids and classified as herbaceous, or as deciduous tree peonies. The peony is showy, frilly with tuberous root systems.
Peonies are considered northern flowers – they tolerate and even prefer cold winter temperatures. They are hardy in zones 3 through 8 and need more than 400-hours of temperatures below 40-degrees Fahrenheit annually to break dormancy and bloom properly.
For the most part, peonies are disease resistant. They do, however, take some time to get established, so be patient. And if you happen to see ants crawling on your peonies, don’t worry. The insects are attracted to the sugary syrup produced by the buds. Once the flower opens fully, and the sucrose has been finished, the ants disappear.
Among the varieties in my collection – ‘Elsa Sass’, ‘Victorian Blush’, ‘Fringed Ivory’, ‘Martha’, ‘Madylone’, ‘Lullaby Coos’, ‘Vivid Glow’, ‘Angel Cheeks’, ‘Miss America’ and ‘Flying Pink Saucers’.
The only disadvantage of peonies is that each field yields one crop of cut flowers for a couple of weeks only once a year, and then that’s it – until the next season when they bloom with splendor once again.
More bright and colorful azaleas now surround my newly refurbished pond and I can't wait to see them bloom in the coming years.
Over the weekend, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew planted another 80 beautiful orange and yellow azaleas in the area surrounding my pond. I hope you caught a glimpse of them on my Instagram page @marthastewart48. All the azaleas are from Summer Hill Nursery - a wholesale-only company in Madison, Connecticut. Of all the shrubs that flower in spring, azaleas provide some of the most brilliant displays. These plants are sure to flourish here and look stunning every time they're in bloom.
Enjoy these photos.
The best time to shop for azaleas is when they are in bloom, so one can see their bright colors and forms. When buying azaleas, always select plants that are sturdy, well-branched, and free of insect damage or diseases. And, avoid plants with weak, spindling growth and poor root systems.
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the Ericaceae family, which includes blueberries and mountain laurel. They are also all rhododendrons and members of the genus Rhododendron. These azaleas will get lots of filtered sunlight throughout the day here at the pond.
Many azaleas have two to three-inch flowers and range in a variety of colors from pink to white to purple, red, orange, and yellow. Azalea petal shapes range from narrow to triangular to overlapping rounded petals. They can also be flat, wavy, or ruffled.
Around my newly refurbished pond, I wanted to plant different shades of orange and green.
Among these newest azaleas is this Azalea ‘Lemon Twist’ with its bright yellow-gold flowers.
Azalea Exbury ‘Gibraltar’ displays large two-and-a-half inch flowers that are a striking copper-orange color. This deciduous azalea is hardy, fragrant, and easy to maintain.
‘Arneson Gem’ is compact and only grows up to three-feet tall when mature. It is strong, fragrant and brightens up the garden with its light orange to golden yellow blooms.
Similar in color is the ‘George Reynolds’ Azalea, a broadleaf deciduous shrub with green foliage and light orange to yellow flowers. Azaleas are great pollinators and attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
And this is Azalea ‘Sea Breeze’ with trusses of lemon gold blossoms. It will grow five to eight feet tall and blooms in late spring to early summer.
Azalea leaves are bluish-green and tend to be thinner, softer, smaller and more pointed than rhododendron leaves. The length of azalea leaves ranges from as little as a quarter-inch to more than six inches.
When planting, dig a hole at least twice the size of the plant. Azaleas thrive in moist, well-drained soils high in organic matter.
Always scarify before putting into the ground. Scarifying stimulates root growth. Essentially, one breaks up small portions of the root ball to loosen the roots a bit and create some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
Azaleas are generally healthy, easy to grow plants. Some azaleas bloom as early as March, but most bloom in April and May with blossoms lasting several weeks.
Some azaleas, including native types, can reach towering heights of 20 feet or more. Dwarf azaleas grow two to three feet tall, and many garden azaleas stay four to six feet in height with as wide a spread.
My gardeners and I always keep track of those varieties that do well in the garden, so we know what kinds we can add again.
It’s also important to keep azaleas where they can be protected from midday and winter sun to prevent leaves from drying out and burning.
Here is a view of one side of the pond where one can see a combination of different azaleas. They will fill in the area so beautifully in the coming years.
Many azaleas, ferns and birch trees are also planted along this side, in front of the small “ice house.”
I am so proud of this developing azalea garden – I can’t wait until next spring when there are even more blooms to enjoy.
Weeping willows are wide and tall with graceful curtains of drooping branches that sweep the ground.
I have several groves of weeping willow trees growing at my farm, one that includes more than 25 in a marshy area along one side of a hayfield. I decided to add more weeping willows in this location to create an allée leading to my pond. Unlike many other trees, weeping willows don't mind wet surroundings. In fact, they prefer "wet feet" - meaning they are wet-tolerant and can thrive in saturated soils. My outdoor grounds crew planted a group of weeping willows last week.
Enjoy these photos.
Anyone who drives by this hayfield at my farm can see these tall weeping willows along one edge. I planted most of them about 12 to 15 years ago.
Weeping willows are upright, fast-growing, deciduous trees that can grow up to 80-feet tall. Because of their massive root systems, they need a fair amount of room to grow. They also prefer wet feet and are often planted on the banks of streams and rivers to prevent erosion.
The water-loving trees have light, slender green, lance-shaped leaves. In the fall, the color ranges from light yellow-green to nearly blue depending on the variety.
I decided I wanted to create an allée in this same location. I purchased a group of willows to plant on the opposite side of a dirt road from the mature willows. These weeping willows will grow about three to four feet per year in optimal conditions and catch up to the size of the other trees in several years.
My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, and my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, measured the distance between two of the mature trees so they could duplicate the same distance between the newer ones. These are about 20-feet apart.
Using our trusted Kubota tractor, Chhiring transports one of the willows to its planting spot.
Each tree root ball is wrapped in burlap and a wire cage to keep it intact and easier to move.
Chhiring uses the backhoe to help dig holes for the willows. This area is still in the beginning stages of development, so the ground is still un-groomed.
Chhiring extends the tractor’s stabilizing feet in our maze to keep it well balanced and safe.
This backhoe has a maximum digging depth of about 14-feet. It saves so much labor and time during these projects.
When selecting a location for a tree, be sure to consider the size when the tree is mature. And place it far enough from any structures, so the branches do not touch anything. Alex finishes digging the hole. A crucial step in growing healthy trees is to plant them at the proper depth. A good rule of thumb is to dig the hole as deep as the root ball.
Alex then pours fertilizer in the hole, over the root ball, and the surrounding soil. Feeding plants and trees when they are newly transplanted helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
Using cutters, Alex removes the wire cage wrapped around the root ball.
Alex removes the burlap. Some leave the burlap on the root ball as it should disintegrate after time, but I prefer to remove it all, so the root ball is completely bare of any wrapping before it is planted.
Slowly the crew rotates the tree on its root ball until it is in the hole.
The backhoe drops an initial load of soil back into the hole to keep the tree in place while Alex holds it straight.
Alex and Phurba continue backfilling until the tree is secure in its new environment.
Alex also uses a hard rake to level and tidy the area.
This new allée of weeping willows will be groomed later, but the trees are healthy and should become well established in little time. Fortunately, all the trees were planted before the forecasted showers began.
Within the next few years, the younger weeping willows will stand out just as gracefully as these trees, creating a shaded allée leading to my refurbished pond.
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