Located on a scenic country road in Pound Ridge, New York, is Select Horticulture, Inc., a successful and trustworthy nursery offering premium quality trees and shrubs, large and unusual specimens, with both stand-alone and mature espaliered options.
Visiting local nurseries is a great way to learn about the plants and trees that can flourish in one's area. It's also where one can get expert advice on selecting and maintaining those specimens. I have many trees and shrubs from Select Horticulture Inc. at my farm. All of them are beautiful, well-rooted plantings that thrive in my allées, gardens, groves, around my pool, and in my living maze. Among them - tall American Sweetgums, yews, privets, eastern redbuds, Japanese maples, boxwood, Ginkgo biloba Goldspire Obelisk trees, and others. If you're in Westchester, New York or Lancaster, Massachusetts and are looking for healthy, well-nurtured trees, be sure to stop in and check out the inventory at Select Horticulture Inc.
Here are a few photos, enjoy.
Select Horticulture Inc. is filled with beautiful and well maintained specimens, which can be seen from the road.
Every row of trees and shrubs is neat, tidy, and every item is properly tagged and identified.
All the trees at Select Horticulture Inc. are meticulously wrapped and tied. Always look for well maintained root balls which are crucial for good transport, handling, and planting at its new location.
And every tree is connected to an extensive water irrigation system. There are multiple stakes in each root ball that connect to the water source. All the trees are checked often to make sure they’re getting the water they need.
Close to the office is a display of Japanese maples. This is Acer palmatum Dissectum ‘Viridis,’ a laceleaf Japanese maple. It is a dwarf, multi-stemmed tree with a low, spreading habit and graceful, cascading branches. In the fall, the leaves turn golden yellow with splashes of crimson.
Nearby is this Picea abies ‘Acrocona’ – a unique Norway spruce cultivar with abundant reddish cones that contrast so wonderfully with the green foliage.
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Yoshino,’ also known as Japanese cedar or sugi, is a slender pyramidal evergreen conifer with a graceful habit.
It has pretty, soft green needles and round cones. This cedar is also resistant to deer damage.
Syringa patula ‘Miss Kim’ is among my favorite lilacs. Along with its sweetly fragrant ice blue flowers, it features dark green leaves in spring and summer that turn a striking burgundy color in the fall.
Cornus kousa ‘Greensleeves’ is a Kousa Dogwood, a small deciduous tree with large, broad glossy white flowers in early summer and large red fruit in fall.
The crop of red fruits is a feast for visiting birds.
This is a single trunk version of the Little Lime panicle hydrangea. It features a rounded canopy with abundant flower clusters emerging bright lime green in summer and then pink in autumn. All the hydrangeas are looking so great this year.
Another hydrangea is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora,’ commonly known as PeeGee Hydrangea. It is a popular variety that typically grows eight to 15 feet tall with upright conical flowers that bloom in late summer to autumn from creamy white to pink to brown.
You may have seen these before… I have six of them surrounding my pool. These are Ginkgo biloba Goldspire Obelisk trees. These have very upright, tight fastigiate habits, with foliage that tends to be smaller than other species. The foliage is a rich shade of green, fan-shaped, and slightly curled. It keeps its color through summer, then turns buttery shades of yellow and gold in autumn before dropping.
Pinus thunbergii ‘Thunderhead’ is definitely eye-catching with its unique growth habit and rich, dark green, densely packed needles.
The cones of the ‘Thunderhead’ pine are up to three inches long, oval, and greenish brown.
This pine is Pinus parviflora ‘Glauca’ with attractive blue-green needles and an upright growth habit.
Its cones are reddish-brown and can persist on a tree for more than five years.
Picea orientalis ‘Gowdy’ is a slow-growing, narrow upright tree with glossy, dark green foliage held close to the stems on sweeping downward branches.
And here is a Parrotia persica ‘JL Columnar,’ which features dark green leaves that turn vibrant shades of red and purple in autumn. I love these parrotia trees and have many at my farm.
There’s still a lot of time to plant in the garden, so stop in at a local nursery. You’ll learn a lot and most likely find something you love to take home.
Select Horticulture Inc. has locations in Lancaster, Massachusetts and here in Westchester, New York right off route 137. It’s owned by Scott Richard and Jim Freeborn who are often at the nurseries ready to answer any questions. Maybe I’ll see you there also.
For me, it's always enjoyable to get together with friends, take time from busy schedules, and tour my gardens.
This week, I had the pleasure of hosting three passionate gardening experts for an afternoon at my farm - plantsman, author, horticulturist, and nurseryman, Dan Hinkley, and Dennis Schrader and Bill Smith, the owners of Landcraft Environments, Ltd., a pre-eminent wholesaler of tropical, tender perennials, shrubs, bulbs, and uncommon annuals. It was a brief visit, but we had just enough time to drive around the property, see the gardens, and take a short walk through my living maze. That evening, we all attended the 2025 Wave Hill Gardeners' Party in New York City honoring its founding director of horticulture, Marco Polo Stufano.
Enjoy these photos.
Soon after arriving, I gave Dan, Bill, and Dennis a personal tour to see the gardens, groves, and allées. Here we are approaching my living maze in my off-road Polaris Ranger.
This was the first time the three had seen my maze. I explained how I thoughtfully and carefully designed it to include a large variety of plants, shrubs and trees laid out in a maze rather than a labyrinth. Do you know the difference between the two? Labyrinths have one continuous path which leads to the center. Mazes have multiple paths which branch off to various options and dead ends, with only one successful route to the finishing point. Those who dare can get lost in my maze.
We all remarked how wonderful the privets, Ligustrum ovalifolium, are doing. These privets, along with many of the other plantings in this maze, including the London planes, yews, boxwood, and the American sweetgums, are from Select Horticulture in nearby Pound Ridge. All of them are beautifully rooted, strong, and in excellent condition.
Here are Dennis and Bill looking at how large the maze is. The entire space is three acres… and it is well more than half complete.
We passed by the row of Hick’s yews with dense, glossy, green foliage that naturally form a narrow habit.
Right now they are showing off berries, or red drupes, which come out in late summer and persist through fall.
The holly is ‘Ruby Colonnade,’ Ilex x crenata ‘RutHol5’ PPAF. It is a versatile evergreen shrub with a naturally pyramidal form. The holly is also showing off lots of berries.
I shared how unsure I was at first about having these hydrangeas here, but they are doing so well.
Their blooms add such wonderful color to the maze.
Planted in between sections of the hydrangea row are camperdown elms. Camperdown elms slowly develop broad, flat heads and wide crowns with weeping branch habits that grow down toward the ground. This tree has already lost some its leaves for the season.
This is one of several Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’ trees, American sweetgums, planted in my maze. As these mature, they will maintain their erect, columnar form, growing up to 50 feet tall and only about four-feet wide.
Dan, Dennis, and Bill noticed the growing ninebark. This variety is Little Devil Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Donna May.’ These shrubs are also thriving here in the maze.
This ninebark has burgundy leaves and features small pinkish-white spirea-like flowers in late spring followed by subtle reddish fruit, and interesting peeling papery bark.
Here is a selection of Platanus acerifolia ‘Bloodgood’ trees, also known as London planes.
I planted these trees in early November 2022. They are planted in a rectangle with two long rows and two short rows and an open space in the center. These trees are large shade trees with broad open crowns.
During our walk, I also mentioned how much my horses enjoy going through the maze – it’s great exercise for them to turn and navigate the various pathways.
And here we are back in the Polaris to finish the tour before heading into New York City.
Wave Hill is a 28-acre estate in the Hudson Hill section of Riverdale in the Bronx. It includes public gardens as well as a cultural center overlooking the Hudson River with views of New Jersey.
The evening event included cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a plant sale, a silent auction, and dinner al fresco.
Dan was among the speakers asked to speak about this year’s honoree, Wave Hill’s Founding Director of Horticulture, Marco Polo Stufano.
Dinner included autumn vegetables with toasted sunflower seeds, carrot-elderflower purée, and apple blossoms.
The entrée was grilled branzino with tomato braised cauliflower, fingerling potatoes, cerignola olives, basil, and a garnish of edible flowers.
And here I am with the honoree, Marco, who with his innovative ideas, creative vision, dedication and determination, inspires the thousands who visit Wave Hill every year. It was a beautiful event and evening on the grounds of this world-renowned public garden.
Have you heard the buzz? It's finally here! I'm so excited to share my new skin care brand with you - Elm Biosciences. My products are now available to shop!
After five years of hard, behind-the-scenes work and endless hours of research, co-founder dermatologist Dhaval Bhanusali, and I, developed Elm Biosciences with an innovative and unique lab-to-patient model offering a science-backed inside-approach to graceful aging and skin longevity. Our two anchoring products include Inner Dose, a daily supplement designed to strengthen the skin's foundation, and A3O Elemental Serum, an antioxidant rich formula that helps smooth, brighten, and firm the skin. You're all going to love them! Click anywhere on this highlighted link to buy your Elm Biosciences beauty set right now!
Earlier this week, we celebrated our launch with a party at The Twenty Two in New York City. Enjoy these photos.
I am thrilled to share my new Elm Biosciences products with you. I’ve been taking the Inner Dose supplements and using the A3O serum every day and my skin has responded so beautifully. You really need to try them! Both are available to order right now!
My launch day started with a segment on Today with Jenna & Friends, hosted by Jenna Bush Hager joined by Rosie Perez. Here I am on set in my Veronica Beard jacket. (Photo by Hunter Moreno)
Next it was straight to the executive Marquee Brands headquarters to record a podcast with Elm Biosciences co-founder Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali, and advisory board dermatologists Dr. Raja Sivamani and Dr. Saranya Wiles. (Photo by Hunter Moreno)
My podcast covered everything from what motivated our new system of skin care to the science behind graceful aging and some of the most exciting advances in regenerative skin medicine out today. Be sure to listen to this informative and interesting discussion – look for it wherever you get your podcasts. (Photo by Hunter Moreno)
And then it was time to celebrate! (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
Here I am with Dhaval at the luxury hotel The Twenty Two. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
We reserved the hotel’s restaurant for our event – planned by the International Event Production and Design Agency, Hessney & Co. and Bird Experiential. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
The formal symbol of our skincare brand is the elm bonsai. The bonsai, when thoughtfully and carefully maintained, becomes more beautiful as it matures. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
New England Bonsai Gardens loaned us several bonsai specimens for this event. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
Grammy award winning hip-hop recording artist and DJ Fredwreck was in charge of all the music! (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
Small bites included a delicious oyster bar with caviar. We also offered caviar with potato, melba toasts topped with sardines, gougères, and short rib purse dumplings.
Among the specialty cocktails, my Gold Martharita made with Casa Dragones Blanco, cointreau, orange juice, lime juice and sparkling water. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
These Gold Martharitas couldn’t be mixed fast enough. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
More than 150 influencers, press, and friends of the brand attended. Here I am with Dhaval and John Demsey. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
Here’s a photo of Andy Yu and Chiun Kai Shih. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
And here’s Dhaval and Nicky Hilton. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
Here’s Dria Murphy trying to copy my “thirst trap” look. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
But no one compares… get tips on my social media video tutorial for creating the thirst trap – have you seen it? (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
And of course, everyone went home with a bag of their own products. Be sure to go online now and buy your Inner Dose supplements and A3O Elemental Serum. I assure you, there’s nothing like Elm Biosciences – just try it. (Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA)
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