Here at my farm, my crew is rushing to get lots of beautiful trees planted. Early fall is one of the best times to plant because the soil temperature is still mild.
Last week, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew unloaded and lined up 80 trees from my friends at Select Horticulture, Inc. in nearby Pound Ridge, New York. This selection includes London plane cylinder and parasol trees, a Chinese Elm, hornbeams, and variety of lindens - panel lindens, cylinder lindens, and parasol lindens. I decided to plant most of them near the north entrance to my living maze. 21 are now planted in two separate rows along both edges of this lower section of the space, and it looks great.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
There is always so much happening at my farm. On this day, several truck loads of trees are delivered from Select Horticulture. Every tree is carefully positioned and strapped for the short drive.
It’s team work that gets this job done quickly and efficiently, Here is Phurba helping to prepare the tree for unloading.
And then using the trusted Hi-Lo, Pete delivers it to the maze field, where it will stay until it is moved to its more permanent location.
Here they are – 80 trees in all. 14 London planes, 1 Chinese elm, 23 hornbeam pillars, and 42 lindens.
I instructed my crew where I wanted some of the lindens planted. My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, goes over the area with the Classen Pro HSC18 sod cutter. The landscape twine indicates where the trees will be lined up and the flags are where they will be planted – 15 feet apart.
And then the digging begins. Chhiring maneuvers my Kubota M62 tractor loader and backhoe to dig holes for the trees.
At each carefully measured spot, Chhiring uses the backhoe to remove the soil.
When planting any tree, the hole should be twice the width of the root ball and equal in depth. This allows the tree’s roots to spread easily and get the oxygen it needs. The sides should also be at an angle to help the roots get properly established.
Alex sprinkles a generous amount of fertilizer into the hole and the surrounding soil. Remember, “if you eat, so should your plants.” I use Miracle-Gro Organic All Purpose Plant Food. It’s full of essential nutrients and won’t burn the plants.
Alex manually helps to dig the holes to the appropriate depth.
It is all done in an assembly line process. The crew prepares all 10 holes first, adds fertilizer and then some water.
Here, Adan and Alex begin the task of removing all the plastic and burlap wrapping and wiring from around the root balls.
The materials hold together the root ball so that chunks of heavy soil do not fall out or tear roots. The wrapping protects the roots from dehydration and sunburn and allows trees to be safely moved.
Then, one by one, each tree is carefully placed into its designated hole. Each one of these linden cylinders, Tilia cordata ‘Greenspire’ Cylinder, trees is tall and heavy. Adan helps to hold the tree as it is lowered.
A crucial step in growing healthy trees is to plant them at the proper depth. Planting a tree too deep can kill it. Plant it only at its flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk. Digging a wide planting hole helps to provide the best opportunity for roots to expand into its new growing environment.
Alex and Adan make sure the tree is completely straight with its best side facing inward before backfilling.
These trees need a good drink, so Pasang adds more water before they are completely backfilled.
Next, the hole is backfilled and tamped down lightly to establish good contact between the soil and the tree’s root ball.
These Greenspire Lindens have small heart-shaped green leaves that turn yellow in fall. These are already starting to change. Tiny yellow fragrant flowers appear in early summer.
Linden trees thrive in full sun and need six to eight hours of direct sunlight every day for optimal growth. This area is perfect.
How many trees do you see? It is important to line them all up just right. The trees are already in their designated holes, but it looks like just one. They are all planted just right. The same is done on the opposite side of the field. One phase of this huge project is done. Stay tuned to see more.
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.
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