It's always fun to plant a new garden - especially when it includes lots of beautiful, fragrant flowers.
Remember all those bare-root roses I received from Star Roses and Plants last spring? After potting them up and caring for them all summer long, they're ready to finally transplant. I decided to plant them in a bed behind my main greenhouse not far from my raspberry bushes. This space was previously used for growing strawberries, and before that, garlic, but I moved both those crops to my large vegetable garden and thought this area would be excellent for growing these roses - all with gorgeous color, form, and fragrance.
Enjoy these photos.
Star Roses and Plants is a company of brands that focuses on breeding and introducing specimens offering longer-lasting, disease resistant blooms. All these bare-root roses arrived in a huge box last April. Healthy bare-roots get off to a more vigorous start because their abundant, fibrous roots have already had a chance to develop unrestricted.
Bare-roots often come in bundles. They come in groups of 10, 15, 25, or more. This bundle contains 25.
As soon as they arrive they are placed in trug buckets filled with water. When working with bare-roots it’s important to soak them for several hours or even overnight. Never let the roots dry out. These are in excellent condition – healthy, plump roots with no sign of mold or damage, and healthy canes with plump, reddish buds.
They were all organized in neat rows lined up by variety. Bare-root cuttings are difficult to identify when there are no leaves or flowers, so it is important to keep them separated by cultivar and always properly marked. They stayed here for five months until they developed well in their pots.
And this is what they looked like this weekend after I moved 64 of them and placed them carefully in the garden bed.
Varieties are grouped in two or four. Among them – Rasberry Cupcake, Beverly, Dee-lish, Romantica Ball Gown, Romantica Moonlight, Francis Meilland, Parfuma Earth Angel, Princesse Charlene de Monaco, Eleganza Wedding Bells, Liv Tyler, Sunbelt Savannah, Michelangelo, Parfuma Bliss, and Sweet Mademoiselle.
Hard to believe they grew so quickly from bare-root cuttings, but they look great.
This is Michelangelo. It has vibrant golden petals, deep green foliage, and a sweet lemony fragrance.
This rose is Romantica Ball Gown. It opens with more than 100 petals per blooms and has an intense rose scent.
And this one is Romantica Moonlight with large, light yellow flowers and disease resistant foliage.
And the digging begins – 64 holes, 32 on each side.
When planting, make sure the hole is slightly wider but equal in depth to the rose’s root ball. These holes are about 15 to 18 inches deep by 18 to 24 inches wide.
A handful of Miracle-Gro Organic All Purpose Plant Food is added to each hole.
This plant food is specially formulated to help grow stronger, vibrant, and more productive plants.
Pasang carefully removes a rose from its pot. Do this slowly, especially if the root ball is moist and crumbling.
Pasang teases the roots to stimulate growth.
And then places the rose into the designated hole and checks to see that it is at the same level as it was in the pot. The soil should be just under the graft.
Pasang also looks to see that the plant is straight and that its best side faces out. Lastly, he gently tamps the soil down around the plant to establish good contact.
Any surrounding soil is leveled and tidied with a hard rake.
The crew works fast – this day is unseasonably warm.
Ryan follows behind each planted rose and grooms it, pruning any dead blooms.
Newly planted and just given a generous watering – I think these roses will look so beautiful here. I am excited to see them grow and bloom in this space.
It's always inspiring to get together with colleagues, review our successes, and look to what's next.
Recently, our own Marquee Brands hosted a Martha Stewart Brand Summit to gather teams, partners, and other collaborators for a day long meeting in New York City. I, along with members of our executive group, spoke about what we've accomplished over the last year and what we hope to do in the months ahead. We also enjoyed delicious hors d'oeuvres prepared by Chef Pierre Schaedelin of PS Tailored Events and lunches from Maman. It was a wonderful meeting of many minds.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Our Martha Stewart Brand Summit was held at an outside New York City location not far from our headquarters. Here are some members of our executive team – EVP Design Kevin Sharkey, CEO Heath Golden, myself, CMO Natasha Fishman, CCGO Rachel Terrace, SVP Brand Management & Strategy Meegan Colgan, and EVP Culinary Thomas Joseph.
Heath was among the first to welcome all the participants to the event – more than 100 employees, partners, and collaborators were in attendance. (Photo by Kenzie King)
Rachel also addressed the group. The agenda included several presentations, lunch, a networking session, fireside chat, and a reception. (Photo by Kenzie King)
I spoke about the company’s growth over the years and highlighted some memorable moments. I also talked about the exciting rerelease of my very first book, Entertaining – be sure to tune in to my Talk Shop LIVE broadcast tonight at 6pm ET.
Many of you recognize Thomas Joseph from Cooking Conundrums – he’s worked with me for many years. He reviewed our culinary accomplishments and future endeavors in the food space. (Photo by Kenzie King)
My longtime friend Chef Pierre Schaedelin of PS Tailored Events provided lots of small bites during our presentation breaks. (Photo by Kenzie King)
Here I am with Kevin and my longtime publicist, Susan Magrino. (Photo by Kenzie King)
This is Roman Glukhman, Director of Business Development and Partnerships. (Photo by Kenzie King)
A “step-and-repeat” wall banner was put up in one area for social media photos. Here are Natasha and Rachel. (Photo by Kenzie King)
And Senior Director of Brand and Integrated Marketing, Ben Luckadoo, with VP of Creative Services, Ryan Mesina. (Photo by Kenzie King)
Here are members of our design team – Dipali Patwa, Tiffany Fung, Hosanna Houser, Sydney Yiu, and Claire Basile. (Photo by Kenzie King)
Assistant Art Director Olivia Crutchfield, Marketing Manager Jess Ketterer, and Senior Copywriter, Collier Sutter. (Photo by Kenzie King)
And here are Special Projects Producer Judy Morris, CCO Christian Martin, and SVP Lifestyle Video Content and Executive Producer Amy Chiaro. (Photo by Kenzie King)
Delicious sandwiches inspired by my own recipes were provided by Maman, the American French-inspired café, bakery and event caterer. We’ve teamed up with Maman to offer some of my own favorite savory and sweet menu items at their shops – be sure to try my fall offerings.
Maman also provided two delicious salads.
And some of my best cookies. These are my Ultimate Kitchen Sink Cookies with dark chocolate, coconut, sour cherries, apricots, and toasted pecans – they went quickly.
Before closing the day’s presentations, I answered questions as part of a “Fireside chat.” It was fun and informative for the entire audience.
Be sure to follow me and the Martha Stewart Brand on social media – @MarthaStewart48, @MarthaStewartWorld, @MarthaStewartBlog, and @MarqueeBrands to keep up with our many announcements, partnerships, and events. (Photo by Kenzie King)
I always try to make the most of business trips by visiting beautiful and interesting places in between scheduled commitments. It's even better when I can combine the two.
Last week, I traveled to QVC to debut my new fall/winter 2025 apparel collection. I was on several times that day with a special LIVE appearance right from Longwood Gardens in nearby Kennett Square. I love Longwood and came up with the idea to broadcast from there - everyone enjoyed the change. If you've never been to Longwood Gardens, it is home to many spectacular botanical collections including nine-thousand species and varieties of plants spread across more than 1,100 acres - all wonderfully maintained by hundreds of employees, students and volunteers. I encourage you to visit the next time you're in the area.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
My time at QVC was dedicated to the day’s “TSV” or Today’s Special Value. Here is my latest version of my puffer vest, a quilted short sleeve jacket – perfect for this time of year, when days are still warm, but nights and early mornings have that autumn chill.
My jacket comes in baritone blue, dark olive, caviar, burro, and moonbeam. Did you order yours?
One of the day’s later appearances was at Longwood Gardens. Here I am with my hardworking team – Laura Smalls, Meegan Colgan, Judy Morris, Dipali Patwa, and Taymour Hallal.
I was excited to see all the water lilies at Longwood’s newly renovated Waterlily Court. Victoria cruziana and Victoria amazonica were crossed to create these Longwood hybrids. (Photo by James Sutton)
More hardy water lilies grace the south side of the new West Conservatory. (Photo by James Sutton)
Hybrid water lily Nymphara ‘Detective Erika’ has prolific blooms that are purple and grow up to seven inches wide.
Tropical day-flowering water lily Nymphaea ‘Rachel Presnell’ has large, flat blooms and heavily mottled lily pads.(Photo by James Sutton)
This is tropical night-flowering water lily Nymphaea ‘Trudy Slocum’ with almost perfectly round emerald green leaves and nearly flat white flowers. (Photo by James Sutton)
Longwood displays very easy-to-understand diagrams of how water platters or water lilies are structured. They have center mother plants with shallow, extensive roots. The stems are long and flexible and help to float the leaves and flowers to the surface.
Here is a mother plant with its offshoot leaves and blooms.
Some of these water platters can hold up to 160 pounds.
This is tropical night-flowering water lily Nymphaea ‘H.C. Haarstick’ known for its dark reddish brown leaves and bold pink flowers. (Photo by James Sutton)
This is a rare water lily species that was recently collected in Tanzania as part of Longwood’s conservation efforts in that country. (Photo by James Sutton)
Here I am with Jim Sutton, Associate Director of Display Design at Longwood Gardens.
Above the flooded floor of the Exhibition Hall in Longwood’s Main Conservatory are hanging baskets of Acalypha hispida. On both sides are potted Australian Tree Ferns, Cyathea cooperi. I am quite fond of these tree ferns and have several in my own collection. During the summer I love to display them outdoors. (Photo by James Sutton)
These are Acalypha hispida standards. (Photo by James Sutton)
This bed is filled with Canna ‘Brandywine’ and Capsicum ‘Santos Orange.’ (Photo by James Sutton)
This is a Wood’s cycad, Encephalartos woodii – very striking and tall. It is actually a critically endangered plant native to South Africa, notable for being extinct in the wild and having no known female specimens.
Can you see me? I am at the base of this remarkable Elm, the last American Elm at Longwood Gardens. This tree was planted in the 1930s and is the last to survive Dutch elm disease, a fungus that gums up the xylem cells, blocking the upward movement of water and nutrients to the branches.
Here’s a closer look. The American Elm was once a staple on city streets. Valued for its shade, beautiful branch structure, and adaptability, one could fine this native tree in areas from Florida to some parts of southern Canada, and spreading as far west as North Dakota and Texas.
While there I also had time for a quick bite at 1906 at Longwood Gardens, a restaurant named in honor of the year Pierre S. du Pont purchased the original grounds. The restaurant is open to Longwood Gardens visitors and offers seasonal fare with locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. Among the delicious foods we enjoyed: this Pull-Apart Brioche with honey butter and local sea salt.
This is the Whole-Roasted Green Circle Chicken with garden lavender, and wildflower honey.
Judy had the Atlantic Halibut, with rainbow radish, ocean trout roe, and miso beurre blanc.
This is Spaghetti Alla Chitarra with Maryland and Blue crab, saffron and opal basil.
Among our desserts – Sticky Toffee Pudding with pumpkin, spiced gelato and pepitas, or pumpkin seeds.
And Cheesecake with honey, pear compote, and candied apple.
Here’s a view of the sunset from inside the new West Conservatory.
This view is from outside in the new Bonsai Courtyard. It was a very successful day at QVC paired with a wonderful early evening at Longwood Gardens – please visit when you can. You’ll love it there.
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