The plants around my farm are growing so beautifully. There are gorgeous spring blooms in every garden.
Every day I see something new. Trees are leafing out and flowers are bursting with color and energy - Fritillaria, Leucojum, Muscari, Epimedium, the trout lilies, the Mertensia with their charming blue flowers that open from pink-tinged buds, and of course the daffodils.
Here's a look at what's blooming this week.
There is so much growth in the gardens. My long and winding pergola is just full of lush green foliage. Soon, it will display a palette of blue, purple, and lavender Alliums, Camassia, and Spanish Bluebells.
Muscari, also known as grape hyacinth, is a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia. Muscari produces spikes of dense, blue, urn-shaped flowers that look like bunches of grapes in spring. I have them growing by my pergola, under my allée of lindens, and various other locations around the farm.
Commonly known as Guinea Hen Flower, Checkered Lily or Snake’s Head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris is an heirloom species dating back to 1575. It has pendant, bell-shaped, checkered and veined flowers that are either maroon or ivory-white with grass-like foliage on slender stems.
These are the flowers of a Korean Spice Bush, Viburnum carlesii, which blooms from early spring when its waxy dark pink buds open to white and light pink petals. Up close, one can smell its strong spicy scent.
The delicate blooms of the trout lily, Erythronium, resemble turks cap lilies and stand out in the dappled light. These are planted in a bed outside my chicken coops, but many others also grow in the woodland.
Mertensia virginica, or Virginia bluebell, is a perennial that is native to North America. Its buds are actually pink, but the flowers are blue. They can grow in any garden and bloom in early to mid spring and continue blooming through early to mid summer.
These are Snowflakes – not to be confused with Snowdrops. The Snowflake is a much taller growing bulb which normally 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.
Dicentra spectabilis, or bleeding heart, is a genus of eight species of herbaceous plants with oddly shaped flowers that look very similar to hearts. These flowers are native to eastern Asia and North America. The flowers have two tiny sepals and four petals. They are also bisymmetric, meaning the two outer petals are pouched at the base and curved outward at the tip. They are shade loving woodland plants that bloom in the cool of spring and stay in bloom for several weeks.
Dicentra cucullaria, or Dutchman’s breeches, is an herbaceous perennial of the Fumariaceae family. It has feathery foliage that is fern-like, and grows to about six to 12 inches tall and wide. Its most interesting feature is the flower, which resembles a pair of pantaloons hanging upside down.
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 majority of the species are endemic to China. The plant leaves are made up of leaflets, which can range from three to 50 and in size from tiny to six inches long. They are generally heart-shaped, but can vary from round to arrow-like. Epimedium flowers are small and held below and among the leaflets.
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.
The Syneilesis is also coming up. Syneilesis aconitifolia, commonly called shredded umbrella plant, is an herbaceous perennial of the aster family that is native to hillside forest margins and slopes in China, Korea, Japan and eastern Russia. I am so fond of the foliage. The leaves are narrow, dissected, and cascade downward like an umbrella. Emerging foliage is covered with a unique white fur. White flowers on mauve pink calyxes will tower above the foliage midsummer.
There is a lot of forsythia blooming this time of year. They are among the first plants of spring to burst forth in the garden. These specimens like at least six hours of sunlight a day, and well-draining soil. Yellow blossoms cover each elegant branch, producing arches of color that can be seen from a distance.
These are white Anemones. They push through the ground with lacy fern-like foliage topped by cheerful snow-white flowers in mid-spring.
Trillium is named for all its “threes” – usually three leaves, three sepals, and three petals on each stem. This purple trillium variety grows unbranched, begins growing right towards the end of winter, and becomes one of the early harbingers of spring.
Tulips are grown for their graceful leaves and bright, cheery blooms. Some are traditional and cup-shaped, some have fringed petals, others have pointed ones, and some are full of fanciful ruffles. Some varieties even carry a soft, subtle scent. Tulips normally begin emerging from the ground in late winter or early spring. These are in my flower garden, but I have beds of them growing elsewhere – wait until you see those in bloom!
The first azalea is also blooming. Of all the shrubs that flower in spring, azaleas provide some of the most brilliant displays. I have hundreds planted outside my Summer House and down the carriage road to the stable.
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol. Growing as large shrubs or trees, they produce showy, fragrant flowers that are white, pink, red, purple or yellow.
And the daffodils just keep coming – look at these crisp, white beauties.
And here is a view of my long daffodil border – this section is under the allée of lindens. So many flowers are pushing through, and there are so many more to come. Happy Spring!
Every year I add lots of plants to both existing gardens as well as new spaces. Over the weekend, I placed dozens of potted hellebores in the beds outside my Tenant House, in areas that get partial shade and dappled sunlight. I already have hellebores growing in these gardens, but I wanted to fill in the spaces a bit more. These hellebores are part of a recent shipment from the wholesale plant nursery, Monrovia. Yesterday, my gardeners planted all of them and they look great. Hellebores begin to bloom in March and continue through the spring until the end of May. We'll all enjoy the low lying clumps of bold green foliage with their colorful rose-like blossoms for several more weeks.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Whenever possible, I often like to place the specimens myself, where I know they will look best. We received about 80 of these hellebores from Monrovia and I knew they would be perfect in the beds outside my Tenant House.
Hellebores should be planted about two-feet apart since they spread. Here they are also mixed with other perennials with foliage and blooms in similar colors.
The varieties we’re adding include ‘Cascade Blush,’ Ice N’ Roses ‘Bennotta,’
Ice N’ Roses ‘Bianco,’ and
Ice N’ Roses ‘Red.’
My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, makes sure all the plants are in good condition, removing any browned leaves before they are planted.
A hole is dug at least twice the size of the plant’s root ball.
All the areas to be planted are given a good sprinkling of fertilizer.
We’re using Scotts Rose & Bloom, which provides a steady feeding that boosts blooms on roses, annuals, and perennials.
Before planting, the root ball is scarified, meaning intentional cuts are made to encourage and stimulate growth. A Hori Hori gardening knife like this is perfect for many tasks such as scarifying, loosening soil, measuring soil depth, digging up weeds, and dividing plants.
The same is done at the bottom of the plant’s root ball.
Once the hellebore is in the hole, it is backfilled and the surrounding soil is gently tamped down to create good contact.
Hellebore foliage is dark green, glossy, and palmately divided. It contrasts nicely against the bright colored flowers.
Hellebores are members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus – about 20 species of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. They are very popular because they are easy-to-grow and are able to resist frost.
Here is one now completely planted. Hellebores do best underneath deciduous trees where they are shaded by foliage in summer, but are exposed to full sun after the trees have dropped their leaves in fall.
They are sometimes known as Lenten rose or Christmas rose because of the appearance and early flowering time. I’ve had hellebores in my gardens for many years.
Hellebores come in a wide range of dark and light colors including shades of maroon, apricot, yellow, green, metallic blue, slate, dusky pink, and white with or without contrasting markings.
These hellebores are white with tinges of pink.
Unlike the blooms of most other flowering plants, hellebore flowers do not consist of petals, but of sepals, which serve to protect the flower. These flowers also tend to nod.
These plants are also fairly deer and rabbit resistant.
While hellebores do spread, they are considered slow-growing plants that can take up to 18-months to reach their mature size.
It’s amazing how much a garden can change with the addition of plants. After the hellebores are all planted, they’re given a good drink. And, once the plants are well-established, hellebores require little upkeep.
They already look so lovely near my existing hellebores. I hope this inspires you to add some to your garden. Hellebores are a good thing.
Do you know why the Japanese stewartia tree is one of my favorites? "Stewart" is my last name after all.
The Japanese stewartia, Stewartia pseudocamellia, is a small, slow-growing, all-season performer that shows off fresh green leaves in spring, white flowers resembling single camellias in summer, and colorful foliage in autumn. It's also well-loved for its attractive exfoliating bark, which peels away in strips of gray, reddish-brown, and orange. Yesterday, my outdoor grounds crew planted a stand of young stewartia trees behind my Gym building in an area not far from my main Greenhouse, my winding pergola, and of course, my stewartia garden.
Here are some photos.
I love stewartia trees and have several different kinds of stewartias growing at my farm. This is a view of my Stewartia garden behind my Tenant House in late spring. The stewartias planted here include Stewartia gemmata, Stewartia x. henryae, Stewartia pseudocamellia ‘Ballet’, Stewartia monadelpha, Stewartia rostrata, and Stewartia henry ‘Skyrocket’.
One of its appealing features is the stewartia’s bark.
And these are the flowers of a Stewartia pseudocamellia – cup-shaped, camellia-like white blossoms up to two-and-a-half inches in diameter with showy orange-yellow anthers.
Over the weekend, I purchased a selection of stewartia trees to plant along the carriage road behind my Gym Building. Here, they will get full to partial shade and be somewhat shielded from any winds.
A crucial step in growing healthy trees is to plant them properly. The hole should be two to three times wider than the diameter of the tree’s rootball and two to three inches less than the height of the rootball.
Chhiring cuts off the wire basket so it can be removed. Wire baskets were designed to support the root ball during loading, shipping, and transplanting. Some cut the cages and leave them in the ground, but I prefer to remove them completely, so there is nothing blocking the growing roots.
He also removes the burlap wrapping that holds the root ball together.
All the wire cages and wrapping are piled up and discarded.
Chhiring rolls the root ball slowly and carefully into the hole and then looks at the tree from all sides to ensure it is perfectly straight and its best side is facing out toward the carriage road.
Chhiring is now sprinkling fertilizer. I always say, “if you eat, your plants should eat.” The soil in the planting hole is also amended with fertilizer.
The biodegradable resin coated shells allow for a slow release of the fertilizer.
We use Miracle-Gro® Shake ‘N Feed Flowering Trees and Shrubs Plant Food, which contains natural ingredients to feed microbes in the soil and provides continuous release feeding for up to three months.
The branches are just beginning to show spring growth. Stewartias have alternate, simple, elliptic, dark green leaves that grow five to nine-centimeters long.
This tree is placed at the right depth – at its flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk. When fully mature, the Stewartia can reach up to 30- to 40-feet tall.
The surrounding tree pit is given a nice edge…
…And then the hole is backfilled completely and tamped down to create good contact between the soil and the root ball..
It’s a good idea to use a tarp to hold any of the removed soil and sod – this will save lots of clean-up time and effort later.
I think the trees look so pretty in this area. And remember, always remove any tags that are on the tree. If left too long, these tags will eventually cut into the bark and potentially cut off the flow of nutrients.
While these trees are slow-growing and only about six-feet tall now, they have ample room here in this location.
They are some of the first flowering trees guests will see when they visit. Across is my long pergola, and on the left, the handsome tall trees are bald cypress, Taxodium distichum. I am looking forward to watching these trees grow and flourish.
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