Books on Single Flower Types

Everyone has a favourite flower. For my grandmother, it was the iris. For my mother, it is the rose. For me, it's the peony. Learning how to grow your favourite types of flowers often requires more insight and knowledge than a summary 'how-to' on the back of a seed packet. Even books with growing and care instructions for a wide variety of flower types may not provide the in-depth analysis of your favourite flower type, or explore its varieties, its virtues or its troublesome pitfalls to the extent required for an avid devotee.

If you are passionate about one type of flower, it is worth looking for a book that immerses itself fully in the exploration of that type. Many flowers also have online discussion groups on social media sites, such as Facebook, that are devoted to them. And serious aficionados may find it helpful to join professional local flower societies that provide resources and information about your favourite kind. Below is a list of eight titles about single types of flowers that you might find inspiring and informative. I hope one of your favourite flowers is among them!

VINTAGE ROSES

British writer Jane Eastoe pens a comprehensive study of classic 'old' roses and some of their modern cultivars, which were developed to mimic the heirloom qualities of the true old-world varieties. The sixty types that are profiled were selected by Eastoe as those having the best fragrance, the most beauty for arrangements and the easiest to grow in the garden. Gorgeous photography by Georgianna Lane will leave you inspired.

PEONIES

In her follow-up volume, Peonies, issued this year, Jane Eastoe applies the same selection method she used in "Vintage Roses" to sixty varieties of peonies: best fragrance, best looks, best for arrangements and easiest to grow. With commentary on each type, along with helpful growing advice and gorgeous photography by Georgianna Lane, the reader is enticed to grow these varieties at home. 

IRISES: A GARDENER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA

This is the most comprehensive study of garden irises published to date. A large hardcover encyclopedia profiling all iris varieties known to the gardener, the book provides a breeding history of each type as well as how-to advice for planting and growing. More than 1,100 photographs depict the iris in all her guises.

LILACS: A GARDENER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA

Widely considered to be the 'lilac bible' this book was first published in 1988 by American hybridizer John Fiala. The new edition profiles all of the 21 known lilac varieties and ten natural hybrids, as well as hundreds of the 2000 named cultivars. With an in-depth history of the lilac in garden landscapes around the world, as well as depictions in visual art, the book is beyond comprehensive. There are 580 colour photographs depicting many of the varieties. 

DAHLIAS

Photographer Georgianna Lane applies her visual talent to great effect in this beautiful book on Dahlias by Naomi Slade. The author's commentary unearths the flower's history from its Aztec origins and imparts practical, hands-on knowledge for growing and overwintering the Dahlia in wintry climes. All of the popular types are profiled, including Café Au Lait and dinner-plate varieties, as well as lesser-known types, such as Voodoo and Honka. 

GARDENING WITH TULIPS

This pictorial guide by Michael King presents a fresh approach to using these popular bulbs in contemporary gardens. The book begins with a history of tulips and moves on to design approaches and tips for various plant combinations. Twenty groups of tulips are described in detail, and a separate chapter deals exclusively with colour varieties, making it easy for readers to choose tulips to create a wide palette of colour combinations in their garden. Complete growing and maintenance instructions are also provided.

HELLEBORES: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

A mere ten years ago, hellebores were considered a connoisseur's plant - subdued in colouration, hard to find, and the subject of much snobbery. Today, however, they are among the most popular perennials, thanks to their early bloom, long-lasting flowers, shade tolerance, handsome foliage and the profusion of new colours and forms that have become available. Authors Cole Burrell and Judith Tyler have produced what is arguably the definitive book on this genus, packed with comprehensive information on growing, maintenance, design, hybridization and selection, as well as trouble-shooting. The lavishly-illustrated volume will interest all hellebore lovers. 

DAFFODILS FOR NORTH AMERICAN GARDENS

Hundreds of full-colour photographs depict the most popular and some of the rarer varieties of daffodils for the North American garden. Author Becky Heath provides a history of the flower as well as invaluable advice on planting and growing, including soil-amendment suggestions, fertilizers, when to plant, how deep to plant and how best to choose the bulb that is right for your region and garden.

Martha's Flowers

Personally, I've only known one individual who planted, grew and arranged her own flowers and that was my grandmother. Whether it was peonies, lilacs, tulips, daffodils or lily-of-the-valley, my grandmother always had an arrangement or two in her home during the spring and summer months, made with flowers cut directly from her garden, which she designed and planted herself.

I am an apartment dweller but I make it a point to always have cut flowers around me - or at least potted flowering bulbs, such as tulips and hyacinths. There is nothing like the appearance of blooms indoors - on the dining room table, a nightstand, a desk or even on the kitchen counter. Flowers bring unparalleled joy to a space.

Martha's 90th book is all about the joy that flowers bring to one's world. Instructive in its tone with tips on how to plant, grow and arrange some of Martha's favourite varieties, the book also delivers inspiration in spades. Filled with lavish photographs of Martha's gardens and flower arrangements in her homes, it is the kind of book a Martha Stewart fan eagerly anticipates - and this one surely delivers. The book is a beautiful tome, a gorgeous collection of some of the most extraordinary bouquets and arrangements made with Martha's flowers.

Martha collaborated with her friend and colleague, Kevin Sharkey, who is responsible for most of the arrangements in the book. Kevin is one of only a handful of people she trusts implicitly with the care and treatment of the flowers she grows.

The book is divided into chapters by season and then sub-categorized by flower type: a handy way to structure a book that could otherwise be overwhelming to a potential grower. Each flower type is examined at length with instructions on how to plant, grow and arrange them, culminating in several gorgeous arrangements that appear in one of Martha's homes, whether it's her farm in upstate New York, her summer home in Maine or her house in East Hampton.

In her introduction, Martha describes the six gardens she has had a personal influence on and notes that her farm, Cantitoe Corners, is by far her largest and most ambitious garden:

"It is still a 'work in progress,' a landscape with flower gardens, farm animals, horses, vegetable gardens and greenhouses... Simply laid out, on land that is gently sloping from one end (south) to the other (north), and intersected with smallish streams, the property is about 50 percent woodland and 50 percent pastures, fields and gardens. There is lots of space to express my landscape ideas and ideals - four miles of curvaceous carriage roads enable me to quickly traverse from one end to the other on foot, on horseback, or by truck. The biggest accomplishment so far has been the careful delineation of spaces, the planting of allees of trees as well as boxwood, and my inclination now to replant the woodlands with many groves of interesting indigenous trees and plants. I have massed my favorite kinds of flowers: a giant bed of pink-colored peonies; a very large perennial garden filled with all of my favorite kinds of lilies, poppies and irises, among hundreds of others; two long gardens filled with many kinds of lilac shrubs; and borders of hydrangeas, Japanese maple trees, clematis, shade plants and tulip beds."

The book is a marvelous compilation and combination of ideas and ideals, a perfect blend of instruction and inspiration - that tricky recipe that only Martha has perfected. I hope you all enjoy the book! I know you won't be disappointed. Order your copy here.

MARTHA'S GARDENS:
In her introduction, Martha lists the six gardens she has created and developed.

1. BERKSHIRE COTTAGE:

Her first garden was a small garden in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts where she and her husband, Andy, had a small cottage. It was the first time Martha had expressed herself through the creation of a garden. She used her favourite gardening books as inspiration, as well as memories and notes from some of the famed gardens she had visited around the country and in Europe. She recalls hearing her father's instructive voice in her mind, too, with remembrances of the garden he created at her childhood home in Nutley, New Jersey. The cottage garden was small but painterly with lots of perennials and herbs and some annuals planted around a central path.

2. TURKEY HILL:

This is the garden that really allowed Martha to soar as a gardener. Through trial and error (and more trial and more error) she developed one of the most personal and expressive gardens of her lifetime on six acres in Westport, Connecticut. Developed over the course of some 30 years, the garden evolved into a dreamland setting where all of Martha's personal joys were expressed through the poetic use of landscaping and planting. The Turkey Hill garden was the foundation of her first gardening book, "Gardening, Month by Month" which was published in 1991. Read more about Martha's Turkey Hill garden here.

3. LILY POND LANE:

The one-acre parcel of land at Lily Pond, Martha's home in East Hampton, New York, was where Martha intended to grow some of the best-loved and rarest varieties of roses. The temperate, seaside climate created ideal conditions for the growing of roses and she planted numerous varieties, from climbing to shrub varieties. These roses were eventually moved to her farm but the gardens continue to evolve. Martha also planted hundreds of tulips here and created beautiful shade gardens with ferns, hostas and Japanese maples. To read more about the Lily Pond gardens, click here.

4. GREENFIELD HILL, CONNECTICUT

For a brief period, Martha owned a home in Fairfield, Connecticut, with a 45-acre plot that she intended to be her "big garden." Martha created an elaborate landscaping plan for the property, which was never realized, but she did manage to plant some gorgeous trees on the property including a rare variety of gum tree, broad-leafed magnolias and a grove of mature gingko trees, purchased from the New York Botanical garden.

5. SKYLANDS:

For the first time, Martha inherited an acclaimed garden, one designed by one of America's foremost landscape architects, Jens Jensen. Situated in the woodsy hills of Mount Desert Island, Maine, the prairie-style garden presented new challenges for Martha. She had now to play the roles of caretaker and preserver, restoring and then perfecting the plans that Jensen had meticulously laid out for Edsel and Eleanor Ford, the first owners of Skylands who had commissioned Jensen in 1925 with the creation of the landscape for their summer home. Moss, ferns, reflecting pools and an intricate system of pathways created an environment for indigenous and imported species of woodland plants and flowers. It is now one of Martha's favourite places to spend her time. To read more about the Skylands gardens, click here.

6. CANTITOE FARM:

In 2000, Martha finally did undertake the creation of her "big garden" when she purchased 153 acres in Katonah, New York. She set about creating what she calls a "farmette" with animals, vegetable gardens, cutting gardens and greenhouses, allowing her every horticultural whim to be realized. With winding carriage roads, woodlands and fields, it is a place where she can devote time to planting trees and sowing her most beloved varieties of flowers - with room to spare! To read more about Cantitoe Corners, click here.

Winter Care for Houseplants

Houseplants, like their human caretakers, need a little more TLC this time of year, during the darker, shorter, drier days of winter. They rely on us to keep them strong during a season that is anything but forgiving. There are helpful winter-care tips I've come across that I thought I'd share with houseplant lovers out there.

I recently acquired two beautiful Autumn Ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora) that are keeping my dining room looking lush. 

There are four primary factors to monitor for happy, healthy houseplants: water, soil, light and temperature. During the winter months, these factors become even more important to consider. Here's a look at each of these factors with some basic winter care instructions.

WATER:

Every houseplant is different. Different species require different water levels and different levels of humidity to thrive. Finding out what species of houseplant you have and how much water it requires for a healthy existence is crucial; a little research goes a long way. As a general rule, however, plants actually require less water during the winter months because they are in a natural dormant stage. They are not expending as much energy to grow or reproduce.

The drier indoor air during the winter months does tend to sap moisture from your rooms. Dry soil surface, however, is not a good indication that your plant is thirsty. A good trick is to insert your baby finger into the soil of the plant at least an inch below the soil surface. If the soil is dry at this level, the plant can use a drink.

Moisture loving plants, like ferns, may need watering a little more consistently than others, but succulents and cacti will likely need no watering at all until spring. Signs of under-watering include dry, brittle leaves and wilting stems. Signs of over-watering include yellowing tips on the leaves, soggy soil and wilting.

Humidity: 

Houseplants generally like a 50% humidity level; in the winter, indoor rooms can be as low as 10%.

Misting your plants won't help much during the winter. The air is so dry that most of the mist will evaporate before the plant has time to absorb the moisture through its leaves. To help improve moisture levels for houseplant care, consider using a humidifier in the home. You can also stand the houseplants on a large tray of water filled with pebbles. The water will evaporate around the plants, keeping their immediate atmosphere moist. Continue to refill the water as it evaporates. Just ensure the plants are not standing directly in the water as this may cause root rot.

Another good tip is to cluster your plants together. Since plants naturally release water through their leaves, the plants will share the emitted moisture and create a supportive mini-ecosystem!

SOIL:

Your plants will be just fine without any plant food or fertilizer for the winter months. They are naturally resting and may resent the added injection of energy that comes with supplements. Hold off until early spring.

LIGHT:

The shorter days of winter can be detrimental to light-loving plants. The increase in cloud cover also doesn't help. You may need to move your plants closer to the windows or relocate your plants to a brighter spot in the home during the winter. A south- or west-facing window would be ideal. Even plants that do not need much light to survive will appreciate improved lighting during the winter. If windows are few and far between, you could invest in a grow-light but be sure to read the instructions before using it.

TEMPERATURE:

Most plants thrive between 60 and 75 degrees Farenheit -- rarely any lower than 50 degrees or higher than 85 degrees. Adjust your thermostat accordingly and keep plants away from cold drafts (entryways) or heat sources, such as radiators and fireplaces.

References: 

These books, above, are considered the bibles of houseplant care. Both were written by botanist and professional gardener Peter McHoy.

My own sources are my grandmother's old copy of Better Homes and Gardens special issue, "Favorite Houseplants" from 1977 and the New York Times "Book of Houseplants", published in 1973.

Martha's Conservatory Greenhouse

One of the most spectacular structures on Martha's property in Bedford, New York, is the conservatory greenhouse. It was designed by Allan Greenberg, the architect responsible for all of the renovations at Cantitoe Corners and the design of Martha's stables. The greenhouse was inspired by the Crystal Palace greenhouse of Hyde Park in London, England. Built in 1851 to house more than 14,000 vendors from around the world who attended that year's Great Exhibition, the structure was more than three times the size of St. Paul's Cathedral! It was destroyed by fire in 1936.

Martha and Allan were inspired by the symmetry and the layout of the Crystal Palace, and other Victorian greenhouse structures similar to it. While Martha's greenhouse is nowhere near the size of the Crystal Palace, it still occupies a nearly 3000 square-foot footprint - quite large for a residential greenhouse design.

It was essential that Martha have a large greenhouse at Cantitoe Corners to grow all of the specimens she was interested in: begonias and orchids of all kinds, lemon trees, ferns and numerous rare specimens of houseplants. Martha and her gardener, Ryan McCallister, use the greenhouse as both a laboratory and a showplace. It is a place to nurture young seedlings as well as display unusual plants that are not ideal for display inside a home, such as the Titan arum, or 'corpse flower', which smells of rotting flesh. (Martha has one!)

Below are photographs of Martha's conservatory greenhouse. (She also has a vegetable greenhouse and a tropical hoop house!) Now that the weather in the Northeast has turned cold and the skies have become a perpetual grey, I thought it would be nice to show a little green. There is a video of Martha touring the greenhouse at the bottom of the post.

This is the main entrance to the greenhouse from the main entrance road. The greenhouse is located at the south end of the property near the tenant house and Martha's main residence, the Winter House.

This aerial view of the greenhouse, taken with one of Martha's drones, shows the vast scale of the edifice. To the rear of the building is the gardener's head house, which is where Ryan McCallister works cultivating, re-potting and caring for all of the plants inside the greenhouse. Behind the greenhouse is the former vegetable garden, which is now Martha's cutting garden.

Here is a closer look at the head house. It is made from the same stone as the stables, quarried in Vermont.

In this more distant view, you can see the adjacent pergola that is used to hang some plants outdoors during the warmer days.

The former vegetable garden, which is now the cutting garden, is located next to the greenhouse.

Inside the greenhouse Martha grows hundreds of specimens of plants: begonias, orchids, succulents and ferns are among her favourites.

A fine gravel covers the aisles to absorb water.

So much green!

Extra pots are stored under some of the benches and everything is grouped by type of plant and displayed beautifully.

Ryan checks in on the plants.

Gorgeous tropical foliage in the sunlight.

Details!

Guy Wolff orchid pots in the head house, bottom right. Almost all of the ceramic pots at Martha's house are by ceramicist Guy Wolff.

Kept warm and out of winter's biting chill, Martha's plants have a happy home indeed! What a nice place to visit on those bleak winter days!

Planting my Amaryllis Bulbs

If you're an aficionado of beautiful holiday flowers, then the Amaryllis must surely be among your favourites. They are my favourite holiday flower and I grow them every year. I really enjoy the process of planting them and then the anticipation of their enormous, trumpet-like blooms. It generally takes about six to eight weeks for the bulbs to flower, which is why it's crucial to plant your bulbs now if you expect to have them in full bloom by Christmas. I always plant mine the first week of November, which ensures they'll be ready by the week of Christmas Day.

I prefer the Minerva variety with its candy-cane like stripes. I generally buy three bulbs.

The bulbs are inexpensive enough to have many: you can cluster several of them in the same cozy planter, as I do, or arrange groupings of smaller pots on a dining table in favour of a single centerpiece. They also make easy, assembly-line gifts: tuck single bulbs into attractive terra-cotta pots, along with printed care instructions, tie a nice red bow around the rim of the pot and you've got a pretty gift!

The biggest surprise about these plants is that they are not members of the genus Amaryllis at all. The big, fat bulbs are in the related genus Hippeastrum and descend from plants native to tropical America. (The genus Amaryllis contains only one species, Amaryllis Belladonna; it comes from South Africa, is still quite rare and is tricky to grow).

GROWING AMARYLLIS:

The bulbs we grow indoors at holiday time are simple to care for; they thrive on benign neglect for much of the year. First, they don't need much room. In fact, they prefer close quarters: a pot about two inches larger in diameter than the bulb is ideal, or several closely clustered in one larger container, leaving about two inches between each bulb. Use a well-draining potting mix: try a blend of well-rotted compost, coarse sand and vermiculite in a ratio of 3:3:2. The key is to make sure the soil is well-draining.

The bulbs look so humble before they are planted. They contain so much beauty inside!

It's important, too, not to bury the bulb completely. Be sure the plant is pointed right side up (wide end down) and cover the bulb up to its shoulders, leaving about one-third of the bulb visible above the soil.

When it comes to water, Amaryllis requires very little. Water them once after the initial planting and then only once a week, or as needed, after the plant begins to show signs of green growth emerging from the bulb. Once the plant does start its rapid growth spurt, ensure the soil is evenly moist but never sopping wet.

I plant he bulbs in a flower pot I got at Anthropologie many years ago. I love its artichoke-like motif.

Amaryllis loves the sun! They will not grow as well in dimly-lit areas of the home and much prefer a sunny south- or west-facing window with at least a few hours of direct sunlight.  Once they bloom, the plants should maintain their blossoms for a few weeks. Some of the better varieties will have multiple stems with multiple flowers.

I always put moss around the bulbs. It looks attractive and I tell myself the plants enjoy the extra company. 

Most of us discard the bulbs after the holidays, but if you're keen on keeping them until the following year, you certainly can. After the flowers die, cut back the stem to the tip of the bulb and then allow the foliage to continue to grow for the rest of the year, maintaining a regular watering schedule. In September, you will force the bulb into a dormant period by cutting back all of its foliage and keeping it in dark place for six to eight weeks without any light or water. In November, bring them out again and the flowering cycle should begin anew!

These were some of last year's blooms. The photo was taken on January 15th and it was the fourth straight week of flowers! Aren't they gorgeous? 

Antonio Valente Flowers

"Boys don't play with flowers!" Those crushing words, uttered by an elementary school principal, devastated Antonio Valente, who was then in grade two. He had been asked by his teacher to draw a picture of his future career and when it became apparent that young Antonio wanted to be a florist, his dream was shut down with a mocking chuckle.

But dreams have a funny way of growing back, much like the flowers Antonio now harvests and arranges and sells from his home in Thornhill, Ontario, just north of Toronto.

On just a half acre of land, Antonio grows tulips, ranunculus, peonies, zinnias, scabiosa, foxglove, snapdragons, asters, roses, cosmos, larkspur, poppies, dahlias, phlox and ornamental cabbage - filling dozens of orders a week from florists around the greater Toronto area. All of the flowers are picked and packed by Antonio and delivered, in person, in his pickup truck.

I first discovered Antonio on Instagram, where he has thousands of followers from around the world. I only recently discovered that Antonio had been reading this blog for years and had affiliations with some florist friends of mine in Toronto! I was so curious to know more about him and his business and wanted very much to do a feature on him.

Florists adore Antonio's friendly nature, his passion for his flowers and his seasonal selection. "Antonio arrived at the shop with his pickup truck filled with pails of the most gorgeous summer blooms," writes the owner of Periwinkle Flowers, a Toronto-based flower shop. "The girls and I promptly fell in love with both Antonio and his beautiful flowers and we would wait in eager anticipation for every week's delivery."

It's the kind of testimonial Antonio doesn't take for granted, but he knows what makes his business special. He is one of the 'little guys' on the scene but his business has several factors that set him apart from the crowd. He grows primarily heirloom varieties or flowers that are pollinator-friendly: alluring features for florists who care about the quality of their flowers and where they come from. His farming operation happens on just a half acre of land and Antonio uses sustainable methods to plant, grow and harvest his plants.

Antonio was good enough to answer a few questions for Martha Moments about his business.

With just a half acre of property to farm, how do you decide what flowers to grow? Is it based on popularity and demand, or is the decision based on what you love to grow?

It’s a little bit of both. I absolutely need to grow what’s in demand and popular; at the end of the day my flowers need to sell. Having said that however, I don’t grow anything that is both popular AND available from larger scale growers or wholesale markets; I just can’t compete on pricing there. I also need to grow what I love. If a grower isn’t loving what they’re growing, they’re likely to neglect it during the height of the hectic growing season and that can lead to lost revenue. And on only half an acre, I can’t have that! Every square foot needs to be productive.

Are there any flowers you do not grow but would like to? 

I would love to grow high quality sweet peas, but the climate here in southern Ontario is very continental. It goes from being very cold to being very hot in a relatively short span of time. Sweet peas do best where there is a long, drawn out spring. The season here is just too short for a profitable sweet pea crop. I’ll save them for when I have a greenhouse or multiple acres of land.

Since we are a four-season climate in Ontario, what do you do to sustain your business during the fall and winter months? 

It’s a little known fact that I substitute teach during the winter months. Yup, once upon a time the plan was to become a teacher. I graduated from teacher’s college in 2009. The economy at the time was in a dismal state and landing a full time teaching job was nearly impossible. I was eventually hired as a substitute teacher, but warned that securing a permanent contract could be anywhere from 7 to 10 years down the road. Facing the reality of precarious employment as a substitute teacher, I had to be creative and find an additional means of paying the bills. It was either head back into landscaping, which I had done throughout university, or grow even more cut flowers, which I had already been doing for myself, and hope to sell them throughout the summer at local farmers’ markets.

If you could wave a magic wand and create your perfect flower business, what do you think it would look like and what would be your role?

I think my perfect flower business would be one where I could bring beautiful varieties of flowers to a larger audience and a more mainstream public, both in the form of cut flowers as well as inspire people to grow their own beautiful gardens. People are tired of white hydrangeas laden with chemicals! There’s a real need in the Canadian market for certain varieties of cut flowers. The floristry style today is very different than it was years ago. The look today is more garden-inspired, and reminiscent of 17th century Dutch still life paintings. I have designers contacting me all the time wishing to source my product, but I honestly cannot currently meet the demand. It’s overwhelming, but also very flattering. As for what my role would be? Ummm wait, you mean I could possibly have a single role one day?! I can’t even imagine what that would look like! Right now, that would be an absolute luxury!

Instagram has obviously helped leverage your visibility and profile, but is there a website in the works?

Yes! I need to get on that. EVERYONE around me has been on my back about it! You’ll all be happy to know that I did recently purchase a domain name, so I am one step closer. You know, each spring I actually use Kijiji to sell dahlia tubers! It’ll be nice to sell them from my own website one day. So, if there’s no website by next spring, look no further than Kijiji for some pretty awesome dahlia varieties!

Who have been some of your mentors and teachers in this enterprise?

My father and grandfather were excellent gardeners. Gardening must be in my blood as they had the most amazing gardens and I attribute much of my passion to them. I also grew up admiring many Canadian gardeners in the media like Mark Cullen and Marjorie Harris, and, of course, Martha Stewart!

I know you enjoy reading this blog and anything to do with Martha Stewart. What is it about Martha that inspires you?

Yes, I love your blog! It’s such a pleasure to read, by the way. I can remember when I first discovered Martha. She was this woman on tv doing all the things that I also loved to do. Being a young boy and having an appreciation for gardening and collecting antiques wasn’t very “cool,” but Martha continued to be such an inspiration and source of creativity. I think in many ways Martha did what I would like to continue to do with my flowers – bring a little bit of beauty to people’s everyday lives.

I know it's like asking a mom to choose a favourite child, but do you have a favourite flower?

Definitely dahlias! Evidently I have no problem choosing between children! They were the first flower I ever grew for the purpose of cutting, so they’ll always hold a special place in my heart. As for the flowers I have in my home, they’re always changing with the seasons. That’s the nice thing about choosing seasonal flowers; each flower variety gets its shot at the limelight.

Finally, what would you say to that principal who told you that boys don't play with flowers? 

I would just give him a locally- and organically-grown bouquet from Antonio Valente Flowers!

Until Antonio gets his website, please follow him on Instagram @antoniovalenteflowers

The Gardens at Lily Pond Lane

I've wanted to blog about the gardens at Lily Pond Lane for some time now. They have always inspired me, mainly because of the somewhat restricted parcel of land upon which they were sown: just one acre, which is decidedly small considering Martha's other two properties, Cantitoe Corners and Skylands, are 153 acres and 65 acres, respectively. Martha worked wonders and made the grounds feel so much larger than they actually are. I love her use of form and texture and the ingenious way she created destinations and 'garden rooms' to keep the wanderer interested. The photographs below are all from The Martha Blog. Gathered over a period of time, the photos illustrate the beauty of the grounds during the spring and summer months, which is when Martha spends most of her time there.

A few years ago, Martha made the decision to remove the signature teal trim from the house's facade (shown above), something a lot of Martha's readers were initially disappointed by. She replaced it with a more subdued shade of taupe and had the entire facade re-shingled. She also removed many of the climbing rose bushes from the front of the home (also shown above) and transferred them to her estate in Bedford, New York.

The photos you see below are a mix of newer photos with older ones, hence the differences in paint colours on some of the trim. I've structured the "tour" to begin in the front and finish at the back. The photos have been placed in logical, linear order to maintain a kind of compass point. I hope you enjoy this look at the gardens of Lily Pond Lane! To read more about this house, click here.

Martha's summer residence on Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton, New York, was built in 1873 and sits on one acre of land. The new facade features a more neutral palette and the climbing roses were replaced with clematis vines.

This is the original master landscaping plan for Lily Pond Lane, completed in the early 1990s, shortly after Martha purchased the property. The landscape was not carried out completely as it is showcased here, however, and several design changes were made. Still, the plan shows the basic structural layout of the gardens on the property and is a good reference guide.

A view of the driveway looking towards the street. Martha's design for the gate is an identical replication of the one she designed for Turkey HIll. The driveway is covered with a soft pea stone gravel and is lined on one side by shrubbery and wisteria.

A view of the house from the driveway gate.

Another view of the driveway, looking towards the house. You will notice in the landscaping plan above that the area of lawn shown in this photograph was originally designed as a formal cutting garden with several flower beds.

Another view of the same side lawn, originally slated to be a cutting garden. Martha kept it as lawn to accommodate large summer parties. The front and side of the property are hedged with privet.

This is a view of the circular front lawn, looking towards the street from the porch of the house. Martha designed and built the arbor when she purchased the property in 1990.

Another view of the house, looking in the opposite direction, from the arbor.

Standing in the center of the circular lawn, looking towards the driveway.

Where the driveway meets the house, with access to the porch.

Further along the driveway and the side of the house

The front porch is a lovely place to relax. In the summer, Martha fills it with lush tropical plants. (The teal was replaced with a warm taupe.)

This small pathway leads from the driveway to the front steps of the porch (at left) and the circular lawn (at right).

The opposite side of the porch with steps leading to a network of pathways that lead through the shade gardens.

One of the paths in the shade garden. The use of dark Japanese maple trees is striking.

The same path, looking in the opposite direction towards the porch.

Another portion of the pathway. The network of small 'garden rooms' makes the property feel much bigger than it is.

Martha's use of shade plants is extremely painterly and poetic. The balance of texture, colour and shape is beautiful.

Hostas play a large part in the planting scheme at Lily Pond Lane.

Rhododendrons and hydrangeas also figure prominently in the design.

Hydrangeas along the garden path adjacent to the circular lawn.

At the back of the house is the pool. Alexis Stewart's guest cottage is shown in the background.

A view of the pool from the guest cottage, looking in the opposite direction.

Another view of the guest house from the corner of the pool.

Looking towards the back of the house from the same vantage point.