garden

garden

Garden Update: Ninebark, Hydrangea, Patio

  It’s a weekend of garden work at the farm! We’re planting, weeding and mulching, plus taming a couple of big-assed flowering quinces that have gotten so out of control that I missed seeing our lilac bloom through them! The […]

garden

Hello, Cicada

We haven’t been sieged by them, but they are here and there. And we heard them this weekend, down the ways a bit. They sounded a bit like the purr of an engine in the distance.   Related posts: No […]

garden

Early Friday Morning in the Garden

Early Friday morning in the garden, before anyone else was awake. Peonies blooming, blueberries ripening, cicadas molting. New this year: creeping phlox under the dwarf sour cherry and coreopsis near the pear tree.  Here’s a look. Too many ferns!   […]

garden

Choosing Flowers for the Porch

Every year we start out with beautiful hanging baskets on the porch, and by the time August rolls round, the flowers aren’t blooming and the leaves are looking ragged. Greg thinks it’s because I’m buying full-sun plants for a shady […]

garden

The Farm Gets New Plants

Patio project complete, it’s time to get planting! We’re looking to make the patio feel cozy, and also to block the late summer’s brutal sun, which shines directly on the patio as it’s setting. A tree, then — sour cherry, […]

garden

Trees in Bloom at the Farm

Our Sour Cherry and our Pear, in view from the new patio. A vision in white. Related posts: Snow So High You Can’t See The Sour Cherry Trees Iron Chef Sour Cherry Farm: BLT Edition Spring at the Farm: Forget […]

garden

Toyo-Nishiki Flowering Quince

SCF fans may remember when we first planted these Toyo-Nishiki flowering quince way back in 2009. They are now enormous and beautiful. Related posts: Spring at the Farm: Quince, Crocus, Daffodils and the Planting of Sweet Peas Update on the […]

garden

Spring at the Farm

A look at the baby lettuces, spring flowers and bulbs that are popping up all over the farm! Related posts: Spring at the Farm: Forget Me Nots, Asparagus, Apples, Black Currants and French Tulips Spring at the Farm: Quince, Crocus, […]

garden

Beautiful Tulips

Small Bites won an award for best blog from the New York News Publishers Association! And to say congrats, the contributing bloggers sent me this gorgeous bouquet of tulips. They’re stunning. What a wonderful gift.   Related posts: Spring at […]

garden

Spring!

Is it really here? We are hopeful. Related posts: Spring at the Farm: Asparagus, Apples and Sour Cherries The Snow Finally Melts and We See Signs of Spring at the Farm Spring at the Farm: Quince, Crocus, Daffodils and the […]

garden

On the Hunt for Blueberries

We’ve decided to take down the blackberries that we so dutifully planted three springs ago. They’re just too darn onery. And a lot of work. Blueberries, on the other hand, are a lot less work: prune them in the spring […]

garden

Farm Cleanup!

After spending all last summer with a big pit in the backyard (aka building our patio), we can’t wait to enjoy time out there this summer. The first warm day this spring, and we are already dreaming of moonlit dinner […]

garden

More Snow

Will this winter ever end?    Related posts: The Snow Finally Melts and We See Signs of Spring at the Farm Snow at the Farm: So We Have Hot Chocolate Snow So High You Can’t See The Sour Cherry Trees […]

red rose
family, garden, outings

A Christmas Walk and a Red Rose

The family headed for a walk downtown to choose a couple for ornaments for friends at our fabulous Christmas store here in Nyack: Hickory Dickory Dock.  They have all kinds of beautiful hand-blown glass ornaments, painted glass globes, and fun […]

sod
garden

Oh My God, We’ve Got Sod

After months of patio-project hell, we finally have a new backyard. Just in time for snow. But oh! When spring comes? We’ll be sitting pretty. Finally. Thank goodness! A look at the installation, after the jump. Related posts: Patio Update: […]

Brussels sprouts
garden

Putting the Garden to Bed for Winter

The porch and the garden have served us well these past months. But it’s time to start putting the garden to bed for winter. We wrapped the rosemary in burlap, harvested some last crops and put the cushions away in […]

garden

The First Real Sign of Fall

Orange tree at the corner of Cedar Hill and Franklin: Related posts: Fall is Here, and We Have Squash for Supper Pre-Theater Dining at Pam Real Thai in Midtown Back to the Real World, Sort of A Tree Comes Down […]

garden

The Patio Project is Complete!

After a long hard summer working on Elizabeth’s Folly, enduring a pit in the backyard, jackhammering a boulder to the ground and laying more than 1,000 bricks, the patio is now done. We are beyond thrilled. More photos, after the […]

garden

Patio Update: Much Progress is Made

By 5 p.m., quitting time and cocktail hour, both, we had mad much progress: This included measuring and leveling several jagged corners: And also tamping and leveling the sand underneath the brick: What a pain that part is, let me […]

garden

Patio Update: We Lay the First Brick

After tamping the rock, leveling the sand and checking our measurements, Greg lays the cornerstone of the patio. By the end of the day, this is what we’d accomplished: We are on our way, folks.   Related posts: Patio Update […]

garden

Patio Update: Item Four

The big pile of gravel in our driveway is known as Item Four. Greg hauled it wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow into the pit, and them tamped it down with a special tool. It is, if you’ll excuse me for saying so, […]

garden

Gregory’s Portico Has an End Stone

The finishing touches have been put on Gregory’s Portico. Admire, all ye: Related posts: Update on the Patio: Gregory’s Portico Bee Class at Stone Barns Bee Class at Stone Barns Sam’s Stone Barns Onesie