The daffodil border at Bedford stretches from the Summer House past the stable and down to the Linden Allee. Thousands of bulbs planted every autumn erupt in swaths of yellow and white each April. Spring at Martha’s farm does not tiptoe in. It arrives in rows.
1. Thousands of Bulbs Planted Every Autumn
Martha plants thousands of spring bulbs every fall at Bedford: daffodils, tulips, Dutch iris, alliums, camassia, and crocus. She orders from wholesale suppliers like Van Engelen and Colorblends in Connecticut. The spring display is planned six months before it blooms.
2. The Long Daffodil Border
Martha’s signature spring moment is her daffodil border, a continuous sweep of bloom extending the length of one side of the property. She assesses gaps each spring while the flowers are blooming, then fills those spaces with new bulbs the following autumn.
3. Tulips in Cutting Rows
Martha plants tulips in rows specifically for cutting, not display. The bulbs go into raised beds in the vegetable garden, bloom in April, and get cut by the trayful before the beds are replanted with summer vegetables.
4. Forced Bulbs on the Kitchen Counter
Martha forces hyacinth, paperwhite, and tulip bulbs indoors all winter so the house smells like spring before the ground thaws. Hyacinths sit in glass forcing vases on the kitchen windowsill. Paperwhites grow in shallow dishes of pebbles and water.
5. Cut Tulips in Every Room
When the tulips bloom, Martha cuts trays of them in early morning and fills vases throughout the house. Like colors stay together. The stems are cut at 45-degree angles, leaves below the waterline removed. Tulips go in shallow water because they last longer that way.
The garden is blooming and the house is full of flowers. What follows brings spring into every surface and ritual.
6. Easter Eggs from Her Own Chickens
Martha keeps Araucana chickens that lay blue and green eggs. She dyes Easter eggs using natural methods, onion skins for amber, red cabbage for blue, turmeric for gold. The eggs are displayed in jadeite bowls and ironstone dishes throughout the house.
7. Potted Bulbs on the Porch
As soon as the weather turns, Martha moves potted bulbs from the greenhouse to the front porch and steps. Terracotta pots of hyacinths, muscari, and miniature daffodils line the entrance. The porch announces the season before the garden catches up.
8. Seed Starting in the Greenhouse
Martha starts seeds in her greenhouse months before the last frost. Trays of seedlings in labeled cells line the benches: tomatoes, peppers, herbs, lettuces. The greenhouse is not idle in spring. It is the engine that powers the summer garden.
9. Swap Winter Bedding for Cotton and Linen
Martha swaps heavy winter bedding for lighter layers in spring. Wool blankets are cleaned, folded, and stored. Cotton sheets and linen duvets replace them. The bedroom gets lighter the same week the windows start opening.
10. Branches Before Blooms
Before the garden flowers arrive, Martha cuts branches of forsythia, quince, and pussy willow and forces them indoors in tall vases. The branches bloom inside within days, bringing the first color of spring into the house weeks before the outdoor garden follows.
11. Open the Windows
Martha opens windows as soon as the temperature allows. Fresh air moves through the house for the first time in months. The curtains she does not have are not in the way. The house breathes, and every room smells like thawing earth and new grass.
12. A Spring Wreath of Real Greenery
Martha replaces winter wreaths with spring versions made from boxwood clippings, fresh herbs, or flowering branches. The wreath on the front door changes with the season, not with a sale at the craft store.
13. The Garden Cleanup as a Ritual
Martha treats the spring garden cleanup as a planned event, not a chore. Cutting back dead perennials, raking winter debris, amending soil with compost, and uncovering tender plants that were protected with burlap. The garden wakes up because someone helped it.
14. Lemon and Herb Centerpieces
Before the garden produces enough flowers for arrangements, Martha uses lemons, limes, and potted herbs as table centerpieces. A copper bowl of lemons beside a terracotta pot of rosemary is a spring table that costs almost nothing and smells alive.
15. Camassia Under the Pergola
Martha’s newest spring obsession is camassia, blue-purple bulbs that bloom under her Bedford pergola in April. She calls them “one of my new favorite bulbs, which multiply rapidly anywhere in the garden.” They stand upright in wind, photograph true to color, and fill the gap between daffodils and peonies.
Martha Stewart aesthetic spring is not about one bouquet on the table. It is about waking the entire house and garden up together. Force bulbs in January. Cut branches in February. Open windows in March. Plant rows in April. By May, the house and the land are running on the same clock again.