Martha Stewart's Bedford Farm, also known as Cantitoe Corners, is 153 acres of paradise – complete with manicured grounds and blooms at every corner. In all its beauty, however, there is something about Martha's rose garden that just feels the most magnificent of all.
As a celebrity style editor, I have enjoyed many glimpses around Martha Stewart's property portfolio in recent years, but her Bedford rose garden was the first image to truly stop me in my tracks.
Designed in collaboration with Ryan McCallister, Martha's head gardener, the rose garden is impeccable. It feels regimented and ordered, oozes an old-money aesthetic, so it's no surprise that Martha loves spending time in that area of her property.
'I love this time of year when I can walk through my flower gardens and see all the wonderful blooms. Everything looks so amazing this season, especially the roses,' she shared on her blog in June 2023. However, this isn't a new phenomenon for Martha. Her love for roses stretches back almost three decades, as she explains.
'As many of you know, I adore roses and have grown them for more than 25-years. Many of the rose cultivars growing at my Bedford, New York farm were transplanted from the gardens at Lily Pond, my former home in East Hampton,' Martha says.
'Here in Bedford, I have a large collection planted along both sides of my lilac allée and a newer rose bed planted behind my main greenhouse, but most of the roses are in the perennial flower cutting garden and they're thriving.'
Shop Martha Stewart's rose care essentials
This light pink rose is bursting with life and citrusy scent, grounded in lush, dark green foliage. It's easy to see why Martha loves them.
This stunning gardening tool is easy to use and comes in a beautiful, natural design emblazoned with the doyenne's name. It will instantly elevate your weeding experience.
Wade into your garden with all of your tools using this belt built to carry a trowel, shears, gloves and more. The leather construction makes it so stylish, you might even want to wear it out of the garden.
I can only ever dream of a garden as expansive as Martha's Bedford farm, but thankfully, her rose care tips extend to more compact yards. In a post, she shared her advice for maintaining roses in every kind of garden, starting with choosing a variety that is disease-resistant. Various hybrid tea roses are disease-resistant, but you could also try old-fashioned heirloom roses, Flower Carpet, Knockout, and Carefree roses.
'When selecting a location, plant roses in a sunny spot where they can get at least six hours of sun and good drainage,' Martha says. 'Rose roots grow deep, so be sure there is adequate room for the roots to spread.' Next, when watering your roses, she recommends giving them the equivalent of 'one inch of rainfall per week during the growing season.'
'As part of a yearly maintenance program, eliminate dead, dying, and diseased plants and plant parts to help keep the garden healthy. Don’t forget to feed. As I often say, if you eat, so should the plants. Keep roses well-fed with a slow-release formula specifically for roses,' she adds. 'Given the right care, healthy roses can bloom all the way until early fall.'
