Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

Garden fireworks

Happy Fourth of July weekend!  It’s that time of the summer when we finally begin to take a step back from our full-speed-ahead mode of May and June.  Just when Gail, Sean (our intern this … Read more.

Ranunculus are here!

  Spring is definitely in full swing here and already hinting at summer!  It was so warm this week that the lovely spring blooms we’ve been anxiously awaiting buckled a bit with the first blast … Read more.

Prune it up

I am really excited to introduce my fellow horticulturist, Betsy Ekholm to the blogosphere. Betsy started working with Gail and me in 2013 as our gardens intern and we couldn’t let her go. Had to … Read more.

Plant by plant

Gardening is purported to be one of the best stress relievers — and it is! — but the weeks we spend planting the Blithewold gardens always make me feel a little panicky; my blood pressure rises … Read more.

Growing into May

The gardens are on the move, with and without our help. This week the Bosquet made the (subtle) transition from stunning to glorious; the Rock Garden is coming into its May peak; and in every … Read more.

It’s daffodi-lightful!

All of our predictions (and hopes back in February and March) about the daffodils putting on a show for vacation week were spot-on. It has been a real spring spectacular! Not only did the daffodils … Read more.

Awakening spring

This week the temperatures softened just enough to keep spring from hitting the snooze button again and made being outside in the gardens totally irresistible. We didn’t leave a lot in the Rose or North Gardens to … Read more.

Goodnight gardens

After some festive weeks spent preparing for our Christmas display and this week’s wreath workshops, it was pure pleasure to be out in the gardens again. Despite the chill that crept into fingers and toes. Earlier … Read more.

A rabbit’s eye view with Noel Kingsbury

We are so lucky that yesterday’s rain held off just long enough to take a ground-level tour of Blithewold’s gardens with British garden designer/plantsman/author, Noel Kingsbury. He showed us, plant by plant, exactly what to look … Read more.

In transition

Change is in the air. Gail is always the first to point out how the light has shifted — it is well into its golden slide to the south now. So pretty. And although this … Read more.