Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold
Filling in the gaps
Last week I had the great pleasure of speaking with the author/photographer of some of my all-time favorite garden books. Ken Druse, who wrote Planthropology and Making More Plants among about a bazillion others, called … Read more.
Days of whine and roses
Sometimes I still feel like a backseat whiner. I should know better than to complain out loud because as a kid, whenever I asked, “are we there yet?”, my Mom would only reply cryptically, “10 … Read more.
Why the Rose Garden stinks
Usually when people enter the Rose Garden they take a deep breath in through the nose and heave a big blissed-out sigh of appreciation … Not today. The roses are still blooming; they are still … Read more.
Into each life a little rain must fall
This morning a fellow dog walker said to me, “Ugh – this rain is horrible!” To which I replied, “yeah… but we need it.” She looked at me a little sideways. And to myself I … Read more.
Change of scene
I have looked at these gardens so much that even though they change everyday I can hardly see them anymore. It’s not that I’m tired of the garden – far from it. I still want … Read more.
Tulip mania
It’s easy to see why people have gone crazy for these flowers. One visitor this week commented with amazement in his voice about the variety of colors available in this one flower. It’s true – … Read more.
Shop therapy
There’s nothing in the world that beats a car trunk full of new plants. Gail and I went off today to try and find a couple of things to fill a couple of holes in … Read more.
Dramatic differences
Being in the garden every day teaches a valuable lesson in paying attention to the subtle changes but go away for a week or two and the changes will practically hit you over the head. … Read more.
Plants are my favorite people
It was Lilah’s suggestion when she first saw the sea of pink peony poppies (voted Most Flirtatious) in full bloom in the Cutting Garden that I do a Superlatives post. Since I spent high school … Read more.
They’re listening
I like to think that encouragement and praise is the best method for inspiring productivity but must admit that threats and criticism can be pretty effective as well. Spite is such an excellent motivator. Don’t … Read more.