Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

Plant patience

There are always a couple exceptional plants whose brilliance you wait for from the second they stop blooming the previous year. In the wintertime, it’s the mental images of these plants that keeps you going. … Read more.

Bring The Heat

When you think of flowering trees, you probably picture dogwoods, magnolias, cherries and crabapples. Yes, these plants are very beautiful, common, and bloom throughout the various phases of spring. However, there are many other flowering … Read more.

Noise on the Natives

This week, June 17-24, is National Pollinator week. It is a time to celebrate pollinators, as well as start the conversation on how to protect them. People often overlook the importance of pollinators and just … Read more.

Beautiful Transition

Walking along the garden path, I am happy to see the earth fully lush once again. The days now seem to go on forever, and while the humidity hasn’t yet kicked in, the sun’s strength … Read more.

May Marvel

It is becoming very difficult to keep up with all that is happening in nature as we move through May. A month ago it was easy to keep tabs on what was leafing out, blooming, … Read more.

Flowers in Phases

The rains have arrived in New England, and the plant world uses them as fuel to power the inevitable greening of every nook and cranny of nature. Perennials take their shape and gain strength with … Read more.

Bud Break

While the April sun is full of strength and warms the earth as it rises, the garden is still very brisk on a cloudy morning in early stages of spring. The wind whistles through the … Read more.

Bulb Security

Spring is upon us. The temperatures have risen to sweatshirt-friendly and, slowly but surely, the life hidden within the earth begins to emerge. All the hard work the volunteers and garden crew put in last … Read more.

Cut Of Life

As we continue to hunker down in the greenhouse through, dare I say it, what will hopefully be the last of the snow and ice, the future of glorious gardens is being determined. While the … Read more.

The Fine Details

It’s astonishing how much time passes as I examine and admire the fine details of tree twigs. In the winter, a bare tree is just a bare tree from a distance, but upon closer inspection, … Read more.