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.
Midsummer Magic
I have been overwhelmed with the gardens this week. “Overwhelmed” is a word often given a negative connotation in today’s language. The word originally comes from Middle English with the meaning “to turn upside down.” … Read more.
Observing Nature
Noticing the natural world is an everyday occurrence when you spend time outdoors. As gardeners, we see the strong connection between plants and animals, we happen upon curiosities and are simply awestruck by many new … 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.
A Garden to Call Home
Visitors often ask if I have a garden at home. The truth is that I live in a small apartment in the city and have a few favorite annuals in containers outside and a small … Read more.
Poppies Forever
The Shirley poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are one of the most ephemeral and beautiful parts of the gardens. The flowers are here for a day or two and then form seed heads where the soft-as-silk petals … 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.
Early Days in Hazelton, Circa 1891
Marjorie Van Wickle was born in 1883 in Cleveland, Ohio, where her father, Augustus, was president of the South Mountain Coal company. Three years later they moved to Morristown, New Jersey so that Augustus could … Read more.
Pollinators
It’s National Pollinator Week and I wanted to take a minute to talk about how connected the gardens at Blithewold are to all wildlife. We focus on growing beautiful gardens to inspire you, but we … Read more.
Nature’s Exuberance
If ever there was a season to see lushness in the gardens, now is the time! The gardens, trees, and shrubs are bursting with foliage and flowers with all this rain. Of course, the weeds … Read more.