Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold
Happy Birthday, Augustus
Now that our Christmas and New Year’s celebrations have slipped into the past, we want to pause to honor our founder, Augustus Van Wickle, who was born on January 4, 1856. In January of 1883 … Read more.
A Very Merry Christmas
Blithewold has thrown open its doors for the Christmas season, bringing the excitement of the season to all its visitors. After you have toured the elegantly decorated Mansion, soaking up the festive atmosphere within … Read more.
Pretty Leaves to Christmas Trees
The past couple of weeks Gail and I have had our attention divided between fall garden cleanup and Christmas decorating. Despite the drought this past summer, the trees have still managed to show a good … Read more.
November is brilliant
The colors are turning here in a spectacular way. With every twist of the path I spy a new favorite plant to photograph. Gail and I can’t stop taking pictures of all the gorgeous trees … Read more.
Arthur Lamora
Arthur Lamora was Marjorie Lyon’s grounds man and chauffeur from around 1950 until she died in 1976. He lived in the north end cottage apartment of the garage complex with his wife, Evelyn. Arthur … Read more.
A little bit of everything
From T-shirts to winter coats – was it really just last week that we had temperatures into the 80s? This week has been quite the change. I had to pull out my winter work gear … Read more.
Textile Conservation in Marjorie’s Bedroom
Blithewold’s Collections Committee decided last year that it would develop a project to repair and conserve the textile collection in the Mansion, including bed coverings, furniture upholstery, and window treatments. Everything, by definition, is more … Read more.
Dreamy dahlias
Happy autumn! The light shifts and the nights get cooler, but there is still so much color here in the gardens. A lot of that color comes from dahlias and sages (Salvia spp.), which are … Read more.
Gone to Seed
While the light changes and we keep up with the last deadheading of the season, seeds begin to appear in the garden. They are everywhere, in every shape and size. Each plant has its own … Read more.
Charmed
August is exhausting, it has to be said. The extreme heat and humidity drains every desire I have to linger in the garden. It seems as though, here in little Rhode Island, everyone and their … Read more.