Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

Container Mixology

What’s in your potting mix?  That’s the question of the day here at Blithewold as we re-examine the important components of a good potting soil.  Technically speaking, most bagged soils you can find at your … Read more.

Color vision

  Every once in a while, the plans we make for a garden turn out just as we hoped.  That perfection doesn’t happen quite as often as I would like, but the unpredictable factor in … Read more.

The News

I love new plants.  It always feels a little bit like Christmas morning when I see a new plant come into flower for the first time–except I have to be patient as it unwraps itself. … Read more.

Cosmos on my mind

    It’s been a hot and humid July week.  Any delusions I had of enjoying a cool, temperate summer have evaporated into the extreme humidity.  However, on the bright side, flowers are bursting out … Read more.

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.

Springing into action

Despite the wretched weather this week, we ushered in May with a flurry of activity.  The volunteers helped us pot up 100 dahlias in preparation for planting out in the gardens next month.  They also … Read more.

Transition into summer

The to-plant list is getting shorter and we are beginning to transition into a summer-full of deadheading/staking/weeding/enjoying. Right on schedule too: we always aim to be *done by July 4th. (*No garden is ever done.) This week … 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.

Not goodbye

I’d prefer to think that the season is in transition rather than ending but when we start throwing some of summer’s best blooms into the bed of Blithewold’s truck, it definitely feels more like a … Read more.

What to do with asparagus foliage

I haven’t spent a lot of time in the vegetable garden this summer — Dan has been right on top of the planting, the weeds, and the harvests — but this week I found myself … Read more.