Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

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.

Past Due! by Dan Christina

It is very hard to believe that a month has passed since my last post, Getting it done.  Even more incredulous are the vast changes the garden has seen since that time. For instance, the … Read more.

Getting it done.

June is a tricky time for us at Blithewold.  Just when the crowds have started to wane from Spring’s glorious show, summer arrives and a whole new set of eyes are on the property.  Not … Read more.

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ by Dan Christina

Mulching is the practice of covering bare soil with some sort of substance in order to conserve moisture, reduce or eliminate weed growth, and provide an aesthetically pleasing look to an area.  That’s my definition … Read more.

Spring sprint

Over the last week – and the most glorious weekend – spring kicked it up a notch. Blithewold’s daffodils and trout lily are in full bloom carpeting the Bosquet in shades of sunshine. Mayapple umbrellas … Read more.

Where are all the butterflies?

The airspace over and through the gardens should be all aflutter right now. The garden is alive to be sure — it buzzes and hums; it zings and whooshes and pips (we still have hummingbirds), … Read more.

The best news

As much as I love getting away for a summer vacation, coming back to work is not so bad when it looks like this. While I was gone the gardens grew even more beautiful. So … Read more.

A wonderful week

It’s quite possible that the daffodils have never been as beautiful as they’ve been this week. The early daffs are lingering while the late ones open (there are still more to come) and the entire … Read more.

Do-It-Yourself pollination

Yesterday working in the Rose Garden one of our diligent volunteer weeders gave us a rare opportunity to check out some flowers that were never meant to be noticed. As the gardens continue to explode … Read more.