Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

Into each life a little rain must fall

This morning a fellow dog walker said to me, “Ugh – this rain is horrible!” To which I replied, “yeah… but we need it.” She looked at me a little sideways. And to myself I … Read more.

A gardener’s spirit

The question of what it means to “preserve a garden” has come up a lot in our master plan workshops and meetings. (For those who might not know because I’ve probably never mentioned it here, … Read more.

Resisting the change

Now that it’s officially autumn, illuminated by an exquisitely timed harvest moon, blanketed in morning fog and wrapped in the katsura’s scent of burnt sugar, I am going to have to finally let go of … Read more.

Autumn Splendor

Even though it’s deliciously chilly, and even though the light has slanted dramatically southward, I’m still unwilling to call it fall. We’ve got another whole week before the autumnal equinox and the official start of … Read more.

After the storm – a lespedeza

By now you probably know that Hurricane Earl gave us a miss. The wolf at the door turned out to be a tiny puppy who made a scritching sound just like crickets in the middle … Read more.

Riding the wave

It almost looks like we could ride this heat wave straight into fall. The Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) have been dropping bright red tokens since mid-July; the scent of ripe grapes hovers on whatever little breeze … Read more.

Expected surprises

I’ve always wondered a little at the seeming redundancy of the phrase “unexpected surprise”. But I think I get it now. I came back from vacation fully anticipating certain changes and was still caught off … Read more.

Change of scene

I have looked at these gardens so much that even though they change everyday I can hardly see them anymore. It’s not that I’m tired of the garden – far from it. I still want … Read more.

The buzz

Like everything else, the garden air show seems to be happening a little earlier this year than last and I think it’s more entertaining than TV. I wish I had moving pictures to show you … Read more.

Try to keep up

Before leaving on vacation, Gail didn’t write much of a to-do list for us. As she bolted out the door on the way to the beach she said only, “Just try to keep up with … Read more.