Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold
In transition
Change is in the air. Gail is always the first to point out how the light has shifted — it is well into its golden slide to the south now. So pretty. And although this … Read more.
Mid-summer shift
The gardens are going through a bittersweet transition from June’s hurrah to a mid-summer huzzah, and although we sometimes experience a “July gap,” the shift seems pretty seamless this year. Delicate oxeye daisies gave way … Read more.
A sow-called spring
I haven’t spotted any crocus, snowdrops or early daffs blooming yet, and I know the calendar says spring is still a whole month away, but in the greenhouse the growing season officially kicked off yesterday. … Read more.
Top 13 for 2013 (part two)
Starting right up where I left off last week (and in hopes that pictures of sunny summer flowers might ease the bone-chill of a polar vortex), here are the next seven in my baker’s dozen … Read more.
Top 13 for 2013 (part one)
Thirteen has always been one of my favorite numbers (a baker’s dozen might be why) so it’s a treat for me, and I hope for you, to bracket the New Year with an extra long … Read more.
Making arrangements
I don’t think I have been nearly noisy enough about the cutting garden this year. It is so knock-your-socks-off bloomerific. I’m also not sure I’ve mentioned just how fun it is to pick flowers from … Read more.
Slow gardening
This week has to have been the prettiest week of the summer so far. The sky is clear as a bell, a slightly lower humidity level has made it easier for internal thermostats to function … Read more.
Picking from the cutting garden
One of the best perks of a garden is having a ready and steady supply of stems to pick to bring inside for flower arrangements. We’re lucky to have a whole garden — The William … Read more.
Multitasking to-dos
If it wasn’t for Gail’s lists and ability to prioritize, I’d probably have lost my tiny mind by now. There is so much to do that seems to need doing right-this-minute that without the lists, … Read more.
Friends don’t let friends plant impatiens
I have bad news and good news. The bad news is there’s a fungus among us. Impatiens downy mildew (Plasmopara obducens), the mysterious ailment that denuded and killed almost every busy Lizzie (Impatiens walleriana) back … Read more.