Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold
Spring forward
Even though the forsythia hasn’t bloomed yet, we declared it time to prune the roses. We can tell that the roses are ready because their buds have swelled and the Ballerinas in the North Garden … Read more.
March ado
I’m not even going to bother go in search for spring outside today because it looks and feels too much like winter again. Blustery. Bitter cold. Snowy, even (though nothing compared to other parts of … Read more.
Understanding amaryllis
I have had a mental block about proper amaryllis care. I have read all of the advice I could find and remained deeply confused. For years. And I think I just figured out why. No … Read more.
Mulch ado
After something like 9 inches of rain fell on the gardens in the last week or so we haven’t had to worry too much (too mulch?) about soil moisture. But we’re nearly done planting (wahoo!) … Read more.
Free bees
This past winter was a rough one for honey bees. Word is, across the country about a third of the population didn’t make it though. Blithewold’s beekeeper, Brendan Kennedy lost most of his hives including … Read more.
Marjorie’s dove tree turns 40
It’s a lucky visitor whose gaze turns east along the path between the mansion and the Enclosed Garden, instead of west across the blooming North Garden and Great Lawn to Narragansett Bay. The western view … 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.
Merry Christmas cactus
I can’t imagine any other plant that embodies the abundance and exuberant excess of the holidays quite like a Schlumbergera. Blithewold’s recently gifted Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus in particular maybe — though I did hear that it … Read more.
Handmade Christmas
Why buy something when you can make it? Especially when you can make it so much more interesting and unique? Our wreath classes sell out every year to people who want to hang something on … Read more.
Deadheads in the garden
Our Tuesday volunteer group has been known for years — for ever? — as the “Deadheads” because they work in the Display Garden and traditionally, the biggest summer chore in these gardens has been to … Read more.