Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold
The pumphouse
Before doing anything that takes significant creative energy it usually feels very important all of a sudden to make sure that the closets are clean and the dishes have been done. That’s my preferred procrastination … Read more.
Collecting leaves
I remember walking to school in the fall with a beach-comber’s lurch looking for the most beautiful leaf. When I found it, I memorized it and then kept looking for a more perfect one. I … Read more.
Compost happens
There is definitely something to be said for the fruits of the fall garden clean-up labor: As the bumper sticker puts it, “Compost Happens”. We have been chipping away at the gardens adding more and … Read more.
Dahlia experiments
Whoever says that gardening is a completely stress-free (a)vocation must never plant anything let alone those plants that come with their own set of instructions. Like dahlias. For starters, dahlias are generally sold as tubers … Read more.
Moving the garden inside
I’m having a really hard time doing my job today. Gail has set an all-moved-into-the-greenhouse deadline of October 15 and that means I need to get busy now digging up the tender plants and loading … Read more.
Totally equinoxious
I have been reluctant to call it fall yet probably because we were a little (a lot) gypped by summer. But regardless of how I feel about it, the asters and Jerusalem artichokes have started … Read more.
Shop therapy
There’s nothing in the world that beats a car trunk full of new plants. Gail and I went off today to try and find a couple of things to fill a couple of holes in … Read more.
Batten down the hatches
Yesterday’s sky was dusted with those high flying cirrus mare’s tails and mackerel’s scales that precede a storm and the news is full of a tropical storm named for one of our groundsmen. As I … Read more.
Fight or blight
Pretty safe to say that it’s not going to be a great tomato year. If we’re very very lucky maybe we’ll get some honker waterlogged fruit with split skins but conditions are apparently favorable for … Read more.
The beetle battle
Rated NC 39 for graphic bug sex, violence and strong language In a garden as beautiful as this (the North Garden this very morning) you might not be aware at first glance of the horrors … Read more.