Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold
100 Plants per hour
It’s not even June yet but it’s already planting week (month) at Blithewold. We hit the ground digging this week, clocking about 100 plants per hour. It’s not a competition but like every May/June we … Read more.
Tulip tryouts
I’m so glad the deer were put off by all the smelly stuff we sprinkled and sprayed on the tulips because they’re giving us the prettiest show right now. The Rose Garden looks like a … Read more.
Bulb planting challenges
The great thing about tulips is that no matter what, they make us happy when they bloom. Even if they’re planted in a jellybean mix of reds, pinks, and yellows. — Maybe especially then because … Read more.
Keepers
Temperatures dipped into the 30s last night but if only it would frost we’d feel justified in having taken the gardens apart this week. The Rose Garden might have the hardest to let go of, … Read more.
Grand finale
This weekend is the gardens’ final huzzah and I can hardly believe it. The season went by so quickly and it’s quite possible that the gardens have never been prettier than they are right this … 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.
How we beat the heat
We didn’t. We just rolled with the sun’s punches, sweated buckets, and are still recovering. But even though we lost the fight in some respects — we lost a week with the volunteers, lost appetites … 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.
Critiquing the North Garden
There are always things we want to change about every garden. Plants we want to move. Plants we want to remove. New plants we want to plant. We don’t just want the gardens to change … Read more.
Big changes
Do you remember the scene in Grosse Pointe Blank where Joan Cusack’s character describes going to her 10 year high school reunion? She said, “It was just as if everyone had swelled.” I couldn’t help … Read more.