Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

Mid-February post(s)

I didn’t think that I’d do a bloom day post this month. I’m a day late and there’s another slushy winter storm-let blowing around outside. But then I walked into the greenhouse, which smells so … Read more.

Spring around the corner

As you all know, this past Tuesday was the Feast of the Presentation of the Prophet Phil. I celebrated and paid homage as usual but I think I might be losing faith in The Groundhog. … Read more.

What zone are you?

There is no way I’m going back outside today. Nope. I’m staying in no matter how many colors there are. They can name themselves today. It’s cold! Maybe our little thaw has made me soft. … Read more.

Few and far between

Mid-December blooms shouldn’t be easy to come by. I’m actually pleased to report that the kniphofias have finally fallen and as you can see the astrantia, sturdy old thing, is looking a little on the … Read more.

I surrender

I have had a particularly hard time letting go of summer this year and submitting to the possibility of winter. Perhaps my difficulty is rooted in the fact that summer itself seems reluctant to put … Read more.

Annual (weather) events

As a New Englander I can be pretty certain that the garden will be hit by a frost … sometime … and over the course of the fall, we coastal New Englanders can reasonably expect … Read more.

Better late

I think I probably speak for most gardeners in four-season climates when I say we don’t really mind if our first, second and even third favorite season lingers a bit longer than usual. It gives … Read more.

I brake for Franklinia alatamaha

Sometimes it’s all about timing. John and William Bartram were in exactly the right place, the coastal shores of the Altamaha River in Georgia, at exactly the right time, 1770, just a few years before … Read more.

A little action on climate change (and bloom day)

It’s a big day in the blogosphere. Not only is the fifteenth of every month Garden Bloggers Bloom Day but the fifteenth of October also happens to be Blog Action Day. Thousands of bloggers around … Read more.

Blown away

It’s certainly not over (there’s truly no such thing as over in the garden – slowed down maybe; hushed a little; moved inside, perhaps) but the blustery winds of change have made the seasonal shift … Read more.