Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

Everything is Beautiful

Roses.  Roses.  Roses.  Everything is so rosy here at Blithewold!  This is my fifth season working with Gail in the gardens, and I find myself blown away by the roses once again.  Last week I … Read more.

Showers and flowers

April showers (and May showers and June showers) bring lots of flowers!  Yes, I know it’s been a chilly spring full of rainy days and nights, but all the rain is a blessing to our … Read more.

From planning to planting

I am so ready to see the sun!  After the drought last summer, I didn’t think I’d ever grow tired of rain again, but here I am.  It’s not so much that I don’t want … Read more.

Daffodil Dreamland

  The daffodils have returned and they are spectacular!  It seems that every day this week I have seen a new variety emerge.  Last year, Gail did her best to take a picture of every … Read more.

Spring’s Warm Embrace

After several grey days filled with rain – or the threat of it – we have emerged on the other side to find the air smelling clean, the trees budded, and the promise of many … Read more.

Some flowers for you

In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are some flowers blooming in the Blithewold greenhouses.  No long-stem red roses for us.  We take great joy in our unusual winter-blooming plants.  I hope they bring a smile … Read more.

A little bit of everything

From T-shirts to winter coats – was it really just last week that we had temperatures into the 80s?  This week has been quite the change.  I had to pull out my winter work gear … Read more.

Dreamy dahlias

Happy autumn!  The light shifts and the nights get cooler, but there is still so much color here in the gardens.  A lot of that color comes from dahlias and sages (Salvia spp.), which are … Read more.

Charmed

August is exhausting, it has to be said.  The extreme heat and humidity drains every desire I have to linger in the garden.  It seems as though, here in little Rhode Island, everyone and their … Read more.

Color vision

  Every once in a while, the plans we make for a garden turn out just as we hoped.  That perfection doesn’t happen quite as often as I would like, but the unpredictable factor in … Read more.