Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

Is that your final answer?

Gail and I have been focused for the last couple of weeks on the seed orders and for the past couple of days we’ve been editing choices, paring down ideas, trimming the fat and trying … Read more.

Cast iron plant

I keep getting distracted from my intention to talk about some of our favorite houseplants so without further ado, I give you Aspidistra eliator – the Cast Iron Plant.  The common name pretty much says … Read more.

New perspective

The entire horticultural staff went to the first of our winter conferences this week.  I can really only speak for myself, but I think we get a lot out of these outings.  Not only did … Read more.

Blank(et)

If you’ve been by in the last couple of days you may have noticed that the usually colorful blog has become a somewhat starker landscape (where did all the pictures go?!) that is not unlike … Read more.

January bloom search

Depending on where you live, it can take a treasure hunt to find something blooming during the middle of winter.  Some people go south to find color – the Caribbean, for instance, would be a … Read more.

Arctic express

We’re bracing for a chilly visitor coming this week from the Great Lakes and although we’re not exactly rolling out the red carpet for her, we’re stocking the cupboards and making sure there’s plenty of … Read more.

The glaze

I’m beginning to think that the task Gail and I are working on now might be the most physically exhausting of all the jobs we do.  Forget dividing daylilies, planting, lugging bags of soil or … Read more.

Headfirst into the new year

It’s time to dive into catalogs!  I’ve been staring at the growing stack of them on the potting shed table for nearly 2 weeks now, waiting for Gail to return from vacation, and resisting the … Read more.