Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

The first daff is the sweetest

A little yellow goes a long way at the beginning of the daffodil season. ‘Little Gem’ in the moongate bed is always the first of our daffs to bloom. (The ones pictured below are an … Read more.

Sweet peas and springter

I really don’t know what to make of this season. The last few days have been in the bird-song-balmy 50’s but we woke this morning to fat flakes. They have already turned to freezing rain … Read more.

Roadtrip to Logee’s

Every year around this time Gail, our friend Mary Ann, and I plan a trip to Logee’s greenhouses in Danielson, CT. It’s not far away — no more than an hour and a half from … Read more.

Getting reacquainted

Going by the calendar it seems too soon to be out in the garden tidying up but it’s awfully hard to resist when the weather is warm, the birds are singing, and all signs point … Read more.

Pretty things

It’s hard not to want pretty things on Valentine’s Day. Or any day for that matter. Especially any day in February. But the sun is climbing higher, the plants in the greenhouse are perking up, … Read more.

Improvements

A little more than a month ago in a post about potting bench perfection I mentioned that our potting bench was in a sorry state and that the windows above it were drafty heat-leakers. No … Read more.

Pruner sharpening 101 (remedial lesson)

The birds are singing, the Mt. Aso pussywillow (Salix chaenomeloides ‘Mt. Aso’) is coloring buds, crocus are emerging, and it feels for all the world like early-spring outside. Given that we really ought to still … Read more.

FEBRUARY 1904 – EGYPT

FEBRUARY 1904 – EGYPT February 1st 1904 found Marjorie and her chaperone Miss Helen Macartnay steaming south toward the old historic city of Luxor, site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes.  Arriving in the … Read more.