The gardens were a little soggy yesterday.  I could hear the ground actually percolating in places where it wasn’t ankle deep in mud.  There’s nothing like a weekend of non-stop rain (the rain gauge overflowed at 5″…) to make little fungi-brellas pop up everywhere and some plants looked like someone extra large had sat upon them. It’s a good thing Kyle didn’t come any closer!

Dan pointed out these tiny parasols (right) on a Norway maple (Acer platanoides) – a tree I walk by daily without giving it so much as a hug.  Some of the roses and zinnias looked like used tissue and a couple of the asters flopped face down in the soup but overall the grounds and gardens fared pretty well, considering.  And Gus-Gus made a rare appearance after the rain – I must say he’s looking quite fat and happy.  I think our fish population might be dwindling…

I did as much tidying of the Rose and North gardens as I could by teetering in from the very edge. As you know, it is never a good idea to tromp around in freshly rain soaked beds:  Not only does it cause soil compaction but you’re bound to get drenched and cranky too.

I never even came close to cranky yesterday because right as I was finishing up for the morning, I was joined in the North Garden by none other than Rhode Island’s Best Layanee from Ledge and Gardens and the famous fabulous Gail from Clay and Limestone who blogs all the way from Tennessee.  Inspired by the Garden Blogger’s Spring Fling in Texas, we had an impromptu mini-fling — a fall fling-let, if you will, at Blithewold.  Wish you were here too!  We meandered to the Display Garden, stopped for an “irreverent” discussion at the Cutting Garden asclepias and several missed photo ops of the hummingbirds that are still twittering in the bamboo and swooping on the garden.  Everything under the sun and Salvia uliginosa was enthused over and even the possibility of a full fling in the future was mentioned – although Layanee and I couldn’t agree on an ideal time.  Blithewold may be super pretty in the fall but Layanee seems to think her own garden is past its peak.  I’ve seen pictures and beg to differ!  (But I do have to admit that I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to see my own garden right now – I’m more inclined to create a traffic diversion and some sort of commotion just to distract my neighbors.)

Gail and Layanee finally stood still just long enough (as we grazed on ground cherries) for a quick portrait before moving on to the watery Water and Rock Gardens.   I was very sorry to see them go.  As everybody knows, it’s the best kind of inspiration to talk with others who share your passion.  No wonder people join garden clubs, host flings and pot lucks and write blogs!

Today the Deadheads worked on propping up and tidying the Display Garden even though in a short couple of weeks we’ll start to tear it apart.  The mansion closes right after Columbus Day and we’ll be swinging into high holiday gear all too soon.  Gail (from Clay and Limestone) asked what these gardens look like in the winter:  Stay tuned!

It’s summertime (the living is easy) and it’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – those are reasons enough for me to want to eat, drink and be generally merry. But not only that, Blithewold is 100 years young this year and hundreds of people will be celebrating in high style at the “Celebration of a Century” Gala this Saturday. I wish I could work the red carpet like Joan Rivers and broadcast the best and worst dressed. Instead, I’ll present my picks for best and worst dressed in the garden:

Praying Mantis is elegantly understated – green is definitely the new black.

Frog (son of Gus-Gus) is wearing this season’s green as well as a fashion forward statement in eyewear – he’s certainly an eye catching Prince Charming! Come here, sweetie and let me kiss you…

This Orb-web spider has gone a little overboard I think – super scary and yet I can’t take my eyes off her (kind of like a Cher train wreck). What was she thinking?!

The gardens are all dressed in their mid August party finery too. Here are some belles of the Bloggers Bloom Day Gala (hosted as always by generous Carol of May Dreams Gardens):

Anybody else in a party mood? Who’s dressed up in your garden?

Although there’s no threat of frost in this week’s hot and muggy forecast, this is our traditional time to start bringing Container Bed plants back into the greenhouse. Because we have so many tender plants it’s better for us to have to do a little extra watering once they’re inside than be caught in a frost warning gotta-get-them-in-right-now!-panic. As anyone who’s ever moved knows, it’s good (cathartic even?) to throw unwanted, useless things away first to make the load feel a little lighter. So we’re culling the herd. It’s tougher to throw out living breathing plants than pants you haven’t worn since 1983 though. There’s always the temptation to save them – maybe this year it’ll be beautiful!… Maybe this year it won’t be infested with mealybug!… Maybe this year pinstriped pegged jeans will be back in style…

Our first casualties were the Agapanthus. They were gorgeous once upon a time and we’ve been holding on to them as they’ve gotten more and more pot bound and more and more infested. It’s time to let go. So we asked Nick to do it. Nick The Willing (I think that’s his Viking name), one of the Deadheads, says “Sure! I can do that!” every time we ask him to do some hideous thing. In order to not throw the baby out with the bath water (ie. save the pots), he carved away the poor old roots and took a saw to the pot sides. Now what will we get to fill the empty pots?

Fred spotted somebody else making a move this week. Never-ever, not ever have I ever seen a slug this big outside of a Pacific Northwest rainforest! I’m not sure where he’s been this dry summer or where he was headed but Gail couldn’t help herself and took him home so that her 8 year old could impress the heck out of his classmates. I wonder if they’ve named him yet … He looked like a Jerome to me…

And froggy went a courtin’. The Rockettes found this one in the Rock Garden. The pond has dried up again but looks like a Nepeta nest makes a next best second home.

Anyone else making a move?

Rather than entertain the pants off/bore you to tears with stories about how I spent my summer vacation, I think it would be better to show you how Blithewold spent my summer vacation! It feels like I’ve been gone an age. The greenhouse computer couldn’t quite remember how to turn on at first, the space bar on the keyboard has settled under the weight of neglect and the garden looks like it didn’t miss me a bit. Two weeks ago it was still toddling along and now it’s grown as tall as me, started dating and learned to drive. The first thing I noticed was our Stapelia which, all of a sudden in the middle of the ocean had a bud the size of my fist. (click on pictures for larger images)

The Helenium ‘Butterpat’ and Rudbeckia triloba are vying for biggest yellow with Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’. I think it’s a draw.

The Sanguisorba are also suddenly over my head.

Not only all that but the dog days seem to be over. This weekend the heat broke and I put a sweater on for the first time since … May? Signs of fall are all over the place – nurseries are selling Chrysanthemums, I have an urge to purchase new shoes and a pencil box and some trees look like they are starting to think about getting ready to turn. I spotted a red flare on the Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) down by the Rock Garden. Thank goodness other trees are still blooming (I’m not ready yet for summer to be totally over). The Moongate Sophora reminds me of fireworks.

Bits of rain here and there (some during the Display Garden Soiree — I heard that that night there was a little thunder and lightning – percussion and a lightshow for the Thomas Family Celtic Bluegrass Celebration!) did not fill the frog pond. There are all sorts of critter tracks through the mud – deer, racoon, human child – I hope the frogs are well buried and waiting out the dry spell with a good book.

I’m sure there’s much much more to report – Gail will fill me in tomorrow on what else I missed. And I’ll show her this:

It’s good to be back!

I was crouching on the pond bank at 8:00 this morning trying to get a frog shot (cute little guy, isn’t he? A pre-teen, I would guess, in that awkward phase between polliwog and voting age) when I became aware of a hum over my head. The Button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) was already full of bees!

Bees have been in the news a lot lately because of Colony Collapse Disorder and everyone has a different theory for the cause. Beekeepers in a couple dozen states and a few other countries have reported huge losses in their bee populations. Bees are susceptible to various mites and occasionally go through periods of die-off but the weird thing about the current problem is that bees have been disappearing. (Normally during a die-off, bees are found dead around the hive). Some say it’s caused by cell phones, some say pesticides, some say mites and so far no one has definitively hit the nail on the head.

I don’t know much about bees aside from what I’ve read in Robbing the Bees by Holley Bishop and what I’ve found online (click here for a to-the-point article). But I have been paying attention to one very active wild hive near the greenhouse and to me (and I freely admit to knowing absolutely nothing) – the bees look healthy! The only thing I’ve wondered about is why we haven’t seen them swarm. Normally when the hive gets too big for its britches, a new queen is crowned and the hive splits and they relocate to another castle. So far these bees are staying put.

One of the good things that has come out with the doom ‘n’ gloom news is that people are learning to be solicitious of bees and a lot of our visitors, rather than looking frightened when they hear a plant humming and see all the bee activity, look really reverent instead. There’s also been more press about planting for the bees and creating healthy habitats for them which involves a non-manicured approach to gardening. The recommendations are to plant a riot of flowers, avoid using heavy mulch, just say No to pesticides (avoid non-organic chemistry altogether), and let your garden “go” a bit. I’ve noticed too in terms of habitat, they also appreciate having a place to drink. We leave a little water in pot saucers for them but they also dip into the pond on a dry day. If you build a bee garden, they will come! And with a wild bee friendly garden, you’re likely to get other wildlife too – like hummingbirds and dragonflies… (and wasps… Sometimes, you’ve got to take the good with bad. And carry a sting kit.) Check out this video about planting a bee garden (it’s in Berkeley, CA – but full of good advice and info no matter where you garden).