Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

October Opportunities

It is a magical time in the gardens now, with the weather turning cooler and flowering annuals – cup-and-saucer vine (Cobaea scandens), black-eyed susan vine (Thunbergia alata ‘Yellow’) and white cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) – … Read more.

Hold Onto Your Leaves

October’s glorious foliage gives way to November’s leaf drop. All the beautiful leaves are now dancing around our feet as we walk the paths. Crunching leaves is such a satisfying sensation. However, if you are … Read more.

fall spectacular

There’s been a flurry of bulb-planting activity here the past few weeks. Fall is like a mirror image of spring for a gardener. Everything you worked so hard to create is taken apart and put … Read more.

The Wait

When October turns the corner towards Halloween, I feel The Wait begin. Frost is on the horizon. Some parts of Rhode Island have had frost in the last week. Blithewold is in one of the … Read more.

An end, a beginning

What a strange and fitting ending to the season this week has been. We return from a holiday to heat and humidity, which then turns sharply into a storm (the outskirts of Hurricane Michael) and … Read more.

A feast of flowers and foliage

After what feels like the most extended summer season I’ve seen in years, autumn is here in full rainy force.  To cheer us all up during this time I thought I’d take a moment to … Read more.

October Bliss

September may be my favorite month in the garden, but October is currently giving it a run for its money.  This first glorious week of October we have been lucky to have nearly perfect weather: … Read more.

Pretty Leaves to Christmas Trees

The past couple of weeks Gail and I have had our attention divided between fall garden cleanup and Christmas decorating.  Despite the drought this past summer, the trees have still managed to show a good … Read more.

November is brilliant

The colors are turning here in a spectacular way.  With every twist of the path I spy a new favorite plant to photograph.  Gail and I can’t stop taking pictures of all the gorgeous trees … 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.