Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold

Exceptional Private Gardens Open for One Day

If ever there was a pandemic trend I could get behind, it is the fact that more and more people are gardening. Being in the garden has allowed so many of us to get back … Read more.

June is for Roses

If you have been waiting for the right moment to see the roses in bloom, now is the time! The next few weeks will be full of beautiful roses blooming their perfumed heads off in … Read more.

Coming Up Roses

June is the perfect month. The temperatures this year have been steady in the 70s with sunshine and a light breeze. We have had several inches of rain this week, but the gardens only look … Read more.

June Blooms

June has arrived and brought with it the full swing of garden life. The first thing I notice in June is the elevated pollen levels, but this is due to the sheer abundance of plants … Read more.

Along the Garden Path

Peak Rose Garden Week! Herb Garden! Tadpoles! An individual rose is beautiful in itself but an abundance of roses is glorious! A rose garden in full bloom can transport one’s spirit to a secret garden enhanced … Read more.

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.

Garden fireworks

Happy Fourth of July weekend!  It’s that time of the summer when we finally begin to take a step back from our full-speed-ahead mode of May and June.  Just when Gail, Sean (our intern this … Read more.

Finishing touches (and new beginnings)

No garden is ever “done” — perish the thought! — but during planting week/month/season we all race to beat the heat. In the last couple of weeks here at Blithewold we closed in on that … Read more.

Spring forward

Even though the forsythia hasn’t bloomed yet, we declared it time to prune the roses. We can tell that the roses are ready because their buds have swelled and the Ballerinas in the North Garden … Read more.

An argument for roses

I have heard that there are gardeners in the world who don’t love roses and I think I can almost understand why. For starters, they’re pretty common and might not appeal to gardeners who prefer … Read more.