Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold
Into each life a little rain must fall
This morning a fellow dog walker said to me, “Ugh – this rain is horrible!” To which I replied, “yeah… but we need it.” She looked at me a little sideways. And to myself I … Read more.
Riding the wave
It almost looks like we could ride this heat wave straight into fall. The Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) have been dropping bright red tokens since mid-July; the scent of ripe grapes hovers on whatever little breeze … Read more.
Planting week
According to the calendar, we’re a week ahead of last year and even slightly ahead of May’s full moon, but we couldn’t wait another minute to start planting. And according to the temperature – hot! … Read more.
Two weeks ahead
It’s official and I have the pictures to prove it. For the first time since I started this blog, I won’t be repeating myself on bloom day. The usual cast of mid-May characters are blooming … Read more.
Seeds and cuttings for another decade
I promised a post on the decade’s best plants and after making an enormous list with Gail’s help, realized that it was too hard to narrow down our favorites to a mere ten. So, because … Read more.
Moving the garden inside
I’m having a really hard time doing my job today. Gail has set an all-moved-into-the-greenhouse deadline of October 15 and that means I need to get busy now digging up the tender plants and loading … Read more.
Reading the future
Positive visualization is a skill we gardeners get a lot of practice in. I think for any of us, whether we’re planting one or two things or designing beds, visualization goes way beyond garden-variety optimism … 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.
Winter skin
We’ve been hit. And just like back in June with the sucker punch heatwave, there hasn’t been a chance to acclimate. All of a sudden in a bitter wind, the plants have turned inside out … Read more.
Winter storage
What have you done with all of the tender perennials you bought this summer? Are they in the compost heap? Have you left them where they were planted in hopes of a mild winter come-back? … Read more.