Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries

In the winter season, roots are busy readying for the next season of growth. And it's an ideal time to root yourself in serving others. Small deeds make a difference. This episode is inspired by the wisdom gained from the luncheon of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice volunteers. Then, it leads to a story of a kind passerby helping to save a snapping turtle that touches my heart. I hope it inspires yo...

In this episode, we compare the seasons of leaves to cycles of our lives-  a theme of my upcoming book, Lesson of the Leaf. And the wisdom, healing, and growth that come from observing the rhythms of nature and our gardens.  We chat about The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, the classic book by Leo Buscaglia that provides comfort and inspiration to children explaining the cycle of life, and while leaves...

In this episode, I share a treat of gathering an allotment of veggies at Genesis Farm in Blairstown, NJ, gifted by a client who's become a friend. And the gift of coming upon Pawpaw fruit, having planned to plant a Pawpaw Tree in memory of my lifelong friend Elsa.  We chat about the attributes of Pawpaw trees and how to start them from seed. And end with my special request for a few helpers t...

In this episode, Mary Stone discusses an assortment of spring flowering bulbs to extend the bloom, as shared by my friend and design colleague Marty Carson from Three Seasons. We also discuss speedy ways to plant them.  Then we wrap up with Phil's Squirrel Dilemma, worthy of a standup comedy act. And how to prevent squirrels from digging up your bulbs.  Also, a sidenote about Patti Doell&apos...

In this episode, we share Halloween's History and the legends of Sycamore Trees, also known as the Ghosts of the Forest. We talk about the magnificence of Sycamore, one of our largest hardwood trees, and the happy ghosts circling a massive one in Hope Township, NJ.  We wrap up with creating garden ghosts - my humorous ritual of covering potted gardens with sheets to protect them from frost. T...

Seeing evergreens drop needles often triggers concern. It's kind of like an abundance of hairs in your shower drain. But Fall Needle Drop is normal.  We wrap up this episode with an analogy of Fall Leaf and Needle Drop and the renewal of the cells in our body and skin. We are always in transition. It's part of what we can count on in this life - change. May we find comfort in the cycles...

This episode features a special garden visit with Connie Kleindienst and her daughter Susan Meagher, a new neighbor and friend. Susan mentioned her Mom's boxwoods are showing signs of disease. So, I offered to drop by primarily to meet her Mom and witness their mother-daughter connection in the garden. We chat about symptoms and remedies of the boxwood dilemmas, such as Boxwood Blight, caused...

My neighbor ate his volleyball – a Giant Puffball Mushroom, that is. I have one, too, that I've been monitoring in amazement, but eating it didn't occur to me. It turns out they are delicious.  In this episode, we chat about how to prepare Giant Puffball Mushrooms (Calvatia gigantean) and other edible fungi that are easy to ID. Then we talk about Fairy Rings –circles of fungus that grow...

In this episode, we chat about Dare to be Wild, a movie based on the youngest gold medal winner of the Chelsea Flower Show and Mary Reynolds' love of the land. If we each do our part in nurturing nature in the bit of land we are blessed to live on, we can heal our dear earth—one garden at a time. We wrap up with my family gathering - a baby shower held at a llama farm. My sister's son an...

In this episode, we chat about a presentation given by Claudia West, author of Planting in a Post-Wild World, about the importance of layering plant communities and designing garden layers. "Plant more plants" was music to my ears – you'll see why!    Link to Related Stories: Designing Garden Layers Native Plants for Native Pollinators Butterfly Garden of Growth Native Plants, espec...

While director of Rutgers Gardens in New Jersey, Bruce Crawford gave a talk, he coined Sexy Native Plants. He's now with Willowwood Arboretum bringing a reflection on his presentation about Native Plants for Native Pollinators (the G-rated version – smile).  We chat about sources to find more native plants specific to your area. Such as my go-to book by Doug Tallamy: Bringing Nature Home- How...

I invite you to walk with me to find the delights in my dry summer garden. There are garden treasures despite the drought, such as the tiny yet plentiful baby Bottlebrush Buckeyes, polka-dotted Tuliptree leaves, a Mother Earth Face pot sporting forest grass bangs, and a hat of brunette snakeroot. The Best of Show sharing their happy faces as summer ends is an afterthought of sunflower seeds stuck...

After meeting Stephen Scannilello and purchasing his book A Year of Roses, my love-hate relationship for the Beauty and Beast of roses turned to respect. As you may guess, the fairytale Beauty and the Beast has something to do with it.  We chat about how to fertilize and care for roses, the benefits of planting Knockout Roses, and a favored climbing rose, Rosa' Dr. Van Fleet.'  The episo...

Have you noticed what looks like cotton candy decorating trees? I thought they were Eastern Tent Caterpillars, also called Tent Worms, we see in spring. But the white webs are Fall Webworms –Tent Worms' close cousins. Think of them as Diehard Campers with a nifty lifecycle instead of a threat. Besides, the native insects are a food source for our beautiful birds, adorable toads, and beneficia...

In this episode, we chat about Stephanie's severe back slope overlooking a magnificent forest - a dilemma for those who wish to meander amongst the trees. That's where a steep woodland garden comes in. We talk about perfect plants for a hillside woodland garden, the delightful day of digging them in, and tips on planting on a hillside. We wrap up the episode with a story about a cherishe...

Join me and a loud chorus of cicadas during an extremely dry heat wave, leading to a story about the Origin of the Dog Days of Summer & Sweating like a Pig that may surprise you.   But before we dig into why it's called the Dog Days, the episode starts with an update about an adored beech tree that dropped an enormous limb. (You may recall we spoke about Beloved Mr. Beach in Episode 45.)...

An invitation to a pool party inspires gathering flowers from the garden to bring to the hosts. One of the lovelies, Mountain Mint, reminds me of a walk in the meadow with my birder buddy and naturalist I look forward to sharing with you.  Plus, we chat about other magnificent meadow plants and wrap up with a tale of wildlife visitors; Dennis Briede has a unique way of re-counting.  Link to Relate...

In this episode, we share stories of garden blessings with Rosemary DeTrolio while visiting her garden in Hope, NJ—a serene plot of vegetables and flowers planted by an extraordinary lady whose calling is to help others grow their spirit. We wrap up the visit with Rosemary's beautiful story of garden blessings hidden in a sugar baby watermelon. Link to Related Stories: Sharing Garden Blessing...

In this episode, you'll giggle over the story of Jolee's big dig, inspiring a chat about chipmunk remedies.  Then comes an Iroquois legend of a bear and a chipmunk leading to why chipmunks sport three stripes – a lesson to children about bullying. Imagine if there weren't any scars or stripes. Perhaps it's a lesson adults can learn too. Link to Related Stories: Chipmunk Remedie...

In this episode, we talk about the lifecycle of the invasive yet beautiful Japanese Beetles and safe remedies to control them -- some may not be for the queasy at heart, but they are sure to bring a laugh. (Hint- you may be more cautious about drinking a margarita :^) We then chat about how Japanese Beetles made their way here during the 1916 World's Fair. And a reflection of the powerful lyr...

The episode starts with a bounceback to last week’s news of a robins nest in my Doulbefile Viburnum, leading to the saga of a Red-Shouldered Hawk stalking the nest.  We chat about the call and behavior of the magnificent bird, learning that Red-Shouldered Hawks are Messengers of Vision. The story ends with outcomes of Hope.  Link to Related Stories: Visions of the Red-Shouldered Hawk   Blue Jays B...

This episode starts with the news of a robins nest in my Doulbefile Viburnum, a frequented nesting spot. Robins represent renewal leading to a story about a Magical Trail of Renewal—a trail atop Camelback Ski Mountian I call the Top of the World.  You'll walk with me and hear about nature's glorious landscape, a personal journey of recovery, and the four paws that have shared the path. ...

A walk on the road with Jolee leads to a story of a neighbor tackling Japanese Knotweed, known to be invasive, though beautiful and beneficial to pollinators. We chat about how beekeepers make good use of Knotweed. Afterward, Jolee rests in a patch of Crown Vetch. Farmers once used it as a cover crop, and municipalities and homeowners planted Crown Vetch to secure slopes. Now it's considered...

While walking Jolee, I came upon a flower of a Tuliptree attached to a cluster of leaves. The culprit —squirrels, as we spoke about in Episode 15 – Litter of Tree Tips. Relishing the flower inspires a story of two treasured Tuliptrees, a Momma Tuliptree and a volunteer Baby  —  a story of resilience.    Links to Related Columns: Treasured Tuliptrees Litter of Tree Tips   Spruce Disease Dilemmas  ...

I adore helping clients design their gardens, procure plants, and place them. Then comes coaching on watering their new plant babies. This week's episode features Kathy & Sean and their charming pup Hank who supervised the installation :^)  And how-to tips on Watering your New Plant Babies.  And, a tidbit on Zero-scaping, the trendy phonetic spelling of xeriscaping; also known as drought-...