Hello Fellow Readers, How about all the carpenters buzzing about – eastern carpenter bees, that is. Xylocopa virginica, the most common species, is wreaking havoc on my neighbor’s deck, not because of their yen to eat wood. Rather, they’re nesting. Please don’t hold their carpen

Hello Fellow Readers,  As the folklore goes, if the groundhog sees his shadow, they’ll be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, it will be an early spring.  I’ve always wondered about the accuracy of Groundhog Day predictions. And how do they know what the groundhog sees anyway? Lo

Hello fellow readers, I recently learned that Boxwood Blight might be coming to town from Patrick LePore, an associate from Bartlett Tree Experts, who alerted me that it’s arrived in Central New Jersey. He was on his way to our client’s Bob and Kathy of Piscataway to asses

Hello, fellow readers, Anthracnose (Ann-thrack-nose, my phonetics) is the most discussed and severe among the doggone dogwood dilemmas. Though powdery mildew, leaf and flower blight spots and crown cankers also rank high. Never mind the dogwood borer, which can run amuck. Discula dest

Hello fellow readers, Thanks to those who braved the heat magnification of the glass conservatory during our pow-wow of garden dilemmas at the NJ State Fair. As always, critters were a hot topic. Lorraine of Sparta NJ, a Flower Show volunteer, master gardener, and friend who invited m

Hello fellow readers, Last year, a fox den provided a reprieve from my chipmunk dilemma. They’re back! – Leaving piles of dirt around the garden pots. But their antics pale compared to Phil’s squirrel dilemma in Whitehall, PA, worthy of a standup comedy routine. Phil

Hello fellow readers, What’s with all the poison ivy? I asked myself as I employed the “Mary-technique” of removing poison ivy using a plastic grocery bag, a technique most dog owners find familiar, except perhaps for the protective gear. With long sleeves, long pant

Hello fellow readers, Just recently, there’s been two sightings of the dreaded Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) in New Jersey, a topic of great concern at the NJ Plants Trade Show held in Edison, NJ on January 31st, 2018. “It’s a very bad bug,” stressed Paul Kurtz, Entomologist of the NJ Stat

Hello fellow readers, The sound of the late summer cicadas brings back the memory of the nagging indication it’s time to return to school. The trepidation was more about the nervousness of being in a new class. Once the newness wore off, it wasn’t that bad. There’s m

Hello fellow readers, As I write I am preparing for a Writer’s Conference in New York City where I will be rubbing shoulders with writers, agents and publishers. I’m dreaming big about bringing our column to others in the form of a book; God willing. Thank you for your five years of s