Hello fellow readers, I have the privilege to work with Stephanie of Denville, NJ, who moved from the west coast. She bought a cute cottage in a lake community overlooking a magnificent forest. The steepness of the slope is a dilemma for those like Stephanie who wish to ponder amongst

Hello fellow readers, One of my favorite vines is the Sweet Autumn Clematis in her glory this time of year. With a plethora of tiny white blooms from August through September, she looks like a snowdrift and smells heavenly. Once the flowers fade, a silvery blanket of seed heads follow

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

Hello fellow readers, A visit to Point State Park, an urban garden in downtown Pittsburgh, highlights a recent trip. The mist from a glorious 150-foot fountain that sits at the point where the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers combine provided soothing relief from the oppressive

Hello fellow readers, A walk in the meadow with my friend and go-to mystery solver of all things in nature is always a treat. While Dennis Briede’s day responsibility is Stewardship Manager for The Land Conservancy of New Jersey (http://tlc-nj.org/), his true passion is living among n

Hello fellow readers, Seeing the Forest through the Blue Trees by Konstantin Dimopoulos set the pace for the lecture series at the recent Woody Plant Conference held at The Scott Arboretum in Swarthmore, PA. Kon, born in Egypt to Greek parents, began his creation of brilliant blue tre

Hello Fellow Readers, When I began as a designer, I thought barberry overtaking forest floors was native, which is not the case. The maroon leaf Japanese Barberry, Berberis thunbergii, has been overused in deer-populated areas for years, though it’s understandable why their popularity

Hello Fellow Readers, Perennials are a perfect solution for container gardens that return their favor year to year, providing a happy ending to naked pots. What fun I had perusing a favorite wholesale nursery to fill my naked late-season pots. Rarely am I able to shop for my gardens d

Hello Fellow Readers, The pots between the garage doors remain largely vacant since our yellow jacket dilemma. Due to the proximity of the nest and the risk of anaphylactic shock of loved ones, a non-organic approach was sadly called for. If the yellowjacket nest was not in a tenuous

Hello Fellow Readers, We had a near-stinging episode from a garden pot begging for its annual dressing, a task not yet done due to a humbling hand procedure gratefully on the mends. A client grew tired of deer spraying and passed along Hosta, which I nested in the pots as a temporary