Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,amaryllis, Black Friday

The Gift of Sharing Growth

Hello Fellow Readers, Rather than chasing sales or resolutions, why not share gifts towards next year’s growth.  As I write, it’s the day after Thanksgiving, coined Black Friday; hyped in the media earlier each year with “Shop Black Friday Deals Early” plastered everywhere start
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,How seeds disperse, seed dispersal, Seeds, eating dandelions

We’re All Just Seeds

Hello Fellow Readers, There’s a country song by Pat Alger and Ralph Murphy, sung by Kathy Mattea that I adore. The chorus of Seeds speaks volumes starting with “We’re all just seeds in God’s hands. We start the same, but where we land is sometimes fertile soil
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Ruth Ratcliff, Bumble Bee, Bee Balm, Monarda

Bee Kind

Hello Fellow Readers, There’s quite a buzz about widely-used insecticides impacting our pollinators. One out of every three bites of food depend on a pollinator; hence they are critical to our food supply. Digging through research, there are varying opinions on the effect of insectici
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Planting around Septics

Growing Around Septic Systems

Hello Fellow Readers, Last week we shared Pam and Ed’s steep garden dilemma leading to the flat back forty where their septic field is. Ed thought it best not to plant anything over the field as the root systems could interfere. It’s true it’s not good to plant trees, large shrubs or
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker

Dogs and Deer

Hello Fellow Readers, I’m delighted to help Pam and Ed of Sparta NJ create a useful backyard for their rescue canine kids to run. It surely was a dilemma as the grade change from their side gate to the flatter back forty compares to a ski slope. Walking the area was difficult for two-
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Jean Jackson PA, Love Plant, Oxalis triangularis

Mom Jackson’s Garden

Hello Fellow Readers, Fall is for gathering in the coziness of the season. I recently had the joy of visiting my piano teacher from way back. She’s now a grand 89 years wise. I’m not sure how long ago she became “Mom J” (J for Jackson), but I have fond memories
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scary halloween goblins and ghosts hiding behind rocks in a front yard

Halloween in the Garden

Hello Fellow Readers, I enjoy Halloween enthusiasts who decorate their homes as if it were Christmas with purple and orange lights, cobwebs and spiders. Even smoke machines reminiscent of the disco days. I came upon a house during a walk with Miss Ellie who barked a warning which she
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, About Mary

Mary Stone’s Brief Bio

Hello, fellow readers, The Shrewsbury NJ Garden Club invited me to speak during their 60th-anniversary celebration and asked that I send a biography. It’s an honor to give a talk; a bit nerve-wracking, too, speaking in front of a group of folks. A membership with Toastmasters in
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker, Dry Fall Weather, Woolly bear caterpillar

Dry Fall Intervention

Hello fellow readers, How dry we’ve been!  All summer long we’ve been dry with above normal temperatures and as we move into fall its starting off same-same. The Eastern Pennsylvania Weather Authority (EPAWA), who also covers Northern New Jersey, predicts fall to be warmer and dryer t
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, The Secret Garden, Lessons from The Secret Garden

Lessons from The Secret Garden

Hello fellow readers, Once again, I write from Virginia and admit I’m weary. Witnessing a loved one suffer is heartbreaking; Mom’s most enormous suffering is from fear. When I arrived Saturday, her deep cough and spiked fever seemed inevitable. To soothe her, I began readi
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