Yellow leaves aren’t always a crisis—they’re a conversation. In this week’s Garden Dilemmas, a fiddle-leaf fig’s distress leads to reflections on watering, patience, and tending both houseplants and tender hearts through life’s transitions.

When the New Jersey Tree Survey arrived in my mailbox, it stirred more than curiosity — it invited reflection. From fundraising letters to fallen hemlocks and thriving beeches, this story explores how trees quietly teach resilience, renewal, and hope.

As snow melts from the roof and rain fills a waiting bowl, nature offers its original gift to our houseplants. In this post, I explore why rainwater and snowmelt nourish soil more gently than tap water — and what water teaches us about patience, renewal, and trusting life’s rhythm.

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. As we begin a new year, we tend to reflect on what no longer serves us and set intentions that grow in their own time. I’m writing this on a cold winter morning, shortly after a quick cross-country ski around the property. A light dusting of s

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Happy New Year! A new year feels like an ideal time to pause and reflect on the path we’ve walked together, noticing what has grown—not just in our gardens, but within us. Curiosity Over Fear: A Copperhead’s Lesson One story that stood o

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Recent rains washed away the late-fall trifecta of snow that had so festively decorated our world. It felt curious to have snow arrive ahead of schedule, but everything has its season. And sometimes, seasons come early. Now winter has official

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Decorating with What Remains I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was on a scavenger hunt to decorate window boxes and pots. Well, the holly branches chewed off Ellie’s memorial holly dried out amazingly fast, likely due to the buck’

Hello fellow of all things green, Last week, I shared about the buck rub on Ellie’s memorial holly (link below) and how branches ended up strewn along the base of the tree. While rubbing, deer often chew on lower branches, then paw at the soil and urinate to mark their territory. I sa

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, You may remember the story of the replacement tree planted in memory of Miss Ellie Mae, my rescue before Jolee. The first tree, a ‘Baby Blue Eyes’ Blue Spruce, didn’t survive. Its roots were severely cut and crisscrossed—what’s known in the tr

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, A Late-Season Harvest and Autumn Reflections Last week, I shared a late-season harvest from my no-till vegetable garden. Since then, I removed the deer netting, stakes, and cages and found other tomatoes that could’ve been harvested desp