Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
Ken Roberts and Mary Stone standing behind Julia Quinlan in a wheelchair.

Promises That Live Beyond Seasons

Honoring the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice and a Beloved Friend Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, As you may know, you can subscribe to my free newsletter (sign up below), which arrives in your inbox every week or two. Since the beginning, my dear friend and garden design
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a close up of a single sunflower with a sunflower maze behind it.

A Sunflower Maze of Healing

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Sunflowers not only purify our earth of toxins, there smiling faces also bring happiness that can help heal our hearts. What a delight to revisit Liberty Farm’s Sussex County Sunflower Maze in Sandyston. Raj Sinha kindly offered a tour o
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A side view of Jolee with her ears flat on her head next to Mary Stone.

Nature Teaches Endings Bring Beginnings

Birthdays have a way of encouraging us to pause and reflect, don't they? We may consider changing a few things or planting new seeds. There is such wisdom in nature, teaching us that endings bring beginnings— even unexpected, sad endings and losses— because from them comes new growth.
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a large light and dark orange moth feeding on a white flower.

Moth Survey in a Mountain Meadow

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I recently had the thrill of participating in a moth survey, thanks to my friends Blaine Rothauser of GZA Geoenvironmental, Inc. and Dennis Briede of Blairstown, NJ, whose meadow at the base of the Kittatinny Mountains harbors and nurtures abu
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three green frogs wiht white bellies in a pond.

Nature Sounds from My Porch Camp

Hello fellow lovers of all things green, As I write, to my delight, it’s the morning after a porch camp. Our run of excessive heat and humidity has dampened enthusiasm for sleeping on the futon on the screen porch in recent weeks. I adore the sounds of nature during each camp an
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Carol Decker holding her first painting done at twelve years old.

The Gift of Carol Decker’s Wildlife Art

Hello fellow lovers of all things green, I had the pleasure of meeting Carol Decker at her Garden Party and Art Show, co-hosted by Fran’s (Delgado) Farmhouse Kitchen, to benefit Birth Haven in Newton, NJ, which provides shelter and support for homeless pregnant women and girls.
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a huge white ash tree with three young adults standing in front of the trunk.

The Wolfe Tree- A Grand Ash

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Last week, we discussed how disease and insects are impacting stands of trees. Among them, the emerald ash borer has devastated native ash trees, which comprise roughly ten percent of the forests here in Northern New Jersey. Some specimen tree
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a stone edge maze amongst a forest with an upright wooden cross in next to a tree in the center.

Labyrinths Provide Paths of Healing

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Labyrinths provide paths of healing to help you maneuver through loss and grief, but the contemplation benefits are all-encompassing and beautiful, too. Comfort Zone Camp, in partnership with A Little Hope Foundation I participated in Comfort
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Light Green fan-like leaves of Lady's Mantle with plentiful droplets of morning dew.

Lotus Effect and Lady’s Mantle

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green; I adore clients sending plant photos from their gardens. Tara from Sparta, NJ, sent one of her Lady’s Mantle with the headline Morning Diamonds. “So lovely! I adore the lotus effect. Thank you for sharing,” my note back. Perf
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A selfie of Mary Stone smiling and wearing a beige sun hat with a happy sunflower.

A Milestone in Our Journey Together

Hello, fellow lovers of things green. The podcast version of our weekly chats reached a milestone of 200 episodes, which grew from thirteen years of columns in my local newspaper. I’m so thankful for The Weekly Press and all of you who join me online. There’s much to learn
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