Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
A copperhead with hourglass-shaped bands laying in dirt

Curious Copperhead Encounters

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. About a month ago, at late dusk, I took Jolee over the footbridge across the pond to her potty spot. On the way back, I noticed an oddly flattened snake, but there was no blood, and the head was intact. How strange, given there’s no vehi
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Sweet Autumn Clematis, Clematis ternifora, Fall flowering clematis

Sweet Autumn Clematis Native Alternative

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, I look forward to sharing an update on a long-ago story about a real softie, a soft-wooded Sweet Autumn Clematis, in its glory this time of year. With a plethora of tiny white blooms from August to September, she resembles a snowdrift and smel
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An empty cardinals nest in a rhododendron shrub in front of a yellow house.

Curiosity About Cardinals Brings Wisdom

There's wisdom gained in having a heavy heart when I saw the empty Cardinal's nest, only to learn there was likely a happy ending after all.
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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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A lime green Mile-a-minute-weed-leaf is almost a perfect triangle

Mile-a-Minute Remedies – Native Butterfly Plants

Hello fellow lovers of all things green, Mile-a-Minute Weed is running rampant, and now is the time to address it before the berries ripen. While at the eye doctor the other day, Pat at the front desk described her overwhelming mile-a-minute dilemma, reminding me of a client long ago
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a great blue heron flying out of a pond - the wig span looking like a kite.

The Tiny Wonder of Duckweed

Hello, lovers of all things green. Speaking of green, I often wondered what the lovely green growth that covers the pond in mid to late summer was. It turns out to be a Duckweed, a tiny wonder.
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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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a front foundation planting wiht maroon leafed invasive barberry.

Alternatives to Invasive Barberry

Hello fellow lovers of all things Green, Over-the-top spreaders, climbers, and self-seeders are known as garden thugs; a clever name that made me chuckle the first time I heard it. Barberry’s maroon leaves turn green in the shade, which is why the invasive bully is not as obviou
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Beaver or Woodchuck? What to do?

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Episode 211 of the Garden Dilemmas Podcast, titled The Truth and Tale of Two Country Gardens, shares a story written while taking a fiction class. However, much of the story is based on my experience working with clients to enhance their garde
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