Hello fellow Readers, Spring is a busy time for folks in the horticultural industry – Spring Madness Mode, I call it, and it’s hard to keep up. It’s also a busy time for wildlife. Birds are flitting about to find their best spots. It’s fun to anticipate new baby bird

Hello fellow readers, Have you ever heard of No-Mow May? It’s kind of like Dry January when folks forgo alcoholic drinks after a holiday of overindulgence. Well, maybe the only likeness is it lasts a month—the benefits of not mowing your grass in May last far longer. And it is e

Hello fellow readers, Over the almost eleven years of our column chats, I’ve often accessed the wisdom of Dennis Briede from Blairstown, NJ, who I refer to as my birder buddy, although he’s knowledgeable (I’d say expert, but he never boasts) on plants and wildlife an

Hello fellow readers, An invitation to a pool party inspired gathering flowers from the garden to bring to the hosts. One of the lovelies, Mountain Mint, reminds me of a walk in the meadow with my birder buddy and naturalist I look forward to sharing with you. Voluptuous Hydrangea Flo

Hello fellow readers, On Friday, while walking Jolee, I came upon a flower of a Tuliptree attached to a cluster of leaves. I learned about the culprit —squirrels building nests or sharpening their teeth, which became a column about the Litter of Tree Tips we see along roads and walks

Hello Fellow Readers, Over the weekend, I met my writing buddy Drew Cusano at Merrill Creek Reservoir and Environmental Preserve in Harmony Township, NJ— a place I never explored. I thought this week’s chat would be about the history and ecological initiatives of the reservoir (

Hello fellow readers, While walking along the Paulinskill Rail Trail the last few weeks, a low-lying plant that lines the sooty path in the shadier spots has caught my eye. Mayapple is a native perennial, a desirable one, unbeknownst to me while planting my first comprehensive perenni

Hello fellow readers, I recently received an email from the NJ Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA), alerting members about legislation pending to limit the use of neonicotinoid insecticides to agricultural properties only. Neonicotinoids (neo·​nic·​o·​ti·​noid) are a synthetic d

Hello Fellow Readers, Last evening, I enjoyed an outing to Papermill Theatre in Millburn, NJ, which allowed me to brain pick my design colleague and friend Marty about her favorite spring bulbs to plant in the spring. Since my snow dance didn't seem to work — not one cross-country ski

Hello fellow readers, They say one out of every three bites of food depends on a pollinator. According to the Pollinator Partnership, the largest non-profit organization in the world dedicated to the protection of pollinators, the U.S. has lost over 50 percent of its managed honeybee