Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Last week, I shared the sad news that the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice in Fredon, NJ, will close on November 14, 2025. As you can imagine, my final visits as a volunteer come with a swirl of emotions. On Friday, while chatting with the a

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Last week, while recording the podcast version of our weekly chat from the screen porch, a loud ruckus of birds erupted, sounding like an argument from the oak tree by the vegetable garden. The ruckus was equivalent to the deafening sounds of

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.

A while back, I enjoyed a pre-spring theatre outing with my design colleague and dear friend, Marty Carson. Our jaunt allowed me to brain-pick her favorite summer flowering bulbs to plant in the spring. How fun to learn that one of her favorites is technically a corm.

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. The perennial rock garden is full of dry perennials remaining. It has nothing to do with being lazy or too busy tending to others’ gardens. Leaving seed heads on your dormant perennials over winter will encourage many plants to spread. P

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Last week, I shared A Butterfly Garden of Growth and added suggestions for annual lovelies to enhance the environment and provide food for our beloved butterflies. Marigolds are one of them, a plant I once was weary of. Learning the magnificen

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Recently, I designed a low-maintenance garden filled with perennials, shrubs, and trees for year-round interest in Bergen County, NJ, not far from New York City. Around it, we planted a pollinator-friendly lawn alternative: a combination of No

Hello, fellow lover of all things green, While walking Jolee this morning, I admired crocuses on the side of the road. A white one sits solo with purple lines on the petals, almost like runways, leading pollinators to the yellow puffy pollen. I stood above it, watching the dance of tw

Hello fellow readers, Recently, while on the porch, I heard a plop in the pond and looked over to find the Red-shouldered Hawk flying out of it frog-less. He perched himself on the rail of our covered footbridge, looking quite regal –  maybe he is she. I’ve learned they ma

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