Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
robin in nest

Robins of Renewal in the Garden

Hello Fellow Readers, The American robin is considered a sign of renewal adored in the garden. Though migratory birds, you can create a garden to keep them in your yard year-round— if I may share a story of my family of robins. On Sunday, after “first call” with Miss Ellie
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Close up of a purple dahlia

Spring Planted Bulbs

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
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Swarm-of-Common-Grackles

Swarming Common Grackles

Hello Fellow Readers, While recording episode six of my new podcast series from the screened porch, an arresting sound came from thousands of swarming blackbirds that landed in our front yard. Squawking and feeding for a few minutes, then they took off in a synchronized wave – e
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a no mow may lawn filled with white clover with puffy white blooms

Clover Lawn Alternative

Hello Fellow Readers, I stumbled upon the most beautiful field of clover leading to glorious reasons while white clover makes a magnificent lawn alternative. Pollinators were scurrying from one dainty puff to another, busily gathering nectar and pollen. Their hairy legs were combing t
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Marigolds-Races-Farm-Blairstown-NJ

The Legend of Marigolds

Hello Fellow Readers, I recently shopped for annuals for Ron of Stillwater, NJ, who wished for bright hues. Previously he planted marigolds. I haven’t used them for years, likely due to a childhood memory of my first garden – primarily marigolds grown from seed. “Mary̵
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, Palace Purple Coral Bells, Heuchera micrantha 'Palace Purple'

Doublefile Viburnum Angels

Hello Fellow Readers, I am thrilled to report the robin mentioned last week did indeed nest in the Doublefile Viburnum outside our kitchen window. Perhaps the same robin that nested there last year. Both momma and poppa robin are involved in the homemaking and childrearing, though mom
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a meadow filled with purple, yellow, and white wildflowers below a bright blue sky.

A Walk in the Meadow

Hello fellow readers, A walk in the meadow with my friend and go-to mystery solver of all things in nature is always a treat. While Dennis Briede’s day responsibility is Stewardship Manager for The Land Conservancy of New Jersey (http://tlc-nj.org/), his true passion is living among n
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a person in a white hazmat suit with black head gear reaching into a large tree trunk

Relocating Bees

Hello Fellow Readers, We had a near-stinging episode from a garden pot begging for its annual dressing, a task not yet done due to a humbling hand procedure gratefully on the mends. A client grew tired of deer spraying and passed along Hosta, which I nested in the pots as a temporary
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Bright yellow daisy-like flowers of Swamp Sunflower near a lake.

Sexy Native Plants

Hello Fellow Readers, I didn’t realize until Bruce Crawford, Director of Rutgers Gardens, emailed the plant list for his recent lecture titled Sexy Native Plants. In the NJ Plants tradeshow held in Edison, NJ, the G-rated version was Native Plants for Native Pollinators. And these bab
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Mary Elaine Stone, Garden of Life, Cardinal, Bird Fodder, Mike Niven, Cedar Waxwings ,Bombycilla cedrorum

Bird Fodder Part 2

Hello Fellow Readers, So much came of last week’s chat with my birder buddies — welcome to more fun bird fodder part 2. One of the most loved and fascinating backyard birds are Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, who are migratory. As solitary birds, they don’t migrate in flocks.
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