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

My dear friend Ruth shared this photo and Happy Bumble Bee Video of her newly acquired Monarda commonly called Bee Balm and for good reason; it’s a Bee Magnet! By the way, Ruth is incredibly attractive too. And, her gardening fortitude and talents tends to make the rest of us lo

Skunk cabbage's unusual chemistry creates heat, melting the snow around itself. It's one of the first things to sprout and serves a role long ago as well as today.

Hello fellow readers, Rebecca of Andover, NJ, received a dormant, bare-root apple tree via mail order and wondered the best way to take care of it until she plants it. What a wonderful gift! They are doing a backyard renovation and plan to include apple trees in the mix. Apple trees s

Hello fellow readers, I always feel sad when I see retired Christmas trees curbside. It feels wasteful, even though they’ve served their intended purpose, to toss them out in the trash when there is still more these beauties can do. Many towns have programs of gathering used Christmas

Hello fellow readers, Last week we spoke about sunflower seed being one of the best seeds to attract the widest varieties of birds. Rachel, who lives in Stillwater, NJ, asked for other bird feeding tips, such as which kind of Sunflower seed is best. There are two types of sunflower se

Hello fellow readers, Winter weather can be for the birds bringing the desire to feed and watch the antics of backyard birds. Emma and Josh of Mt. Bethel, PA, asked if they should buy a certain seed.  They bought a seed mix, and after several days, only a few birds showed up. I’ll hav

Hello fellow readers, Since my recent admission several of you have fessed up that you have yet to cut back your perennials.  Glad I am not the only one!  And it is true that leaving seed heads on your dormant perennials over winter will encourage many of your plants to spread.  John