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, Many of you like to dance!  Jane from Mt. Bethel, PA, emailed me about the fun of watching butterflies in her garden and asked how to attract more. Ben from Belvidere, NJ, wondered if he planted butterfly loving plants, would he be inviting deer to the party. It

Hello fellow readers, I had the privilege of meeting with Josh of Stillwater, who adopted Skippy and Jay Jay in March at five weeks old, weighing 15 pounds each. His “Kids,” the actual name for baby goats, are Toggenburg goats named after the Toggenburg valley in Switzerla

Hello Fellow Readers, Remember Ed from Basking Ridge who wrote in about his digger dog?  It seems Dulcie also loves a good game of fetch and Ed wonders how to create a lawn to stand up to speedy turns. His current lawn rolls up, has little root structure and is mostly crabgrass and cl

Hello Fellow Readers, I am grateful to all that came to the Springfest Garden Show and attended my lecture, along with Marty Carson of Three Seasons, on the Dos and Don’ts of Landscape & Garden Design. It was a lighthearted spin comparing garden don’ts to fashion blunders. To foll

Hello fellow readers, There’s much to consider when gardening with dogs. Doggie garden dilemmas & remedies Doggone diggers are only part of the challenge when you have canine kids. The risk of trampling while playing, noshing while bored, yellow lawn spots, or leg lifting on

Hello fellow readers, Gardening with dogs that dig can be such a dilemma. I’ve heard from a few who have garden diggers despite the freezing temps! “Teenage” puppies that is- Keswick of Stillwater and Dulcie of Basking Ridge to be specific. What regal names for digge

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