Hello fellow readers, Color in our gardens and containers impacts our lives. Then there are the other elements of the design—one of the most miraculous elements of nature, gardens, and ourselves is unseen. What fun to attend the annual conference hosted by the NJ Landscape & Nurse

Hello fellow readers; Sara from Oxford, NJ, asked how to prepare a plot for starting an organic garden. She suspects the previous owners used chemicals, as when they moved in, the lawn “looked like a golf course.” Kudos Sara. It’s wise to consider the prior use of ch

Hello fellow readers, I adore the gift of amaryllis already in bud received on Thanksgiving. Watching the alien-looking beefy blooms open, badly bending the stem, makes me wonder if amaryllis like to party like paperwhites. No kidding. A continuous drink of alcohol keeps paperwhites f

Hello fellow readers, I interviewed my lifelong friend Russ and his wife, Sara, from Oakland, Tennessee, about their adventure growing hot peppers in pots and turning them into jelly. I watched them grow up!  Remotely that is when they decided to start their hot pepper seeds indoors.

Hello fellow readers, Last week, I enjoyed a visit with facilitators of a recently installed memorial garden at Father John’s Animal House, a no-kill rescue facility in Lafayette, NJ. My colleague and dear friend Marty of Three Seasons Garden Design volunteered to create the gar

Fiddlehead Fig Trees, also known as Fiddle-leaf Figs, have become quite a craze, and I can see why. They have foot-long leathery leaves that look like a fiddle, hence the common name. Fiddle-leaf Figs can be fickle, though. Learn the tips in making them happy in your home.

Hello Fellow Readers, Old man winter sure arrived early with an ice storm followed by snow the weekend after Thanksgiving. The morning after, the trees glistened in the sunshine as if they were glass. Below, the sun cast long shadows of trees on the pristine frosting of white. Sadly,

Hello Fellow Readers, As I write our latest eight inches of white fluff graces our world. But hold tight, we’re in the preamble of spring. I smiled over the weekend when I noticed the Hosta in the potted gardens I’ve been overwintering in the garage have emerged. Seeing their pale thr

Hello fellow readers, The week of July 4th ignites the summer vacation season. With the plentiful rains so far this summer, plants will likely be more vulnerable to heat stress once the heat and dryness kick in.  So, before you head off to de-stress, here are a few tips to help your p

Hello Fellow Readers, Just before our gardens kicked into gear, I had the privilege of dropping in on a succulent event hosted by A&J Messina Greenhouses in Blairstown NJ which served as a mini-gardening warmup. What a lively group of over seventy guests learning how to make a ter