Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
a large yellow sunflower with a honeybee standing in front of a field of sunflowers.

A Sunflower Maze Brings Happiness

Hello, fellow readers, What a joy to visit Liberty Farm’s Sussex County Sunflower Maze in Sandyston, NJ, who invited us for a special day bringing happiness. It’s their 14th year of growing the maze. Raj Sinha started growing sunflowers when the New Jersey Audubon Society
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evening landscape lighting below a pergola next to a neige hosue

Keeping Lighting Pollinator-Friendly

Hello, fellow readers. A while back, Kay wrote in response to a column titled Antics of Meadow Wildlife featuring my birder buddy Dennis Briede’s meadow just up the road a piece. Dennis shared there has been a notable decline in butterflies in recent years due to habitat reducti
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a single black ant on a bright green leaf with morning dew.

Admiration for Ants & Safe Remedies

Hello fellow readers, I have a newfound admiration for ants and how they benefit our gardens and work as a team which may contradict treatments to solve ant dilemmas shared over the years (links below). But there are safe remedies and ways to invite them to live away from your home an
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A colander of funky vegetables on a wooden table

Are Funky Vegetables GMO?

Hello Fellow Readers, Green beans aren’t only green anymore. And tomatoes come in all sorts of shades and mottled blends of colors. There are even tomatoes that stay green when they’re ripe. Charlotte of Stone Church, PA, asked if the funky vegetables are genetically modif
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Seal Pup comes ashore in NJ

A Seal Pup Surprise

Hello Fellow Readers, Thanks to those that reached back about last week’s chat – Let Fawns & Wildlife Be. It’s a delight to hear how many of us relish the beauty of young life unfolding. Interactions with wildlife can undoubtedly bring tears to our eyes at the wo
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A red Virginia Creeper Vine climbing a tree

Value of Virginia Creeper vs. Poison Ivy

Hello fellow readers,  What a treat to visit Elisabeth, a delightful client who moved back from Chicago to be near her family. She painted her renovated and restored farmhouse built in the 1800s in a dramatic yet soothing shade of dark gray with black trim. And implemented the landsca
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A lime green Mile-a-minute-weed-leaf is almost a perfect triangle

Mile-a-Minute Weed Remedies

Hello Fellow Readers; Sarah of Hope, NJ, was shy about providing photos before our Landscape Review and Recommendation meeting. Primarily because she fell behind in her garden maintenance, something I share in common during the summer heat. Sarah’s Mile-a-Minute weed is especial
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Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa virginica

Carpenter Bees are Essential Pollinators

Hello fellow Readers, Spring is a busy time for folks in the horticultural industry – Spring Madness Mode, I call it, and it’s hard to keep up. It’s also a busy time for wildlife. Birds are flitting about to find their best spots. It’s fun to anticipate new baby bird
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lime green Japanese maple leaves unfolding with seed pods forming below.

Spring Unfolding is Happiness

Hello fellow readers; I often start chats with you by dictating thoughts on a morning walk with Jolee. And today, I am embracing spring unfolding, which we enjoy from year to year. The patterns in nature are familiar, bringing happiness and responsibility. Patterns of Spring Unfolding
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a lovely house with a wrap around porch and glass enclosed porch with a no mow may lawn

No-Mow May helps Pollinators

Hello fellow readers, Have you ever heard of No-Mow May? It’s kind of like Dry January when folks forgo alcoholic drinks after a holiday of overindulgence. Well, maybe the only likeness is it lasts a month—the benefits of not mowing your grass in May last far longer. And it is e
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