Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
A rejuvinated pruned maroon leaf smokebush in bloom that looks like smok

Rejuvenation Pruning & Smokebush

Hello, fellow lover of all things green, It felt therapeutic to tend to the rejuvenation pruning of the Smokebush and other shrubs. Rejuvenation pruning involves drastically cutting back overgrown plants to restore them to their intended shape or to manage their size, which was the ca
Read More
A light brown bottlebrush buckeye seed with tough leather-like capsules

Sowing the Treasures of Buckeye Seeds

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Once again, I was late tending to my garden, scurrying about just before the first snow. You’ve likely heard the phrase “a shoemaker without shoes.” It’s ironic how folks who provide a service often neglect to provide i
Read More
A family rejuvenate pruning and overgrown foundation planting along a brick-faced house.

Rejuvenation Pruning Lifts Hearts

Hello fellow readers; Rejuvenation pruning lifts hearts, including mine, as I joined a lifelong friend and her grown sons to rejuvenate overgrown shrubs and renew their gardens. I hope you enjoy the story. It’s always fun to have a new hairdo, as has my friend Michele, who lives
Read More
a newly installed front walkway and surrounding garden in front of a brown woodland home.

Watering New Plant Babies

Hello fellow readers, I adore helping clients design their gardens, procure plants, and place them, and now is a busy time. Last week was such fun working with Kathy and Sean of Shohola, PA, and their rescue dog Hank, who inspected the empty pots by sticking his head inside. Perhaps t
Read More
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, cleaning natural stone patios

Safely Clean Stone Patios

Hello fellow readers, Last week’s chat about Leaving Lichen and Moss Be brought a rally of like-minded folks (yay) such as Paulette from Wharton, who writes, “My goodness, mosses are fabulous, and lichens make wonderful art.” How true! But there can be safety concern
Read More
A rock with moss in the shape of a hippo.

Let Lichen and Moss be

Hello fellow readers, Each spring, mostly from neat and tidies, the intention to remove moss or lichen from walls and walks comes up. Of course, if they cause a slipping hazard, the desire is justified. But what is it about moss and lichen that folks don’t like? Moss is cute and
Read More
Fall Garden with river birch and dry ornamental grasses after Fall Garden wrap up

Fall Garden Wrap-Up

Hello fellow readers, It’s the fall garden wrap up time, and I tended to some over the weekend. It feels good to be ahead of my usual scramble when the first snowflakes fly. Some fall garden wrap- up tasks, such as cleaning up perennials, may seem obvious. But others, like fall
Read More
a garden of yellow daffodils in the shape of a cross

Dividing & Sharing Perennials

Hello Fellow Readers, I hope you enjoy the story of how I celebrated Easter 2020, dividing and sharing perennials. Easter with family wasn’t to be as I’m sure was true for most of you. Instead, we took a road trip up to Pine Bush, NY, to tend to my family’s plot. I b
Read More
Turkey-Puppet-Tree-Topper

Late Fall Garden To-dos

Time sure has a way of sneaking upon us. The good thing, though, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks. And giving thanks is timeless, universal, and a practice for every day. A special thank you for 388 weekly chats and tips on late fall garden to-dos.
Read More
Looking-up-at-Fall-Leaves

Leaf Cleanup Manners

Hello Fellow Readers, Leaf cleanup is underway, which brings me to the subject of leaf manners. It’s not neighborly to put your leaves into other folks’ woods or fields without permission. And, unless your town has a leaf-sucking-up program (curbside vacuuming), putting th
Read More