Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
a large fallen branch of a hemlock in front of a garage that spared hitting my umbrella pine.

In Like a Lion

Hello fellow readers, As I write it’s the second day of March and a wild storm with high winds and heavy snow is underway. After a mild February with temps in the fifties, even some seventies, soil is saturated and soft. The risk of trees falling causing power outages are high. Talk a
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, fungi infected leaves in compost, leaf spot fungus

Fungi Impacted Leaves in the Garden

Hello fellow readers, This growing season provided a perfect environment for foliar disease. Earlier in the summer Hector from Morristown, NJ sent a photo of his Mom’s maple tree dotted with black spots. “All the leaves seem to have the cooties.” I sent the photo off to my favorite as
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Garden Toad, Garden Guests

Healing in the Garden of Life

Hello fellow readers, While the official start of fall has begun, the heat and humidity return after the late summer cooling spell has Mother Nature confused. I heard spring peepers the other evening while sitting on the screened porch. And, there’s early leaf drop on certain tr
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cape A white bucket of dirty water and brush cleaning natural stone patios

Cleaning Stone Patios & Walks

Hello Fellow Readers, A few weeks ago, we spoke about how to evict ants from a natural stone patio without spoiling the charming moss in the joints (link below). The topic brings to mind how best to clean patios and walks without damaging the stone or plants; one of my nagging dilemma
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Removing ants from the garden, home remedies to remove ants, safe ways to remove ants

Ants be Gone

Hello Fellow Readers, Pam and Ed of Sparta have a charming bluestone patio. The shady spot has encouraged moss to take up residence, which is lovely. The dilemma is, ants have also moved in. Previous attempts to evict the ants have caused the demise of their treasured green fuzz in th
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Mary Elaine Stone, Garden of Life, Forsythia, Rejeuvinating Forsythia, Pruning Forsythia

Pruning Forsythia vs. Bad Haircuts

Hello Fellow Readers, Forsythia is one of the first shrubs to bloom, announcing spring has arrived! I love the sunny yellow welcome to the bland dormant landscape. It’s true after the early yellow wake-up call, they can turn into unwieldy shrubs, inspiring folks to prune them into unn
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a hose with a sprinkler on soaker mode watering new plant babies in a garden.

Watering Protocol

Hello fellow readers, To follow are tips and protocols of watering plants. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been hot and dry. I’m all for zero-scaping, the trendy phonetic spelling of xeriscaping; also known as drought-tolerant or smart-scaping. In a nutshell, choose plants who
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, Yarrow spreading, Yarrow babies

Yarrow Babies

Hello fellow readers, I love when folks send pictures of their gardens especially when their plants make new babies. Kathy of Andover sent a picture of her baby yarrows. The dilemma though, is she has more babies than she can handle. Yarrow are indeed ambitious plants native to most o
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Designer,How to remove algae, horticultural vinegar, vinegar as cleaner

Vinegar Beyond Salad

Hello fellow readers, Vinegar goes beyond salad. Using white vinegar in household cleaning is inexpensive and effective. While it leaves your house smelling like a pickle, the more natural approach is well worth it. Plus, vinegar can help control weeds. Horticultural-grade Vinegar Ron
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How to Rejuvenate Prune Rhododendron

Hello fellow readers, “They’re long and leggy,” wrote Melanie of Newton, NJ. She and her husband acquired a lake-side fixer-upper built over a half-century ago. The rhododendrons have grown taller than the house, and branches are resting on the roof. Fortunately, you
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