Of all Suzanne's perennials, only her Blackberry Lilies were competing heartedly with the Stilt Grass, and so, I guessed they too might be considered invasive. Maybe not! One of the joys of working with fellow gardeners is learning about unusual plants. Plus, how to remediate invasive

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.

Hello Fellow Readers, Karen of Washington, NJ, emailed, “When should I plant garlic? I’m going to put leaves in my raised beds. Should I mix them in with dirt or just lay leaves on top?” Two great questions! Garlic, Allium sativum, can be planted in the fall or early spring as soon as

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

Hello Fellow Readers, Recently I had the privilege of visiting the New York Botanical Gardens with nurserywoman become friend, Holly from Blairstown NJ. It was her idea to see the gardens featuring Brazilian landscape architect Burle Marx before the exhibit closed last week. Designate

Hello Fellow Readers, We spoke a few weeks back about Sarah’s mile-a-minute weedy dilemma in Hope, NJ. She proudly sent photos of the clear-out of her front foundation garden, poised to be a butterfly garden. Sarah asked if there was a list of native deer-resistant butterfly pla

Hello Fellow Readers, I’ve just returned from the HippoCamp writer’s conference held in downtown Lancaster, PA, hosted by Hippocampus Magazine. The genre of the magazine, named after the part of the brain (hippocampus) that manages learning, emotions, and new memories, is creative non

Hello Fellow Readers, Chris from Morristown, NJ, wrote in, “My small Shasta daisies didn’t survive the winter, so I’ll have to choose another variety.  Also, the holly is on a lifeline right now. I’m upset because it was doing well.” Chris is a hardcore DIYer who did an extraordinary

Hello Fellow Readers, I am a new owner of a big girl camera—a digital Nikon SLR. Previously I’ve relied on a point-and-shoot camera, “which is getting long in the tooth,” per my dear Curt. Funny saying, long in the tooth stems from how horses’ teeth continue to

Hello Fellow Readers, Last week’s chat about Dutch clover (Trifolium repens) as a lawn alternative created quite a buzz. Beyond the buzz of our happy pollinators scurrying from bloom to bloom. It seems the algae bloom on New Jersey’s Lake Hopatcong has brought the devastating di