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

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

Hello Fellow Readers, Roses can be fussy. But when roses are in their glory, they surely are glorious. Lessons shared in the Beauty and the Beast… One should never judge another based on appearances – a lesson shared in the Beauty and the Beast enjoyed at the Papermill Theatre i

Hello Fellow Readers, Planting spring flowering bulbs brings the excitement of the anticipation of their emergence. Showing their little faces as dear Mom used to say, though I have no memory of planting bulbs as her gardening apprentice. Truth is, I’m a bit of a bulb newbie which may

Hello Fellow Readers, I am thrilled to report the robin mentioned last week did indeed nest in the Doublefile Viburnum outside our kitchen window. Perhaps the same robin that nested there last year. Both momma and poppa robin are involved in the homemaking and childrearing, though mom