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

Hello Fellow Readers, How about all the carpenters buzzing about – eastern carpenter bees, that is. Xylocopa virginica, the most common species, is wreaking havoc on my neighbor’s deck, not because of their yen to eat wood. Rather, they’re nesting. Please don’t hold their carpen

Hello Fellow Readers, Last week’s column about removing moss from retaining walls (an idea I don’t favor as stark walls softened by mossy volunteers is magnificent) inspired questions about removing moss and lichen from tree trunks. But there’s no reason to remove it

Hello Fellow Readers, Last week, I received a text from Chris of Blairstown, “Look what we’re doing today, getting the moss off the retaining wall.” He shared pictures to boot. “Nooooo,” I wrote back with the big-eyed emoji, then added a wink and a smile. To follow is the story about

Hello Fellow Readers, Saturday night, after a long day exhibiting at a Home & Garden event, I did what I rarely do. I settled down in front of the TV to veg out. Legs elevated on pillows to lessen my foot fatigue, clicker in hand, I stumbled upon a movie based on a true story titl

Hello Fellow Readers, It’s the official the start of spring and I don’t feel ready. The ending of this winter, more than most, came much too fast. Partly because I didn’t have my fill of cross-country skiing; not to complain because the times we did have were glorious. It’s more becau

Hello Fellow Readers, Last week we spoke about starting annual seeds indoors. John from Hope NJ asked if he could start perennial seeds indoors too. “Or should I start them directly in the ground?” For the benefit of gardening newbies, perennials are herbaceous (non-woody) plants that

Hello Fellow Readers, As I write our latest eight inches of white fluff graces our world. But hold tight, we’re in the preamble of spring. I smiled over the weekend when I noticed the Hosta in the potted gardens I’ve been overwintering in the garage have emerged. Seeing their pale thr