Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog

Chipmunk Control

Hello fellow readers, Chipmunks are darn cute but often the most frustrating garden pest, even more so than deer primarily because there’s no effective spray or fencing to keep them out. So what’s the best chipmunk control? The jury is out. Barbara from Succasunna, NJ, wri
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A half of a seedless watermelon on a wood table.

Are Seedless Watermelon GMOs?

Hello fellow readers, “Are seedless watermelon GMOs?” asked Lois from Tranquility, NJ. The consensus is they aren’t genetically modified, nor are they truly seedless. Summer picnics bring back memories of seed spitting contests. Hard to do nowadays as most watermelon
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Bad Bamboo?

Hello fellow readers, Katie of Piscataway, NJ, recently shared her ‘horrible backyard dilemma.’ Her home was once her Dad’s, which piqued my curiosity. How could her Dad’s backyard be so horrible? It turns out the neighbor’s bamboo has taken over. At firs
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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, Color Calamity, Choosing Colors in Garden, Color Wheel for gardening

Annual Color Calamity

Hello fellow readers, I’ve been known to stop in my tracks to take a photo of a beautiful tree, garden, or the magnificence of nature’s inspiration. Then there’s what I kindly call ‘garden nots’ which became a fun lecture topic not long ago. Recently I visited Cape May where glorious
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Castor Bean Plants hide ‘Uglies’

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Last week, I shared the desperate measure of hacking back leatherleaf viburnums plagued with aphids. Ironically, Betsy from Stone Church, PA, asked about using castor bean plants in her garden, which I planted to camouflage the ‘uglies&#
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withered and curled leaves from aphid damage on leatherleaf viburnum

Reasons to Prune

Hello fellow readers, The reasons to prune are similar to the reasons for caring for ourselves and our families– Improving appearance and health, training the young, controlling size, preventing injury or damage, rejuvenating the old, and influencing bounty. But choosing the rig
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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, Comfrey in the Garden, Comfrey, trash can gardening

Comfrey Garden

Hello fellow readers, Jacquie from Andover bought some comfrey seeds to try. She heard comfrey leaves are great for the soil and it’s true. Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis), native to Europe, can juice up your garden with nutrients. But before you opt to plant it, consider that
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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,Cedar Apple Rust

The Gall of Cedar-Apple Rust!

Hello fellow readers, ‘It looks like a sea anemone!’ wrote Ruth of Hope referring to the alien-looking bright orange thingy with finger-like protrusions found on a cedar tree. Turns out this two-inch slimy blob is caused by a fungi called Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae (wowee; t
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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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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer,recycle coffee pods, Doughnut Tree

Doughnut Trees

Hello fellow readers, What a roller coaster this spring has been. It came on like a lamb with highs up to 70 degrees stimulating early growth. Then, in comes the lion of overnight temps well below freezing. Many of the early blooming trees like magnolias ‘froze their faces’ I can hear
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