Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
a massive grey outcropping of boulders with an Inuksuk as a stacked stone bridge over a water feature with purple echinacea, lamb's ear and fountain grass in front

Planning an Alpine Garden

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, One of the joys of doing what I do as a Landscape and Garden Designer is working with special folks with unique properties, many with garden dilemmas that I see as opportunities, like James of Sparta, NJ, who lives on a mound of massive moss r
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Kearny Community Garden with straw bales lined up in a row,

Straw Bale Gardening Builds Community

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, As we approach the end of winter, we begin to think about vegetable gardens. I hope to have an attractive fence this year rather than my workaround stakes and deer netting. Not so pretty, but the veggies are. In addition to the No-Till Gardeni
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Looking up at a Sycamore with creamy white, grey, and greenish patches on the trunk against a blue sky

Anatomy & Array of Beautiful Bark

Hello, fellow lover of all things green, During winter walks through the woods, the bark of trees takes center stage, especially standing in the snow. I confess to not being the best and identifying species without leaves unless a few are on the tree or the ground nearby. Bruce Crawfo
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a sundial in a garden of gravel and river stone and sedum

A Special Sedum & Succulent Garden

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, After last week’s Festive Partridge Berry – Terrarium Basics Podcast (Episode 144), Jamie asked if the sedums used in the terrarium are succulents, reminding me of a special sedum and succulent garden. I had the privilege of helping the
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A light brown bottlebrush buckeye seed with tough leather-like capsules

Sowing the Treasures of Buckeye Seeds

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Once again, I was late tending to my garden, scurrying about just before the first snow. You’ve likely heard the phrase “a shoemaker without shoes.” It’s ironic how folks who provide a service often neglect to provide i
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Close-up of winter berries in snow

Berries for Winter Beauty and Wildlife

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, One of my joys is meeting and working with others who relish our dear earth’s gifts, often leading to sharing life stories. There’s something about being in a garden and amongst nature that releases the tension of day-to-day living
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a green pencil labeled Blackwing 17 sitting on an African violet with dark purple blooms

Essential Nutrients for Gardens & Life

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, I always felt giving is more glorious than receiving, but I’m not sure now after a gift came with a delightful surprise. While opening the box of green Blackwing pencils Ken Roberts gave me, my dear friend and singing partner for the Kar
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a Mother Earth Face pot with a maroon leaf tall perennial and hakone grass bangs

Overwintering Potted Perennials

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Typically, my garden ghost routine of covering pots with sheets to keep them from freezing begins in late October. Then, I grow weary of the ritual. Besides, one must accept endings. Now, after migrating from annuals in pots to perennials, the
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a dish towel with green and some ripening tomatoes indoors.

Ripening Fall Tomato Hand-me-Downs

Hello, Fellow Readers, Before the first frost, I harvested the green tomatoes, leaving some for the critters to feed. A lesson I learned from Ed of Bridgewater, NJ, who gave me hand-me-down tomatoes, leading to a refresher on ripening indoors and an easy-peasy way to freeze the overab
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Looking up at the shaggy bark of a shagbark hickory trunk.

Shagbark Hickories – Nutty Mast Years

Hello, Fellow Readers, These are nutty times. Far nuttier than usual in my neck of the woods. The Shagbark Hickory nuts are overabundant and golf ball and size, so much so that walking amongst them is risky for ankle stability. It’s called masting when there’s an excess of
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