Hello fellow readers, A new year often brings resolutions like exercising, getting organized, or quitting habits like smoking or stacking up garden magazines (busted!). I spent an afternoon in the basement tending to a long overdue task of clearing things out. Basements are limbo plac

Hello fellow readers, So long 2017. It has been a wonderful year of learning. In revisiting our topics, we sure spoke about a bunch of critters. About the birds in a two-part bird fodder series. And about the bees – the story about relocating fifty thousand honeybees that took up resi

Hello Fellow Readers, It’s humbling to witness our youth working together to weed out undesirables- making way for new beginnings, and offering a helping hand. Nearly 500 students, teachers, and staff of Blair Academy, located in Blairstown NJ, mobilized on May 19th to help over

Hello Fellow Readers, Thanks to all of you our Garden Dilemma chats have run for 239 weeks and counting! We shared a range of topics this last year from the most recent ones – the history of poinsettias known as the Flowers of the Holy Night and the Magnitude of Promise of 5,000

Hello Fellow Readers, Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with garden clubs and participating in their activities. I didn’t realize until digging into history, the magnitude and impact of garden clubs across the country, even the world. The first garden club in America

Hello, fellow readers, The Shrewsbury NJ Garden Club invited me to speak during their 60th-anniversary celebration and asked that I send a biography. It’s an honor to give a talk; a bit nerve-wracking, too, speaking in front of a group of folks. A membership with Toastmasters in

Hello fellow readers, Once again, I write from Virginia and admit I’m weary. Witnessing a loved one suffer is heartbreaking; Mom’s most enormous suffering is from fear. When I arrived Saturday, her deep cough and spiked fever seemed inevitable. To soothe her, I began readi

Hello fellow readers, The Blairstown’s Village Green, also known as the pocket park where the old Community Center once stood, benefited from a weeding frenzy and a hefty load of mulch. Thanks to a busload of energetic students from Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ. Patti Doell w

Hello fellow readers, Natural stone paths are charming, especially when decorated with cute little plants in the nooks and crannies. Done well, they look as though Mother Nature has invited you to meander. Rachel of Bangor, PA, asked how to create a step-stone path with plants that wo

Hello fellow readers, I recently attended the Springfest Retirement gathering of organizer volunteers. Yes, the Springfest Garden Show held at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta NJ is retiring after 20 years. As the 20th Anniversary unfolded, reports at the register and the crow