Hello fellow readers, It’s fair time! Farm animals, 4-H exhibits, rides, fun food, and, in the case of the NJ State Fair, garden displays and speakers of which I am one. This Saturday, August 4th at 1 PM, I’ve been asked to speak about Garden Dilemmas. It will be held in the bea

Hello Fellow Readers, (Excuse the late posting of this week’s column. I’ve been hobbling along without internet since last Tuesday’s Wizard of Oz storm. Humbling!) We have the green light for annuals based on the wisdom to wait until after the last frost date, typica

Hello, fellow readers. We are inundated with requests for donations that come in varying forms and disguises. While we wish to give back and help others, evaluating good causes can be confusing. I recently received an official-looking envelope labeled “2018 New Jersey Tree Surve

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 read