Hello fellow readers, May I share a story of the mysterious Christmas card that landed in our mailbox with messages addressed to all. The unaddressed envelope has a lovely illustration of a male and female cardinal. Red cardinals, the males, are often featured in Christmas decorations

Hello fellow readers, We were late putting up a Christmas tree due to waffling of what type of tree to decorate—a cut tree, an artificial, or a living Christmas tree, perhaps. In truth, my indecisiveness is primarily because of a heavy heart. The tree is on the corner of the family ro

Hello fellow readers, The other day, while shopping for groceries, I stumbled upon an array of poinsettia varieties arranged at the floral department entrance. Hopefully not annoying other shoppers, I snagged a bunch of photos to capture their beauty. Of course, there were the traditi

Hello fellow readers, While searching my stash of questions and garden of life tidbits, I came across an influential poem by Naomi Long Madgett titled Woman with Flower that I first heard over a handful of years ago. Most that review Naomi’s poem believe it pertains to a mother-

Hello fellow readers, It’s the fall garden wrap up time, and I tended to some over the weekend. It feels good to be ahead of my usual scramble when the first snowflakes fly. Some fall garden wrap- up tasks, such as cleaning up perennials, may seem obvious. But others, like fall

Hello fellow readers, It’s coming up on nine years of our weekly chats. Hard to imagine! One of the annual topics is what’s in store for winter in the garden of life. From weather folklore to the go-to almanacs and weather authorities, none seem to agree this year, much li

Hello fellow readers, When I moved to the area and saw Deer Corn for Sale signs, I considered it a tool to lure deer during hunting season. I quickly learned that folks buy it to feed deer all winter long. While their intentions of being kind to wildlife are good, feeding deer promote

Hello fellow readers, I recently received an email from the NJ Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA), alerting members about legislation pending to limit the use of neonicotinoid insecticides to agricultural properties only. Neonicotinoids (neo·​nic·​o·​ti·​noid) are a synthetic d

Hello fellow readers, As I took photos of a landscape renovation I designed for clients in Tranquility, NJ, I came upon a Spotted Lanternfly that landed on the welcome mat by the front door. I snagged a photo of it, thinking to myself, you are not welcome at all. Since The Press (NJ/P

Hello fellow readers, While spruce disease dilemmas such as Canker Disease and Needle Cast are sadly destroying trees, there are lessons to gain from prevention and remedies that came from an exchange with new clients I’d like to share. It is a delight to begin working with Lori