Hello fellow readers, Last week we spoke about how fall is a great time for planting most trees and shrubs. What about perennials asked Dorothy of Bangor? By and large I prefer spring for planting most new perennials. But if you can’t resist a bargain, fall can work just fine. In fact

Hello fellow readers, Jill from Nazareth is confused. She heard that fall is a great time to plant but then found out that there is a list of Fall Dig Hazard trees. That does seem confusing! Paul of Gardens of the World in Andover has a simple way to explain it. The Fall Dig Hazard li

Hello fellow readers, “They’re long and leggy,” wrote Melanie of Newton, NJ. She and her husband acquired a lake-side fixer-upper built over a half-century ago. The rhododendrons have grown taller than the house, and branches are resting on the roof. Fortunately, you

Hello fellow readers, Last week, Queen Anne created quite a buzz. This week we have the “wild” Bachelor to talk about; Bachelor Buttons (Centaurea cyanus), also known as cornflowers. They’re an old-fashioned flower that has beautified gardens for centuries, first in

Hello fellow readers, While on a road walk with Miss Ellie, I saw a pinkish Queen Anne’s Lace flower with dark magenta edges on a plant where all the other flowers were the customary cream. What a gorgeous anomaly! It reminded me of grade school when we’d cut Queen Anne

This is the view I enjoyed this morning after the last few days of heavy rain, heat and humidity. Glorious Rays of Sunshine! So grateful…

Hello Fellow readers, I met with Melanie of Newton who asked if the perennial sweet peas covering her pool fence are edible. They sure look so; dead ringers to peas in your veggie garden. Some say you can as long as you don’t eat too many of them. Turns out it’s the flowers not the se

Hello fellow readers, Last week wrapped up the 75th annual NJ State Fair held at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta. In addition to the display gardens we were part of, there were rides, vendors, and food galore; largely not healthful but part of the fun. Best of all was the far

Hello fellow readers, Can you believe we’ve been chatting for 165 weeks? I am so grateful for all we have learned from each other.  I hope you don’t mind that I revisited one of our early columns from 2012. Let’s just say, I’m concerned about produce abuse and thought we could help by

Hello fellow readers, While sitting with Mom outside her nursing home in Virginia, I noticed a crust of bread being hauled off by an ant.  I marvel at how much an ant can carry – ten to fifty times their body weight, they say. Mom, who inspired my gardening start, can’t talk muc