Hello fellow readers, Winter weather can be for the birds bringing the desire to feed and watch the antics of backyard birds. Emma and Josh of Mt. Bethel, PA, asked if they should buy a certain seed.  They bought a seed mix, and after several days, only a few birds showed up. I’ll hav

Hello, fellow lover of all things green, If I may share the origin of a memoir underway titled The Lesson of the Leaf. My beloved brother Bill passed away on December 21st. I was blessed to travel to Florida to be by his side in his last weeks. Several overnights in the hospital and h

Hello fellow readers, Not a single write-in this week, but I won’t take it personally.  No doubt you’re up to your eyeballs in the fa la la la la of the holidays, so if I may ask a question about the timing of my 15-year old Christmas cactus, which has bloomed well before

Hello fellow readers, Most of you have decked the halls, but I am late this year and wrestle whether to dig out the artificial standby or go for a much preferred real tree. I bought my standby many years ago to use the times I visited the folks in Florida over Christmas. Some travel y

Hello fellow readers, Winter predictions are always a popular topic this time of year. You’ve heard the folklore; the wider the middle brown section of the wooly bear caterpillar the milder the coming winter. The more frenzied the nut collecting of squirrels the harsher the wint

Hello fellow readers, I am thankful for the dormant perennials with seed heads awaiting their role to fall to the ground and germinate which makes me feel less guilty that I have yet to cut them back.  I appreciate the structure and bark of our beautiful trees more visible now and the

Hello fellow readers, About a year ago we shared the Design Process as it related to the Blairstown Village Green (aka Pocket Park) planned for where the old Community Center once stood.  Gina Trish led the charge and Patti Doell, President of the North Warren Garden Club and owner of

Hello fellow readers, About leaf manners. It is not neighborly to put your leaves into other’s woods or fields without permission.  And, unless your town has a leaf sucking-up program (curbside vacuuming), putting them in the street is not a polite solution as they will blow onto your

Hello fellow readers, Last call for fall bulb planting! Kim from Hackettstown asked if I planted the snowdrops I wrote about in March. Thanks for the reminder Kim as my note to self seems to have gone missing. Snowdrops (Galanthus) create beautiful carpets of adorable little nodding w

Hello fellow readers, Several of you have asked what’s going on with the White Pines. It’s true that seeing evergreens drop their needles often triggers concern. It’s kind of like an abundance of hairs in your shower drain. All trees and shrubs renew their foliage every year. The leav