Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, In search of a special Christmas card, I found one that intrigued me. “The Legend of the Christmas Tree,” is the headline, with an artist rendering of a man on a horse pulling an evergreen towards a log cabin in the woods. The Lege

Native Honeylocust has long bean-looking seedpods I used to decorate window boxes. The fascinating tree's sharp spikes are prominent this time of year. It’s remarkable how nature creates mechanisms to protect trees from predators - much like a porcupine.

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Typically, my garden ghost routine of covering pots with sheets to keep them from freezing begins in late October. Then, I grow weary of the ritual. Besides, one must accept endings. Now, after migrating from annuals in pots to perennials, the

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, I just returned from being with family in Tennessee and Virginia for Thanksgiving, a treasured time. I hope you enjoyed the holiday too. Thanksgiving is about giving thanks, which is timeless and universal. We give thanks for the gifts of life

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, It was confusing the day before Veterans Day this year. Folks were off, and schools closed. I thought it was always on November 11. There’s a significance to 11-11, and why poppies are on lapels on Veterans Day and in our garden. So, I d

Hello Fellow Readers, In last week’s story about Ripening Fall Hand-me-Down Tomatoes, I found Ed’s kindhearted lab Dolce feasting on Kousa Dogwood berries, reminding me of a fabulous Kousa adjacent to the Avis Campbell Gardens in Montclair, New Jersey. It was a summertime

Hello, Fellow Readers, Before the first frost, I harvested the green tomatoes, leaving some for the critters to feed. A lesson I learned from Ed of Bridgewater, NJ, who gave me hand-me-down tomatoes, leading to a refresher on ripening indoors and an easy-peasy way to freeze the overab

Hello, Fellow Readers, These are nutty times. Far nuttier than usual in my neck of the woods. The Shagbark Hickory nuts are overabundant and golf ball and size, so much so that walking amongst them is risky for ankle stability. It’s called masting when there’s an excess of

Hello, fellow readers, It never occurred to me that there is an inconsistency of what defines a pond versus a lake; if I may share a walk in the woods, that leads to the curious question. After our weekly volunteer sing at the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice on Friday, I enjoyed a

Hello, fellow readers. Leaves are well on their way in their fall shift, but many have dropped dry, never changing color. Likely due to the spring draught followed by our wet summer. Tired leaves fall early. At the same time, many are still green, giving us hope for glorious fall colo