Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Fawn, fawn in the garden, wildlife rehabilitator

Let Fawns & Wildlife Be

Hello fellow readers, In the late afternoon, I heard a young fawn crying and thought Jolee was out and about interrupting the flow of things. Translated, I thought perhaps she was intruding upon the sleeping fawn. But Jolee was inside basking in the sun coming in from the storm door,
Read More
a birdseye view of purple and white petunias and American Flag for Memorial Day

Flowers & Meaning of Memorial Day

Hello fellow readers;  A Little Hope Foundation funds a Comfort Zone Camp supporting kids and young adults who lost a loved one to suicide. The camp, held the weekend before Memorial Day, reflects the meaning of the holiday and favorite Memorial Day flowers of remembrance. History &am
Read More
The invasiveness of wisteria suffocating and old tree

Wisteria Reflections on Invasiveness

Hello fellow readers, As I write, I’m delighted to report a robin’s nest underway outside my kitchen window. I look forward to sharing an analogy about one of their instincts to protect their nest. A little teaser here- It involves their reflection in the windows. But firs
Read More
A red Virginia Creeper Vine climbing a tree

Value of Virginia Creeper vs. Poison Ivy

Hello fellow readers,  What a treat to visit Elisabeth, a delightful client who moved back from Chicago to be near her family. She painted her renovated and restored farmhouse built in the 1800s in a dramatic yet soothing shade of dark gray with black trim. And implemented the landsca
Read More
A lime green Mile-a-minute-weed-leaf is almost a perfect triangle

Mile-a-Minute Weed Remedies

Hello Fellow Readers; Sarah of Hope, NJ, was shy about providing photos before our Landscape Review and Recommendation meeting. Primarily because she fell behind in her garden maintenance, something I share in common during the summer heat. Sarah’s Mile-a-Minute weed is especial
Read More
A family rejuvenate pruning and overgrown foundation planting along a brick-faced house.

Rejuvenation Pruning Lifts Hearts

Hello fellow readers; Rejuvenation pruning lifts hearts, including mine, as I joined a lifelong friend and her grown sons to rejuvenate overgrown shrubs and renew their gardens. I hope you enjoy the story. It’s always fun to have a new hairdo, as has my friend Michele, who lives
Read More
Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa virginica

Carpenter Bees are Essential Pollinators

Hello fellow Readers, Spring is a busy time for folks in the horticultural industry – Spring Madness Mode, I call it, and it’s hard to keep up. It’s also a busy time for wildlife. Birds are flitting about to find their best spots. It’s fun to anticipate new baby bird
Read More
lime green Japanese maple leaves unfolding with seed pods forming below.

Spring Unfolding is Happiness

Hello fellow readers; I often start chats with you by dictating thoughts on a morning walk with Jolee. And today, I am embracing spring unfolding, which we enjoy from year to year. The patterns in nature are familiar, bringing happiness and responsibility. Patterns of Spring Unfolding
Read More
a lovely house with a wrap around porch and glass enclosed porch with a no mow may lawn

No-Mow May helps Pollinators

Hello fellow readers, Have you ever heard of No-Mow May? It’s kind of like Dry January when folks forgo alcoholic drinks after a holiday of overindulgence. Well, maybe the only likeness is it lasts a month—the benefits of not mowing your grass in May last far longer. And it is e
Read More
A woman in a beige cap with a white dog amongst a grove of young white pines in a successional forest.

A Successional Forest of Growth

Hello fellow readers, We visited Blue Mountain Lake, part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, to enjoy an early spring day. It’s sad to see the deterioration and the closing of sections under the guise of a lack of funding to maintain it. On the side gated off, w
Read More