Do hard winters really curb “bad bugs”? A reader’s question opens the door to a deeper conversation about beneficial insects, plant diversity, and why harmony — not eradication — is the key to resilient gardens and balanced lives.

When a money tree becomes too tight in its pot, the remedy is simple: loosen what’s bound, refresh the soil, and give it room to grow. Sometimes the same is true in life. A struggling houseplant reminds us that renewal often begins by making space.

Yellow leaves aren’t always a crisis—they’re a conversation. In this week’s Garden Dilemmas, a fiddle-leaf fig’s distress leads to reflections on watering, patience, and tending both houseplants and tender hearts through life’s transitions.

When the New Jersey Tree Survey arrived in my mailbox, it stirred more than curiosity — it invited reflection. From fundraising letters to fallen hemlocks and thriving beeches, this story explores how trees quietly teach resilience, renewal, and hope.

As snow melts from the roof and rain fills a waiting bowl, nature offers its original gift to our houseplants. In this post, I explore why rainwater and snowmelt nourish soil more gently than tap water — and what water teaches us about patience, renewal, and trusting life’s rhythm.

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Last week, while recording the podcast version of our weekly chat from the screen porch, a loud ruckus of birds erupted, sounding like an argument from the oak tree by the vegetable garden. The ruckus was equivalent to the deafening sounds of

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, I look forward to sharing an update on a long-ago story about a real softie, a soft-wooded Sweet Autumn Clematis, in its glory this time of year. With a plethora of tiny white blooms from August to September, she resembles a snowdrift and smel

Hello fellow lovers of all things green, Mile-a-Minute Weed is running rampant, and now is the time to address it before the berries ripen. While at the eye doctor the other day, Pat at the front desk described her overwhelming mile-a-minute dilemma, reminding me of a client long ago

Hello fellow lovers of all things Green, Over-the-top spreaders, climbers, and self-seeders are known as garden thugs; a clever name that made me chuckle the first time I heard it. Barberry’s maroon leaves turn green in the shade, which is why the invasive bully is not as obviou

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Last week, we discussed how disease and insects are impacting stands of trees. Among them, the emerald ash borer has devastated native ash trees, which comprise roughly ten percent of the forests here in Northern New Jersey. Some specimen tree