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, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker, Silver Maple, Sacred Arrow, Arrowhead in Cape May

Silver Maple, a Native American Treasure

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Silver Maple, once a Native American treasure, has lost favor in the horticultural industry. Still, I find them one of Cape May, New Jersey’s marvels—how the abundance of Silver Maple trees shimmers along roadsides. Silver Maple, Acer sa
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, Green and White Gardens, Gardens Glow, Oak leaf Hydrangea, Bottle brush buckeye, Horse Chestnut, Variegated ornamental grass

White Flowers in Gardens Glow

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. If I may revisit a remarkable garden design story from a handful of years ago for Morristown Airport and lessons learned from how white flowers in gardens glow. Our not good enough button Do you recall waiting until the last minute to finish y
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a closeup of a flopping limelight hydrangea

Fixing Flopping Limelight Hydrangeas

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. In the spirit of our recent chats about hydrangeas and a heartfelt anniversary, I’d like to revisit a story about flopping Limelight Hydrangeas and introduce you to a newer variety that solves the bowing blossoms of Limelights. Lorraine
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a course green leafed Munchkin Oakleaf Hydrangea with pinkish flowers spotted with freckles.

Oakleaf Hydrangea for All Seasons

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Bonnie of Stillwater, NJ, has a Burning Bush planted by her parents, who once lived in the home. She is attached to it and continues to prune it to keep it from rising above her bay window, which may help prevent its invasiveness. But I sugges
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Deep Blue Flowering Hydrangea loaded with Blooms

When to Prune Hydrangea, Deer!

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, Hydrangeas blooms have been bountiful this year in the Northeast due to the mild and wet winter without the normal cycle of freezing and thawing that damages buds. Mine are so heavily laden that they are flopping, blocking access to the front
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a little girl in a blue sundress and pigtails holding hands with her mom.

Fistfuls of Pinecones Bring Happiness

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Last week, we spoke about Early Acorn Drop – Lessons of Letting Go. Acorns aren’t the only thing that seems to be dropping early. During a walk on Sunday on the Paulinskill Rail Trail, I meandered further and landed at our local airport.
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Early Acorn Drop – Lessons of Letting Go

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, An entertaining exchange about the probable causes of an abundance of acorns dropping early leads to lessons in letting go, thanks to Chris from Blairstown, NJ, who asked if I ever saw acorns fall this early. “Our trees in the back start
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a large truck with a spaded holding the giant umbrella pine as a mother and young boy watch.

The Gift of a Giant Umbrella Pine

Hello, lovers of all things green. Our public gardens are a sure way to get a garden and nature “fix” with no cost of admission. Bruce Crawford, Morris County Park Commission’s Manager of Horticulture, invited me to tour the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, NJ.
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a white stucco house with a boxwood hedge and pink knockout roses and white climbing roses.

Holy Moly Rose Remedies

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I am recovering from a respiratory infection that snuck up on me, much like plant diseases can. Gratefully, I’m on the mend, as are two unsightly rose dilemmas calling for holy moly rose remedies (smile). We’ve chatted about the pl
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a close up of John Cabot Roses with hot pink petals and yellow centers.

The Irresistible John Cabot Rose

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green, What a treat to learn about John Cabot Roses through a story shared by a writer friend, Koleen Garland, who lives in Canada. She titled her “two-hour writing binge” (meaning first draft, hard to believe)—That Indestructible, Irresi
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