Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
a Ginkgo biloba tree with a forty-foot wide canopy along a sidewalk

Enduring Hope of Ginkgo Trees

Hello fellow readers, A dear friend, Vicki Johnson, sent a Thanksgiving card she made with a beautiful photograph of a maple leaf in its fall glory. On the back, there’s folklore about catching a falling leaf bringing good luck with golden Ginkgo biloba leaves cascading amongst
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a woman's hand holding a dark brown aged pawpaw fruit

Planting Pawpaw Seeds

Hello fellow readers, What a treat to gather a biweekly allotment at Genesis Farm in Blairstown, NJ, gifted by a client who’s become a friend. Nancy said her friend Lois would be there volunteering as a greeter if I picked up the provisions before two, which I did, and what a tr
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a five-foot wide sycamore trunk decorated with a ring of ghosts and a sign that reads Boo

Halloween History & Sycamore Ghosts

Hello fellow readers, How fun to see Halloween enthusiasts decorating their homes like Christmas with purple and orange lights, cobwebs, and spiders. Even smoke machines, reminiscent of the disco days. Skeletons, goblins, and ghosts adorned a front yard we came upon; some were hanging
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, White Pine Needle Drop

Fall Needle Drop of Renewal

Hello fellow readers, Seeing evergreens drop needles often triggers concern. It’s kind of like an abundance of hairs in your shower drain. Andrea of Morristown, NJ, asked what was going on with her white pines yellowing. It’s called Fall Needle Drop “of renewal”
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an elderly woman and middle aged woman walking through an arbor

Boxwood Dilemmas & Garden Delights

Hello fellow readers, What a joy to visit with Connie and Susan of Blairstown, NJ. I met Susan and her husband, Don, while walking Jolee. They are building a home nearby, and Jolee (and I) have grown to adore them. One day we spoke about her mom, who loves to garden. Susan said a few
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pink and red roses in the middle of a hedge of boxwood in front of a park bench

Beauty and Beast of Roses

Hello fellow readers, After meeting Stephen Scannilello and purchasing his book A Year of Roses, my love-hate relationship with the beauty and beast of roses turned to respect. As you may guess, the fairytale Beauty and the Beast has something to do with it. I hope you enjoy the story
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A cluster of light green leaves next to a blue sky with sun shining through

Treasured Tuliptrees

Hello fellow readers, On Friday, while walking Jolee, I came upon a flower of a Tuliptree attached to a cluster of leaves. I learned about the culprit —squirrels building nests or sharpening their teeth, which became a column about the Litter of Tree Tips we see along roads and walks
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a tightly branched Alberta Spruce shrub with a mutating branch reverting to a regular white spruce

Mystery of Mutating Alberta Spruce

Hello fellow readers, We chatted recently about grafted weeping cherry trees that can revert to their rootstock and shoot out straight branches, often flowering a different color. Matthew from Hope, NJ, asked if that’s what’s happening to his Alberta Spruce. “It look
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a pink flowering weeping cherry tree with reverted white flowering straight branches

Reverting Weeping Cherry

Hello, fellow readers. What’s this about trees reverting back to their roots? Marcia from Columbia, NJ, sent a photo of her pink flowering weeping cherry. “There are two large boughs with pure white blossoms.” The tree looks like it has a spikey haircut as the white
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a pruned hedge of yellow flowering forsythia along a white farm fence

Forsythia Hedge at Hospice

Hello fellow readers, I’m a fan of allowing plants and people to grow to what they are meant to be. Not mold them into something they are not or prune them into unnatural shapes. Although formal gardens often call for pruned hedges or topiaries and such. And so, there are except
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