Hello fellow readers, While the official start of fall has begun, the heat and humidity return after the late summer cooling spell has Mother Nature confused. I heard spring peepers the other evening while sitting on the screened porch. And, there’s early leaf drop on certain tr

Hello fellow readers, I have the privilege to work with Stephanie of Denville, NJ, who moved from the west coast. She bought a cute cottage in a lake community overlooking a magnificent forest. The steepness of the slope is a dilemma for those like Stephanie who wish to ponder amongst

Hello fellow readers, One of my favorite vines is the Sweet Autumn Clematis in her glory this time of year. With a plethora of tiny white blooms from August through September, she looks like a snowdrift and smells heavenly. Once the flowers fade, a silvery blanket of seed heads follow

Hello Fellow Readers, The pots between the garage doors remain largely vacant since our yellow jacket dilemma. Due to the proximity of the nest and the risk of anaphylactic shock of loved ones, a non-organic approach was sadly called for. If the yellowjacket nest was not in a tenuous

Hello Fellow Readers, We had a near-stinging episode from a garden pot begging for its annual dressing, a task not yet done due to a humbling hand procedure gratefully on the mends. A client grew tired of deer spraying and passed along Hosta, which I nested in the pots as a temporary

Hello Fellow Readers, To properly plant trees and shrubs on a hillside, you should create a platform by elevating the downhill side or cutting into the hill—a lesson that leads to a story about a cherished tree planted in my sister’s hillside garden. Mom especially admired the R

Hello, Fellow Readers. Jeanne of Blairstown shared a fungi dilemma: an alien-looking plethora of mushrooms amongst her garden mulch. Mushrooms are the fruit of valuable spores that decay organic material and recycle nutrients back into the soil, which is good for plants. However, in v

Hello Fellow Readers, A few weeks ago, we spoke about how to evict ants from a natural stone patio without spoiling the charming moss in the joints (link below). The topic brings to mind how best to clean patios and walks without damaging the stone or plants; one of my nagging dilemma

Hello Fellow Readers, Interactions with wildlife can bring a tear to my eye… the wonder of it all. On April 23rd, while walking along Island Beach State Park, NJ, with canine kid Ellie, we spied a fisherman with what looked like a dog. I should preface that Ellie is a rescue who still

Hello Fellow Readers, As we ready our gardens for the new season of growth, many add fertilizers and other nourishment such as compost and manure. You’ve likely noticed I advocate organic practices so we all may breathe green with a splash of color. Organic farming became known