Hello fellow readers, Most of you have decked the halls, but I am late this year and wrestle whether to dig out the artificial standby or go for a much preferred real tree. I bought my standby many years ago to use the times I visited the folks in Florida over Christmas. Some travel y

Hello fellow readers, Since my recent admission several of you have fessed up that you have yet to cut back your perennials.  Glad I am not the only one!  And it is true that leaving seed heads on your dormant perennials over winter will encourage many of your plants to spread.  John

Hello fellow readers, Winter predictions are always a popular topic this time of year. You’ve heard the folklore; the wider the middle brown section of the wooly bear caterpillar the milder the coming winter. The more frenzied the nut collecting of squirrels the harsher the wint

Hello fellow readers, I am thankful for the dormant perennials with seed heads awaiting their role to fall to the ground and germinate which makes me feel less guilty that I have yet to cut them back.  I appreciate the structure and bark of our beautiful trees more visible now and the

Hello fellow readers, About leaf manners. It is not neighborly to put your leaves into other’s woods or fields without permission.  And, unless your town has a leaf sucking-up program (curbside vacuuming), putting them in the street is not a polite solution as they will blow onto your

Hello fellow readers, Last call for fall bulb planting! Kim from Hackettstown asked if I planted the snowdrops I wrote about in March. Thanks for the reminder Kim as my note to self seems to have gone missing. Snowdrops (Galanthus) create beautiful carpets of adorable little nodding w

Hello fellow readers, Several of you have asked what’s going on with the White Pines. It’s true that seeing evergreens drop their needles often triggers concern. It’s kind of like an abundance of hairs in your shower drain. All trees and shrubs renew their foliage every year. The leav

Hello fellow readers, Weather apps are no longer providing frost advisories as the growing season is over! It turns out many of you share the wish to keep things going.  Scott emailed wanting to overwinter palm trees he bought this summer but doesn’t have room in his house.  His garag

Hello fellow readers, Goldenrod’s bad reputation is hard to turn around! Sandy from Sparta questioned a recommendation to add Solidago to her fall garden.  The common name is Goldenrod, after all, and doesn’t it cause allergies? The actual offender is Ragweed (Ambrosia ) which g