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, To follow are tips and protocols of watering plants. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been hot and dry. I’m all for zero-scaping, the trendy phonetic spelling of xeriscaping; also known as drought-tolerant or smart-scaping. In a nutshell, choose plants who

Hello fellow readers, I’ve been known to stop in my tracks to take a photo of a beautiful tree, garden, or the magnificence of nature’s inspiration. Then there’s what I kindly call ‘garden nots’ which became a fun lecture topic not long ago. Recently I visited Cape May where glorious

Hello fellow readers, While sitting with Mom outside her nursing home in Virginia, I noticed a crust of bread being hauled off by an ant.  I marvel at how much an ant can carry – ten to fifty times their body weight, they say. Mom, who inspired my gardening start, can’t talk muc

Hello fellow readers, One of the notable things about our chats is the cycle of gardening dilemmas each year. It’s Japanese beetle time, and they must be out in full force based on all who have asked what to do. Last year we talked about the store-bought Japanese beetle bags and

Hello fellow readers, Last week, we spoke about George’s weedy invasion resulting in the need for a garden do-over. Thankfully, he opted for a more organic approach, including a non-chemical remedy called soil solarization. Here’s how. Preparing your garden for planting is