Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
Mimi holding pots of red and yellow zinnias purchased for her foundation garden in Hope, New Jersey.

Lessons from Spiderwort and Crooked Trees

What began as a garden tune-up for a dear client became a wrestling match with Spiderwort—and a lesson about purpose, resilience, and life's winding paths. Our conversation and a song about a crooked tree revealed that what seems out of place today may have a purpose we cannot yet see
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Fresh spring leaves and a yellow flower drifting together in moving water symbolize connection, belonging, and life's journey.

Growing Belonging in the Garden of Life

While revising her book proposal inspired by The Lesson of the Leaf, Mary Stone discovers an unexpected truth woven through years of writing, gardening, and observing nature. The deepest lesson may not be about healing loneliness and loss—but about remembering that we belong.
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Mary Stone standing back-to-back with her Little Buddy beside a lake at Comfort Zone Camp.

Healing Beneath the Mayapple

A weekend at Comfort Zone Camp reveals healing beneath the Mayapple: the wisdom of the magical plant, reflections on loss, kindness, nature, and the courage of brave children healing from a loss of a family member to suicide.
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Native skunk cabbage flowers emerging through melting snow in early spring.

Skunk Cabbage Appeal

Skunk cabbage may not win any beauty contests (though I feel its beautiful), but this remarkable native wetland plant offers one of nature's earliest signs of spring. From melting snow with its own warmth to feeding emerging pollinators, skunk cabbage reminds us that beauty, resilienc
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Large edible rhubarb growing in a mulched garden bed

Rhubarb Edible vs. Ornamental— Kindness Helps Heal

From the difference between edible rhubarb and ornamental rhubarb, from blooming tea to rhubarb custard pie, Mary Stone reflects on friendship, healing, and the beautiful ways kindness helps us grow through difficult seasons of life.
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Snowdrops and dog in early spring reflections along a roadside garden

Early Spring Reflections: What the Roadside Reveals About Belief

A roadside walk after winter’s thaw reveals more than litter—it uncovers quiet lessons in tending what doesn’t belong and noticing what begins to bloom. From snowdrops to a snapping turtle, nature reminds us that even after disruption, growth returns.
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Jolee running over a footbridge into the misty woods during a late winter walk.

A Late Winter Walk to Remember & March Folklore of Hope

A quiet walk in the rainy late-winter woods becomes a meditation on healing, March folklore, and the promise that storms eventually give way to new growth.
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orange, yellow, and purple flowering plants populate Dennis Briede's meadow.

Native vs. Invasive Plants: Who Decides What Belongs?

What does “native” really mean — and who decides? A visit to Pittsburgh’s Point State Park, reflections on urban ecosystems, and even the humble stink bug reveal surprising lessons about biodiversity, adaptation, and belonging in our ever-changing garden of life.
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Red barns and tall silos reflected in calm winter pond water create a peaceful rural landscape of symmetry, stillness, and quiet seasonal beauty.

Reflections in the Garden of Life

In winter’s stillness, reflections reveal what shadows alone cannot. From mirrored ponds to garden design and the quiet wisdom of roots beneath the soil, this post explores how nature teaches us about healing, self-awareness, and the promise of spring in the garden of life.
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