GARDEN DILEMMAS? ASK MARY!

Hello Fellow Readers, Just before our gardens kicked into gear, I attended a succulent event hosted by A&J Messina Greenhouses in Blairstown, NJ, which served as a mini-gardening warmup. What a lively group of over seventy guests learning how to make a terrarium. Trays of succulen

Hello Fellow Readers, Springtime is mulch time, and John from Andover, NJ, asked what kind of mulch is best. First and foremost, remember to apply only two to three inches of mulch and stay clear of trunks and stems to prevent disease (a polite way of saying no volcano mulch). There w

Hello Fellow Readers, Arbor Day occurs worldwide at different times of the year, based on the growing season. In the United States, it’s celebrated on the last Friday in April. The origin of Arbor Day here dates back to 1872 when J. Sterling Morton, President Cleveland’s S

Hello fellow readers, As I write you it’s Easter Monday when the tradition of egg rolling contests are taking place. But we woke to snow. Seven inches of it. An egg-shaped snowball could be charming…. Not to worry, it will melt quickly and the daffodils under the snow this morni

Hello fellow readers, If I may share a story about Mettler’s Woods located in Somerset, NJ. On the second day of Spring, we braced for another round of blinding snow and high winds. Instead, a peaceful eight inches of fluff fell. Good thing as we were all weary. The snow quickly

Hello fellow readers, Last week we spoke about witch hazel brightening the winter-scape with petite mops of color. Another first to show is the beloved pussy willow whose bud-like puffs of fuzz are in fact blooms. They are called catkins which seems fitting that pussy willows produce

Hello fellow readers, We welcome witch hazel’s winter reprieve of blooms bringing color to the predominantly white and grey landscape. They are one of the first to appear, with tiny mops of late winter blooms. The late-winter or early-spring bloomers we see are hybrids of mostly

Hello fellow readers, As I write it’s the second day of March and a wild storm with high winds and heavy snow is underway. After a mild February with temps in the fifties, even some seventies, soil is saturated and soft. The risk of trees falling causing power outages are high. Talk a

Hello fellow readers, Thank you for your kind wishes for a return to health. I am grateful to feel well again…. Please excuse the late posting of the column due to power and internet outages caused by the nor’easter that slammed the northeast on Friday. It’s been quite an