Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
Garden Steps decorated with a colorful perennial garden with a golden retriever looking down from above.

Colors in Gardens and Our Lives

Hello fellow readers, Color in our gardens and containers impacts our lives. Then there are the other elements of the design—one of the most miraculous elements of nature, gardens, and ourselves is unseen. What fun to attend the annual conference hosted by the NJ Landscape & Nurse
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an open pea pod on a wooden table to be used to test soil for contaminants

Starting an Organic Garden

Hello fellow readers; Sara from Oxford, NJ, asked how to prepare a plot for starting an organic garden. She suspects the previous owners used chemicals, as when they moved in, the lawn “looked like a golf course.” Kudos Sara. It’s wise to consider the prior use of ch
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a red amaryllis in full bloom on a bay window at nighttime with white Christmas lights

Paperwhites & Amaryllis like to Party

Hello fellow readers, I adore the gift of amaryllis already in bud received on Thanksgiving. Watching the alien-looking beefy blooms open, badly bending the stem, makes me wonder if amaryllis like to party like paperwhites. No kidding. A continuous drink of alcohol keeps paperwhites f
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,, Late Season Naked Pots,, Dressed Late Season Pots

A Happy Ending to Naked Pots

Hello Fellow Readers; Perrenials are a perfect solution for container gardens that return their favor year to year, providing a happy ending to naked pots. What fun I had perusing a favorite wholesale nursery to fill my naked late-season pots. Rarely am I able to shop for my gardens d
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Vertical Gardening Part 2

Hello fellow readers, Several of you like the idea of standing tall while picking vegetables and are intrigued by the decorative possibilities of vertical gardens. Ted from Allamuchy uses a cattle panel arched in half so he can walk under it and secures each corner with T-posts – Wall
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Vertical Veggie Gardening

Hello fellow readers, Oh, goodie! Garden catalogs are here to tease our fancy and tickle our toes. Not sure what toes have to do with it, but it sounds exciting. And it is! John from Hope asked whether to grow veggies in those newfangled vertical garden “systems” and bags.
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a golden retriever looking over pots Ovewintering in a garage

Overwintering Potted Gardens

Hello fellow readers, With the recent below-freezing temperatures, my garden ghost routine of covering pots with sheets to keep them from freezing has begun. Admittedly it’s silly as acceptance that the growing season is over will eventually set in; about when I grow weary of th
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