Hello fellow readers, A new year often brings resolutions like exercising, getting organized, or quitting habits like smoking or stacking up garden magazines (busted!). I spent an afternoon in the basement tending to a long overdue task of clearing things out. Basements are limbo plac

Hello fellow readers, So long 2017. It has been a wonderful year of learning. In revisiting our topics, we sure spoke about a bunch of critters. About the birds in a two-part bird fodder series. And about the bees – the story about relocating fifty thousand honeybees that took up resi

Hello Fellow Readers, The Press publishes a pictorial issue during Christmas week – few written words, simply photo highlights from their year of publication. While I enjoyed the deadline respite, I couldn’t let the week go by without posting for my followers online (Thank

Hello fellow readers, Nuts are abundant this fall which, in weather folklore, means a harsh winter is ahead. When walking around our Shagbark Hickory trees (Carya ovata) it feels as though I’m skating on marbles. The first time I was introduced to shagbark nuts was when a golf ball si

Hello fellow readers, Andrea of Morristown NJ asked what’s going on with her white pines. Seeing evergreens drop needles often triggers concern. It’s kind of like an abundance of hairs in your shower drain. Evergreen foliage, despite their name, does not live forever. As new growth em

Hello fellow readers, This growing season provided a perfect environment for foliar disease. Earlier in the summer Hector from Morristown, NJ sent a photo of his Mom’s maple tree dotted with black spots. “All the leaves seem to have the cooties.” I sent the photo off to my favorite as

Hello fellow readers, The ideal conditions for stunning fall color are a moist growing season (check – we had that) followed by a dry fall (yup – we’ve had that too) with sunny, warm days and cool nights (nope – didn’t happen). After a wet summer, most predicted we’d

Hello fellow readers, I have the privilege to work with Stephanie of Denville, NJ, who moved from the west coast. She bought a cute cottage in a lake community overlooking a magnificent forest. The steepness of the slope is a dilemma for those like Stephanie who wish to ponder amongst

Hello fellow readers, One of my favorite vines is the Sweet Autumn Clematis in her glory this time of year. With a plethora of tiny white blooms from August through September, she looks like a snowdrift and smells heavenly. Once the flowers fade, a silvery blanket of seed heads follow

Hello fellow readers, As I write I am preparing for a Writer’s Conference in New York City where I will be rubbing shoulders with writers, agents and publishers. I’m dreaming big about bringing our column to others in the form of a book; God willing. Thank you for your five years of s