Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Sweet Autumn Clematis, Clematis ternifora, Fall flowering clematis

Sweet Autumn Clematis

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
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Darn Deer, Deter Deer

Darn Deer

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
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a meadow filled with purple, yellow, and white wildflowers below a bright blue sky.

A Walk in the Meadow

Hello fellow readers, A walk in the meadow with my friend and go-to mystery solver of all things in nature is always a treat. While Dennis Briede’s day responsibility is Stewardship Manager for The Land Conservancy of New Jersey (http://tlc-nj.org/), his true passion is living among n
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,, Invasive Barberry,Smoke Bush, Cotinus coggygria,

Alternatives to Invasive Barberry

Hello Fellow Readers, When I began as a designer, I thought barberry overtaking forest floors was native, which is not the case. The maroon leaf Japanese Barberry, Berberis thunbergii, has been overused in deer-populated areas for years, though it’s understandable why their popularity
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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, Perennials 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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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,, Late Season Naked Pots,

Filling Late-Season Naked Pots

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
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Peat Moss, coconut fiber, coir

Free Peat or Peat Free ?

Hello Fellow Readers, For several years now I’ve had two bales of peat moss in my potting shed. For the life of me I don’t recall where they came from. Perhaps a donation from a client when they moved? Sphagnum moss, or peat moss, is a genus of approximately 380 species. It’s a
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Garden Podcast, Mary E Stone podcast, garden Dilemmas Podcast

My very first DIY Podcast

October 12, 2019 Update – Since my “DIY” Podcast, I’ve launched a professionally-produced podcast thanks to Alex Bartling. You can click through to Tune-In Radio or your chosen Podcast App to find the Garden Dilemmas Podcast. Please subscribe to the podcast and
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Removing ants from the garden, home remedies to remove ants, safe ways to remove ants

Ants be Gone

Hello Fellow Readers, Pam and Ed of Sparta have a charming bluestone patio. The shady spot has encouraged moss to take up residence, which is lovely. The dilemma is, ants have also moved in. Previous attempts to evict the ants have caused the demise of their treasured green fuzz in th
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an earthworm on the road with a maroon sneaker

Good for the garden… Not the woods

Hello Fellow Readers, Earthworms are destroying forest floors shared William of Bangor PA after I bragged about the benefits of castings (worm poop) in the garden. I didn’t know, along with the benefits of our slimy garden guests, there are negative outcomes of their presence; especia
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