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,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Mary Elaine Stone, Garden of Life, Stink bugs. Stink bugs impact on plants

Compassion for Stink Bugs?

Hello Fellow Readers, During a recent interview with BJ Ward of Warren County Community College in Washington NJ regarding their upcoming visit with Liz Gilbert, he asked if stink bugs are a common garden dilemma question. As a matter of fact, no one yet asked about the annoying littl
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Mary Elaine Stone, Garden of Life, Elizaberth Gilbert Big Magic, Magic Lessons Podcast, BJ Ward, Liz Gilbert visits Waren County Community College, Moss Garden

Garden Magic

I believe all of us can live creatively; however we choose to express it. But along with creativity comes vulnerability. Indeed, there's something intimate about sharing one's creative self. But creativity in the garden offers a safe space—a forgiving place to dabble as we grow and le
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Mary Elaine Stone, Garden of Life, synthetic pyrethroid insecticides,EPA Restrictions on Pyrethroid Use, AmericanHort, pyrethroid, pyrethrins

“Urgent Action Needed”

Hello Fellow Readers, I received an email from AmericanHort that “Urgent Action is Needed”. “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is evaluating whether to further restrict uses of synthetic pyrethroid insecticides.” Anything urgent and pertaining to the protection of our environm
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Mary Elaine Stone, Garden of Life, Spruce Canker Disease, Canker Disease

Dreaded Canker Disease

Hello Fellow Readers, Hector and Judy of Morristown NJ, longtime clients become friends, have a “Big and Little” vignette of blue spruces that have begun to decline. Their little blue looks as though the needles were stripped from the lower branches. “Did the deer do this to my baby b
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Mike Dooley, Garden of Life, Jonathan Taylor

“It wants to fly”

  “It wants to fly,” explained Jonathan Taylor as we were taking off. I shivering inside surely due to the below freezing temps (not). Jon, I called him then, is long ago friend from my NYC radio days at Kiss-FM. Last Saturday he visited by way of plane. During breakfast at the R
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,

A Look Back and Forward

Hello Fellow Readers, Thanks to all of you our Garden Dilemma chats have run for 239 weeks and counting! We shared a range of topics this last year from the most recent ones – the history of poinsettias known as the Flowers of the Holy Night and the Magnitude of Promise of 5,000
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Shrewsbury Garden Club of NJ, National Garden Club, The Garden Club of NJ

Garden Clubs… a Magnitude of Promise

Hello Fellow Readers, Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with garden clubs and participating in their activities. I didn’t realize until digging into history, the magnitude and impact of garden clubs across the country, even the world. The first garden club in America
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker, woolly bear caterpillar, winter weather folklore

Woolly Bear Caterpillar Best of Show

Hello Fellow Readers, For the last three years, we’ve shared winter weather predictions based on our local expert – the Eastern Pennsylvania Weather Authority (EPAWA), which also serves Northern New Jersey. In reviewing last year’s predictions, let’s say their lengthy disclaimer
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Ruth Ratcliff, Bumble Bee, Bee Balm, Monarda

Bee Kind

Hello Fellow Readers, There’s quite a buzz about widely-used insecticides impacting our pollinators. One out of every three bites of food depend on a pollinator; hence they are critical to our food supply. Digging through research, there are varying opinions on the effect of insectici
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach and Speaker,Planting around Septics

Growing Around Septic Systems

Hello Fellow Readers, Last week we shared Pam and Ed’s steep garden dilemma leading to the flat back forty where their septic field is. Ed thought it best not to plant anything over the field as the root systems could interfere. It’s true it’s not good to plant trees, large shrubs or
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