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, Dry Fall Weather, Woolly bear caterpillar

Dry Fall Intervention

Hello fellow readers, How dry we’ve been!  All summer long we’ve been dry with above normal temperatures and as we move into fall its starting off same-same. The Eastern Pennsylvania Weather Authority (EPAWA), who also covers Northern New Jersey, predicts fall to be warmer and dryer t
Read More
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer,Centenary College Community Plunge, Blairstown Village Green

Community Plunge

Hello fellow readers, The Blairstown’s Village Green, also known as the pocket park where the old Community Center once stood, benefited from a weeding frenzy and a hefty load of mulch. Thanks to a busload of energetic students from Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ. Patti Doell w
Read More
a table of plants in front of a gazebo at Race Farm Market

Fall is for Planting

Hello fellow readers, We’ve had a brief hiatus from the heat and humidity, but its quick return has me weary. It occurs to me one of the biggest challenges in the garden of life is limited time. It’s true finding time in the garden is harder and harder as the summer unfolds. I b
Read More
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, Cytospora Canker. Peach Scab. Peach freckles, Perennial Canker

Not so peachy…

Hello fellow readers, Jeanne of Blairstown NJ shared a gooey dilemma on her peach trees. Both trees have clear jelly-like globs on or near the fruit. Plus, a rust colored goo on some of the branches. One tree has a deep wound at the base of the trunk, yet that’s the tree producing edi
Read More

Bad Bamboo?

Hello fellow readers, Katie of Piscataway, NJ, recently shared her ‘horrible backyard dilemma.’ Her home was once her Dad’s, which piqued my curiosity. How could her Dad’s backyard be so horrible? It turns out the neighbor’s bamboo has taken over. At firs
Read More
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, meaning of number eight, Emma Stone

Happy Double Infinity Day

Today Mom turned 88. In anticipation of her birthday, a quandary of what to send, I came across this beautiful reminder of eight while on a road walk with Miss Ellie. I sent her the photo as a birthday card. Mom always loved horses and often reminisced about her beloved horse Jack. Fo
Read More
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, Yarrow spreading, Yarrow babies

Yarrow Babies

Hello fellow readers, I love when folks send pictures of their gardens especially when their plants make new babies. Kathy of Andover sent a picture of her baby yarrows. The dilemma though, is she has more babies than she can handle. Yarrow are indeed ambitious plants native to most o
Read More
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer,recycle coffee pods, composting coffee grounds, coffee in the garden, making hydrangea blue

Coffee Grounds for your Garden?

Hello fellow readers, I’m not quite sure what inspired me to start collecting coffee grounds from the pods I once was resistant to use. Coffee grounds are terrific for your compost pile, but I don’t have one because of our resident bear. A while back, I considered worm composting indo
Read More
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer. Meadow Brook Farms, Springfest Garden Show

Color Fix at Meadowbrook Farm

Hello fellow readers, I had the privilege of visiting the in-process plants for the upcoming 20th Anniversary of the Springfest Garden Show. Meadowbrook Farms of Jenkintown PA is major player in propagating plants for the Philadelphia Flower Show as well. My colleague Marty Carson of
Read More
Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog,Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, Kissing Bug

Kissing Bugs?

Hello fellow readers, Were you bitten by a Kissing Bug during Valentine’s? Chances are no -not that I don’t wish you love. You may recall Craig from Frelinghuysen, our comical guest, with his willows gone wild and fairy ring dilemmas. When Craig asked about Kissing Bugs I reminisced a
Read More