Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
Bruce Crawford in a ball cap and black fleece in front of an iron gate and the main house at Willowwood Arboretum

Wonders of Willowwood Arboretum

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. It was April Fool’s Day when I entered Willowwood Arboretum. The meadows had not yet emerged but were dancing with daffodils. I made my way to the parking lot, where Bruce Crawford, Morris County Park Commission’s Manager of Hortic
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone, Gardening tips, Garden Blog, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Northern New Jersey Landscape Designer, NJ Garden Coach, NJ Garden Speaker, Thomas Jefferson, Monticello

Jefferson’s Monticello Lab for Plants

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. There’s an Old Farmer’s Almanac calendar above my desk, noting Friday, April 13th, is Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday – he lived from 1743 to 1826. Beyond being a founding father and the third president of the United States
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Avis Campbell Gardens octagonal pond with a pedestal fountain.

Avis Campbell Gardens Wheel of Life

Hello Fellow Readers, In last week’s story about Ripening Fall Hand-me-Down Tomatoes, I found Ed’s kindhearted lab Dolce feasting on Kousa Dogwood berries, reminding me of a fabulous Kousa adjacent to the Avis Campbell Gardens in Montclair, New Jersey. It was a summertime
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Bright yellow daisy-like flowers of Swamp Sunflower near a lake.

Native Plants for Native Pollinators

Hello fellow readers, About a year ago, I enjoyed a visit to a free public garden managed by the Morris County Park Commission tucked away in Far Hills, NJ, which became a column topic titled Wandering Willowwood Arboretum. Bruce Crawford, formerly the Director of Rutgers Gardens, joi
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the sun peering through a forest in the fall

Coretta Scott King Forest

Hello, fellow readers. As I sit to write you, it’s Martin Luther King’s Day honoring a great man. In preparation, I dug through the internet maze to learn more about the advocate of equality, looking for a connection to gardens or nature to share with you today. And there
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a grey farm house peaking through the gardens of Willowwood Arboretum

Wandering Willowwood Arboretum

Hello Fellow Readers, What a delight to wander through Willowwood Arboretum, invited by dear friends Ruth and Jim of Hope, NJ. I had never heard about the public garden, free to visit; that’s part of the Morris County Park system. Tucked away in Far Hills, NJ, the journey throug
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Burle Marx – NY Botanical Garden

Hello Fellow Readers, Recently I had the privilege of visiting the New York Botanical Gardens with nurserywoman become friend, Holly from Blairstown NJ. It was her idea to see the gardens featuring Brazilian landscape architect Burle Marx before the exhibit closed last week. Designate
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Urban Gardens, Pittsburgh Gardens, Point State Park, Peter Del Tredici, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Point State Park, an Urban Garden

Hello fellow readers, A visit to Point State Park, an urban garden in downtown Pittsburgh, highlights a recent trip. The mist from a glorious 150-foot fountain that sits at the point where the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers combine provided soothing relief from the oppressive
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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, Comfrey in the Garden, Castor Beans, Ricinus communis

Castor Bean Plants hide ‘Uglies’

Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. Last week, I shared the desperate measure of hacking back leatherleaf viburnums plagued with aphids. Ironically, Betsy from Stone Church, PA, asked about using castor bean plants in her garden, which I planted to camouflage the ‘uglies&#
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