Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries, Ask Mary Stone, New Jersey Garden blog
Looking up at a Sycamore with creamy white, grey, and greenish patches on the trunk against a blue sky

Anatomy & Array of Beautiful Bark

Hello, fellow lover of all things green, During winter walks through the woods, the bark of trees takes center stage, especially standing in the snow. I confess to not being the best and identifying species without leaves unless a few are on the tree or the ground nearby. Bruce Crawfo
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Honeylocust-Spikes

Honey Locust the Porcupine of Trees

Native Honeylocust has long bean-looking seedpods I used to decorate window boxes. The fascinating tree's sharp spikes are prominent this time of year. It’s remarkable how nature creates mechanisms to protect trees from predators - much like a porcupine.
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Mary Stone, Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone,Gardening tips, Garden Blogs, Stone Associates Landscape Design, Garden Blog, Woody Plant Conference, Scotts Arboretum, Morton Arboretum

Baobab Tree of Life

Hello fellow readers, I’m back from the Woody Plant Conference held at Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College PA, always a treat. While not nearly as knowledgeable as the scientists and arborists in attendance, I have a love affair with trees, especially those that have lived far longe
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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, Silver Maple, Sacred Arrow, Arrowhead in Cape May

Silver Maple – Native American Treasure

Hello Fellow Readers, Silver Maple, once a Native American treasure, has lost favor in the horticultural industry. Still, one of the marvels of Cape May, NJ, is the abundance of Silver Maple trees that shimmer along roadsides. Silver Maple, Acer saccharinum, is native to the eastern U
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