Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries
Join columnist and garden designer Mary Stone in sharing Dilemmas, Delights, & Discoveries in the Garden of Life.
Episodes
Mary Stone reflects on lessons learned from a year of observation in the garden and wild places beyond it. From copperheads and moths to healing land and personal change, she explores how slowing down, trusting nature, and paying attention to what often goes unseen can lead to growth, understanding, and quiet transformation.
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Mary Stone reflects on the wisdom of stillness as an essential part of growth. Through nature’s rhythms and garden observations, she explores how healing and transformation often unfold unseen, offering a gentle preview of themes in Part Two of her forthcoming book, The Lesson of the Leaf.
“Stillness isn’t a pause — it’s where growth quietly begins.”
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A winter garden project leads Mary Stone to reflect on invasive plants, memorial trees, and the tender wisdom of knowing when it’s time to let go—both in gardens and in life.
This episode is a gentle reminder that healing, like gardening, is an ongoing practice—rooted in observation, compassion, and trust in nature’s rhythm.
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Related Posts and Podcasts you'll Enjoy.
Mary Stone reflects on late-season garden projects, including the removal of old telephone poles and the careful harvesting of boulders for new retaining walls—done with deep respect for the surrounding ecosystem. She shares tips for planting perennials with liner plugs, using Stress X to support transplanted shrubs, and managing fallen leaves to benefit both wildlife and soil health.
Weaving garden wisdom with seasonal reflection, ...
Mary Stone reflects on the life and legacy of her dear friend and design colleague, Marty Carson, who recently passed away. She shares memories of their collaboration and the impact of Marty's wisdom and generosity on the gardening community, including a lecture they gave on deer-resistant gardening, which shared humorous and effective methods to deter deer. Mary concludes with personal updates on her own garden and a poem by ...
In this episode, Mary Stone shares the surprising gifts of her late-season vegetable garden and highlights the benefits of No-Till gardening. She walks through ripening green tomatoes indoors, saving seeds for next year and putting the garden to bed without disturbing the living soil below — a gentle practice that nurtures healthier plants and fewer weeds.
Mary also reflects on nature’s timing, the season of letting go, and the hear...
Mary Stone shares a breathtaking encounter with a flock of grackles while visiting the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice in Fredon, NJ. Their synchronized flight inspires a reflection on the quiet wisdom of nature and the beauty of unity in motion.
How the birds never collide opens a deeper exploration of how grackles — and all flocking birds — navigate together through separation, alignment, and cohesion. Their graceful movement o...
Mary Stone shares an update on her friend and design colleague, Marty Carson, who is now in hospice care in Florida. At the same time, with a heavy heart, she shares news of the closure of the Karen and Quinlan Home for Hospice in Fredon, NJ, due to financial and staffing challenges. Mary and her singing partner, Ken Roberts, volunteer weekly, offering music therapy.
To know that such compassionate care of our elderly and gravely ...
As fall unfolds, trees show us the art of letting go. From green to gold, orange to red, each leaf teaches us that change brings growth and beauty. In this episode, Mary Stone reflects on how nature mirrors our own seasons of transformation — and how letting go creates room for new life.
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Related Podcast and Posts:
Sequence of Fall Leaves Brings Life – Blog Post
Mary Stone shares the delights and cleanup sagas of Shagbark Hickory trees, highlighting their shaggy bark, edible nuts, and benefits to wildlife. She shares personal experiences and reader anecdotes, such as a client who planted Shagbark hickory for pollination and a reader from Indiana dealing with an excessive amount of nuts.
Mary explains the tree's three-year nut-producing cycle and how mast years and nutless years help b...
Mary Stone recounts witnessing a bear in her pond overnight, perhaps feeding on acorns. The encounter led her to learn about the Acorn Float Test, which assesses the viability of acorns for propagation.
Blue Jays flock to feast on acorns in the fall, making a ruckus. Like squirrels, they bury a stash, though many are never retrieved. Mary admits a previous grudge against Blue Jays, which shifted after observing their nature. She hi...
Mary Stone discusses the history, benefits, and healing aspects of sunflowers, sharing her return visit to Liberty Farms' Sunflower Maze in Sandyston. Raj Sinha graciously opens the maze to those who benefit from the services of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey each year.
She features meeting Raj's son, who self-published a book, "Jill the Chick." His optimism and actions serve as a testament to young...
Mary Stone discusses the phenomenon of Fairy Rings, caused by fungi creating dark green or brown circular bands in lawns. Craig from New Jersey shares his hilarious experience with Fairy Rings, initially suspecting contamination from pesticides. Mary explains the natural occurrence and folklore of fairy rings.
She also reflects on the ecological significance of fungi, highlighting their role in recycling decay into life. Additional...
Mary Stone discusses the fascinating world of fungi, particularly Giant Puffball Mushrooms and Jack o' Lantern Mushrooms. She emphasizes the importance of proper identification for those who scavenge for wild mushrooms and shares the foolproof four suggested by Cabinlife.com.
Additionally, Mary explains the concept of the Wood Wide Web, detailing the differences between mycorrhizal fungi and mycelium.
Then concludes by reflect...
Mary Stone discusses her experiences with snakes, particularly Copperheads, in her garden and how their hourglass-shaped markings blend into the environment. While venomous, they aren't as dangerous as rumored, and while they benefit us by controlling pests, she shares ways to discourage them from hunkering down in your garden.
The episode concludes with other wildlife encounters that instill fear, followed by excitement and ...
Mary Stone describes the beauty and fragrance of Sweet Autumn Clematis, despite its invasive tendencies, suggesting that pruning seed heads before they dry will prevent self-seeding. She introduces an alternative native plant look-alike, Virgin's Bower, clematis virginiana. Though nonfragrant, it's a lure to pollinators. Plus, Mary lists lovely native shrubs to shade the roots of clematis.
She wraps up sharing her recent ...
As a sequel to the last episode, Mary Stone updates the progress of a late-season cardinal nest that she thought was taken by a predator. Later, she learns that the fledglings are likely on the ground, honing their flying skills while being tended by their parents.
She concludes with a reflection based on a plaque passed down by her mother: "Wonder is the Beginning of Wisdom," encouraging listeners to cultivate acceptance...
Mary Stone reflects on how birthdays encourage us to pause and reflect, change, and maybe plant new seeds. She shares the outcomes of her book proposal to Hay House Publishing, which, although initially disappointing, inspires other ways to share The Lesson of the Leaf. She concludes with a heartwarming story about the restoration of a Welcome Home Clematis and a surprise late nesting of cardinals, teaching how endings give way to ...
Mary Stone shares participating in a moth survey with Blaine Rothauser of GZA Geoenvironmental, Inc., and Dennis Briede, whose mountain meadow is at the base of the Kittatinny Mountains in Blairstown, New Jersey.
Using metal halide and ultraviolet lights to attract moths, they recorded 80 species by 11:15 PM. Blaine emphasizes the importance of moths as indicators of ecological health. Mary highlights the Bird Poop Moth's camo...
Mary Stone shares the Remedies for Mile-a-Minute Weed and how an inundation of the invader turned into a garden filled with Native Deer-resistant Butterfly Plants.
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Related Podcasts and Posts You'll Enjoy:
Mile-a-Minute Remedies – Native Butterfly Plants - Blog Post
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The Tiny Wonder of Duckweed - Blog Post
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