Paths lend order and structure to the garden and choreograph the experience of moving through the plantings. Elaborate or simple, they invite exploration and simplify maintenance. Happy are the trail-blazers, leading the way.

There comes a time when you realize that some plant you are growing pleases you not at all. Harden your heart, gardeners, and vote it off the island. There’s plenty more plants to tempt and maybe charm you.

We’re heading into another string of 90 degree days and it can make you want to hide inside in the air conditioning. Gardeners still have to brave the heat to keep their plants alive. Some like it hot — some don’t.

Fill your yard with nectar plants and save the bees - I’m sure most gardeners have heard this plea. But aside from knowing it’s a vital food for pollinators, how much do you know about nectar? Turns out it’s a complex substance..

The arrival of local corn and tomatoes surely ranks among the most anticipated highlights of summer. Jersey corn isn’t available yet - but is it really only knee-high by now? Is “as high as an elephant’s eye” just a fanciful corn benchmark? We investigate.

Beginning gardeners often feel a bit overwhelmed by the many moving parts to successful gardening - and we old hands are often baffled, too. Don’t let fear of failure stop you for one moment. A “mistake” is really just an opportunity to learn something.

Had you given up on impatiens, that favorite shade annual, due to disease that struck some years back? Good news - plant breeders have introduced new strains that are resistant to the downy mildew, the cause of the problem. It may be time to try impatiens again.

Pinks are sweet little flowers with a nose-tingling, spicy clove scent. Easy to grow and eager bloomers, they are a cottage garden favorite. Protect them from bunnies, who like them as much as we do.

If you’ve never hung out on a screened porch, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s just like being outside, only better. The bugs won’t get you and the wildlife carries on with its business without much noticing you. It’s the best!

No garden is complete without a vine or two clambering up a trellis or fence - or so I think. All vines are not created equal, however, and I’ve had my ups and downs with this class of plants. Read on for my recommendations.

With Memorial Day at hand and the weather finally warming, It’s time to hunt down some annuals to brighten the patio and garden. These are plants that live just for one season but give their all with abundant flowers or colorful foliage. Enjoy them while they last.

As a gardener you can feel affronted when insects attack your favorite plants. Before you act, consider the interaction among bugs that may help with control. Good rules: Know thine enemy; minimize harm; appreciate your buggy allies.

Wild violets are common in New Jersey and are, in fact, our official state flower. But how much do you really know about this charming little character? Queen Victoria and Napoleon Bonaparte might have coached you, but since they’re not around, I’ll help.

Bleeding hearts are a graceful addition to the spring garden. Wands of dainty heart-shaped flowers bloom prolifically on a shrub-sized plant immediately after the daffodils fade. “Bleeding heart” is not a pejorative slur at my place..

Is there anything more reliably heart-lifting than the re-greening of the world in spring? Everywhere you look now — along the treeline, in the garden and underfoot — new green shoots are emerging in an insistent demonstration of life’s resilience. Look upon this and be glad.

We’re all craving fresh entertainment in our house-bound lives. I highly recommend hanging a hummingbird feeder to lure these tiny birds to your backyard. If you’re successful, comedy, drama and wonder will follow..

Can you remember the backyard of your childhood and all the plants that grew there? I can close my eyes and see them still, conjure up the heady scent of roses and recall the flowers that were our playthings. Cast your mind back…

Every state has a characteristic soil and ours is a Downer - really. Named for the site where is was first described, it reveals the local geological forces that created the earth under our feet here in New Jersey.

We’ll be planning and planting our gardens soon as Spring takes hold. Lots of gardeners are newly interested in raising food crops for the pantry. I’ve always thought bringing flowers to the table was just as good.

Forcing branches of spring shrubs into bloom is easy, fun and…sort of magical. Here’s a project the kids will enjoy. You can manufacture a bit of spring indoors while the real thing slowly awakens outside.