Garden Dilemmas, Delights & Discoveries

To weed or not to weed knotweed? An afternoon of weeding in a client's garden leads Mary to an unexpected dilemma—and a deeper dive into this beautiful but notoriously difficult invasive plant.

Mary Stone revisits her first encounter with Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica)) as one of September's roadside beauties and her neighbor Susan's success in eradicating a colony through persistent pulling. She explores what the research says about nonchemical management, herbicide treatment, and concerns about knotweed damaging homes.

As often happens in the garden, sometimes answers are complicated. And sometimes our dilemmas invite us to remain curious, learn from one another, and grow from our mistakes—the same is true in our Garden of Life.

Link to the companion post: To Weed or Not to Weed Knotweed?

Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected]

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life. 🌻

Related stories and episodes:

• September Roadside Beauties -  Blog Post September 2018

 • Knotweed Meets Crown Vetch / the story of Susan tackling Japanese knotweed, June 2022. Also featured in Episode 62 - Rethinking Weeds & Invasive Plants

Nighttime Chorus of Garden Insects - Blog Post

Also featured in Episode 177 - Nighttime Chorus of Garden Insects

Weeding Mugwort – Picking up Litter -  July 2022

Also featured in Episode 18 - Walking & Plalking, Queens & Bachelors

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

A walk along the Paulinskill Valley Trail leads Mary Stone down a memory trail of beloved dogs, changing paths, and how we adapt through seasons. 

Memories of Sara—a tennis-ball-loving golden retriever who learned to play differently after two surgeries—lead back to the screen porch and a magnificent garden planted by Mother Nature. 

We explore Jewelweed with exploding seeds and White Snakeroot that nourishes pollinators but has a toxic history. Plus sweeping colonies of Hay-scented Fern turning toward autumn yellow. 

Then the memory trail returns to Miss Ellie Mae and Jolee, whose journey from a fearful rescue dog to a confident walking companion offers another lesson: sometimes a frightening road becomes familiar, and eventually we discover there is more than one way to go.

Different dogs. Different walks. Different chapters of a life.  And still, the Garden of Life grows. 🌿🐾

Link to the Companion Post: A Memory Trail Through Nature’s Fall Palette

Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

Related Stories & Podcasts:

🐾 Miss Ellie Mae — My Unexpected Furry Messenger- Blog Post
 Ellie's story is also featured in Episode 20, along with Father John's Memorial Garden. 

🐾 Jolee — Merry Season of Love Over Fear - Blog Post
Jolee's early journey from fear toward trust is featured in Episode 37. 

🌿 Last week's story —Ep 268:  Finding Our Way Again Along the Paulins Kill

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

A trail closure sends Mary Stone and her rescue dog, Jolee, in another direction for a restful walk along the Paulinskill Valley Trail, where late-summer wildflowers, remnants of railroad history, and the reestablished Paulins Kill River offer a reflection on change and restoration.

Along the way, an old mile marker brings a profound, spirited lift. And memories of the former Paulina Dam, the river, surrounding landscape, and wildlife finding their way again remind us of life's transitions.

Sometimes a familiar path is closed, and all we can do is turn in another direction and keep walking to find our way again. 

 Enjoy the Comanion Post: Finding Our Way Again Along the Paulins Kill

 Related Stories & Episodes:

Ep 267 A Not-So-Peachy Gel Dilemma 

 A Not-So-Peachy Gel Dilemma – Blog Post 

Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

Related Posts and Podcasts:

Preservation of the Paulins Kill River – Blog Post

Ep 185. Preservation of the Paulins Kill - Overcoming Hardships

Helpful Links:

 About the Paulina Dam Design/Removal

Restoring the Paulins Kill River

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

From sweet peas and peaches as terms of endearment to squirrels stealing the only peach on the tree, Mary Stone starts this week's garden chat on a playful note. Then a jelly-like peach-tree dilemma leads to gummosis, Cytospora canker, peach scab, and how stress and wounds can leave trees vulnerable to disease.

Mary revisits a similar weeping cherry dilemma and what trees can teach us about looking beneath the surface—where old wounds and stresses may affect what's trying to grow aboveground.

Sometimes, despite all our careful tending, the squirrel gets the peach. But there will be other seasons and other sweetness still to come. The same is true in our own Garden of Life.

Enjoy the Companion Blog Post: A Not-So-Peachy Gel Dilemma

Related Stories & Episodes:

Ep 266 — It's Not Too Late to Plant Again, Sweet Pea

It's Not Too Late to Plant Again — Blog Post

Ep 250 — Weeping Cherry Dilemmas: Trees Tell a Story

When a Weeping Cherry "Bleeds": What Lies Beneath — Blog Post

Ep 176 — Revisiting Cicadas and How Gardens Glow

Ep 133. Ripening Fall Tomato Hand-me-Downs

Ripening Fall Tomato Hand-me-Downs – Blog Post

Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

A neglected patch of vegetable garden, a disappointing spring harvest, and a few leftover seed packets inspire a late-season experiment—and a reminder that missed opportunities don’t always mean the season is over. 

Mary Stone revisits an old “Sweet Pea” story while exploring fall crops of snow peas and beets, and discovers that sometimes we need to clear a little space, plant again, and see what happens in our gardens and in the Garden of Life. 

Enjoy the companion Blog Post: It’s Not Too Late to Plant Again

Related Episodes you will enjoy:

Ep 265 - Tending What We Can in the Garden of Life

Ep 254 - Leave Room for Wandering: Unexpected Greenhouse Treasures

Ep 183 Honorable Harvest - Downsize Do-over

Hello Sweet Pea – Blog Post

Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

Sometimes we can't tend to everything at once. 

Mary Stone shares her mission to manage the undesirable Mile-a-Minute weed and Japanese Stilt Grass, while heavy rains unexpectedly cleared the pond of favorable Duckweed. 

Along the way, an old stone wall, resilient Blackberry Lilies, and newly visible frogs offer reminders that while we can't get to everything in our gardens—or our lives—we can tend what we can and let go of the rest.

Link to the Companion Blog Post: Tending What We Can in the Garden of Life  

Related Episodes you will enjoy:

·         Episode 177 — Nighttime Chorus of Garden Insects

 ·        Episode 264  Another Lesson from the Leaf—Help Is on the Way

·         Episode 107 — Mile-a-Minute Weed and Butterfly Magnets

·         Episode 215 — The Tiny Wonder of Duckweed

·         Episode 211 — Truth and Tale of Two Country Gardens

·         Blackberry Lily & Soil Remediation  Blog Post

A favorite "tool of the trade":

·         Farmer's Defense — Garden Protection Sleeves

 Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

What happens when life tests the very lessons we hope to live?

In this heartfelt episode, Mary Stone shares an emotionally difficult week that almost preempted the weekly chat. She invites listeners onto her screened porch, where a summer thunderstorm replaces the noisy cicadas, setting the stage for a conversation about acceptance, resilience, and hope. 

Inspired by a recent Call to Calm meditation with Panache Desai, Mary reflects on the image of a single leaf surrendering to the wind and explores how embracing our emotions—rather than resisting them—can help us find peace.

Mary also shares an update on her book, The Lesson of the Leaf, and why one closed door has become the beginning of a new path. 

Along the way, she revisits a favorite summertime story about the Dog Days of Summer and the curious origins of the phrase "sweating like a pig," bringing a few laughs to a humid August afternoon.

The episode closes with a heartfelt reflection on the love we share with our dogs, the pieces of our hearts they carry, and the reassurance that, even during life's hardest seasons, help is on the way.

Enjoy the Companion Post: Another Lesson from the Leaf: Help Is on the Way

🌿 Related Links

If you enjoyed today's reflection, you'll also enjoy my earlier Episode 234 Stillness Teaches Growth Through Nature, where winter's quiet offers another reminder that growth often begins when nothing appears to be happening.

Episode 263: Doing Nothing Is Everything: Wisdom from Nature & Gardens

Episode 69: The Origin of the Dog Days of Summer - (including the stories behind "Dog Days" and "Sweating Like a Pig") 

Blog: The Origin of the Dog Days of Summer 

Other helpful links: 

Panache Desai free Call to Calm Meditations

Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

On a cool, humid summer morning from her screened porch, Mary Stone reflects on the richness of slowing down. 

From a modest vegetable harvest and the gift of one perfectly ripe cherry tomato to birdwatching, fledgling birds, wandering goats, and the hidden life beneath our gardens, she discovers that doing nothing is often far from doing nothing at all.

Join Mary as she explores gratitude, presence, the wisdom found in simply noticing, and the many ways nature and gardens continue to nurture us—even when they don't produce as we'd hoped.

In this episode:

• Why a tiny garden harvest brought unexpected joy
• The hidden purpose of voles and poison ivy
• Birdwatching as a practice of presence
• Dennis Briede's inspiring "sit" tradition
• Garlic scapes, beet greens, and a little garden humor
• What nature and gardens teach us about patience, hope, and letting life unfold

Sometimes the greatest discoveries aren't found by doing more, but by slowing down long enough to notice what nature has been offering all along.

🌿 Related Links

• Ep 262 - Beneath the Surface: The Mystery of the Missing Roots 
• Ep 34. Forest Bathing, Willowwood Champion Trees

Other helpful links: 

• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (mentioned in the episode) 
• 🐦 Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Birds 
•  Epic Gardening YouTube video
  How to Grow Garlic | Garlic Scapes, Harvesting, & Curing 

Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

A thriving rose suddenly becomes loose in the soil, revealing a mystery hidden beneath the mulch. What first appears to be Chipmunk Damage leads to a closer look—Voles, a likely culprit. 

Mary Stone explores the differences between Moles and Voles, practical ways to protect treasured plants, and how gardens often remind us that what we see on the surface rarely tells the whole story. 

“Sometimes the greatest lessons, in gardens and in life, begin when we dig a little deeper.”

In this episode:

• A garden mystery unfolds beneath a client's rose garden. 
• Chipmunks, moles, and voles—who's really responsible? 
• How hardware-cloth baskets can protect valuable roses and shrubs. 
• Why poison is not an ideal solution. 
• A white pine update with encouraging news. 
• Reflections on accepting what we cannot control while tending what matters most. 

Enjoy the Companion Blog Post: Beneath the Surface: The Mystery of the Missing Rose Roots

Related  Episodes to Enjoy:

• Ep. 261 – Treasures from the Warwick NY Garden Tour 
• Ep. 185 – Preservation of the Paulinskill: Overcoming Hardships - how tree tubes used in habitat restoration inspired another way to protect vulnerable plants from unseen damage below ground.
• Ep. 66 – Chipmunk Remedies and Legends 
• Ep. 54 – Sharing Comfort & Dividing Perennials - including a heartfelt reflection about ‘The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse,’ illustrated and handwritten by Charlie Mackesy.  
  
  

Connect with Mary Stone
Visit: AskMaryStone.com
Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

What makes a garden unforgettable? Sometimes it's a rare plant or a beautiful pond. More often, it's the people behind the garden.

Join Mary Stone for a day exploring seven remarkable private gardens on the 32nd Annual Countryside Garden Tour, hosted by the Warwick Valley Gardeners. 

Along the way, she meets passionate gardeners, discovers clever design ideas, learns about unusual plants, shares conversations with fellow garden lovers, and uncovers the stories that make each landscape unique.

Whether you enjoy touring gardens or appreciate the beauty and wisdom they offer, I invite you to come along for the journey.

Link to the Related Blog Post: Treasures from a Countryside Garden Tour

Related Episodes

🌿 Episode 260 – The Flag and the Knot: Growing Forward Anyway

🌿 Episode 259 – What We Carry Forward in the Garden of Life

🌿 Episode 258 – The Gift of Noticing: A Dove Tree That Didn't Bloom

🌿 Episode 257 – Love Lovage: Treasures at Well-Sweep Herb Farm

🌿 Episode 256 – Lessons from Spiderwort and Crooked Trees

🌿 Ep. 22 – Lessons from Spruce and Forest Pansies of Hope (referenced in this episode during the discussion about Norway spruce)

Thank you to the Warwick Valley Gardeners, the homeowners who graciously opened their gardens, and my companions—Susan, Tara, Kathleen, and young Thomas—for making the day one to remember, Mary Stone

Connect with Mary Stone

Visit: AskMaryStone.com

Garden Dilemmas? [email protected] 

Thank you for listening and for sharing the Garden of Life.🌻

More about the Podcast and Column:

 Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

 It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone 
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page