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There’s a big difference between wanting a native garden and having a native garden. There must be, otherwise most of us would already have flourishing native gardens, no? Any type of gardening is a lot of work. Aside from all of the logistical planning – like, where will it go? and how do I keep…
While most people are binging Netflix and HBO Max in the evenings, I’m watching gardening how-to content on YouTube. (Sometimes my husband and I watch Psych, Bridgerton, or carpentry videos. But TBH it’s mostly gardening for me these days!) They say dress for the job you want, hang out with the people you aspire to…
Sure, I could tell you why you should start a native garden. I have a whoooole laundry list of reasons. But if your reason for doing it isn’t personalized and intuitive, then it’s not going to stick. That’s why the first step is to set personalized, achievable native gardening goals. Setting a native gardening goal…
The weather turned glorious this past weekend, and – even though we were a little disoriented by the clocks springing ahead – my family rallied to get outside and do some yard clean-up in the form of invasive plant removal. To be clear: spring yard clean-up does not mean leaf-blowing or piling brush at the…
I was sitting on my front steps on a hot June afternoon, eating strawberry yogurt popsicles with my one-year-old daughter. It was part of our daily summer ritual: head outside, eat a pop, wait for Dad to come home from work, and greet him in the front yard. It was the cutest little “young family…
Before you go too crazy spending money and making plans for your garden this year, I wanted to let you in on a secret: You don’t actually have to plant a single thing to create wildlife habitat in your yard. It’s true! There are at least 5 ways to restore your local ecosystem that won’t…
This might be an unpopular opinion, but here’s my hot take on Valentine’s Day: It’s sweet and all, but it’s also a bit of a grind. The commercialization of a day meant to celebrate love and connection makes the gestures – chocolate, cards, flowers, fancy dinners – feel more performative than genuine. Not to mention:…
Last week, I attended a virtual information session for the Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Spaces and the Wild Bird Research Group about their collaborative “Hatch A Hundred” program. The mission? To help restore the American kestrel, North America’s smallest falcon, in central New Jersey. I left feeling inspired—and hopeful that even small actions in…
“I don’t have time to plan, prep, or maintain a native garden.” “I don’t have the mental bandwidth to worry about one more thing.” “I don’t have money to do this right.” “I’m not an expert.” Does that sound familiar? Because my brain sounded something like this, too. I was hesitant to get started with…
You’ve been white-knuckling each day during your ungodly work commute, then shuttling your kids around to martial arts practice, tennis, and playdates. And you make dinner each night while also trying to enjoy a healthy bond with your also-overwhelmed partner. Meanwhile, you see the headlines about climate change, biodiversity loss, and a murky environmental future…
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