Candide's Garden

06/11/2026

Most people plant what looks good at the nursery. It dies in two months. They blame their thumb.

The thumb was fine. The soil was wrong.

Your yard has a soil type — wet, dry, clay, or sandy — and every native plant on this chart evolved to thrive in one of them. Plant the right one and she grows without irrigation, without amendments, without effort. Plant the wrong one and no amount of watering saves her.

🌿 The 10-second test (it's on the chart):

Grab a handful of damp soil and squeeze. If it holds shape and feels sticky, you have clay. If it crumbles immediately, sandy. If it holds but breaks apart, loam. If the ground won't drain after rain, wet.

That one squeeze tells you which column to shop from.

The bonus most people miss: clay-soil plants like ironw**d and bee balm actually break up compacted clay over time. Sandy soil supports ground-nesting bees. The soil isn't a problem to fix — it's a match to find.

Stop fighting your dirt. Plant what belongs there 🌱

06/11/2026

Talking about our Patchwork for Wildlife:

CRAFTFOLK

06/07/2026

05/19/2026

South Orange Environmental Commission
Chair Kathleen Grant proposed to the Council on May 11 to gradually phase out gas-powered leaf blowers, with a full ban targeted for 2027.
The current seasonal restriction would expand in 2026 to cover most of the year, April through December.
-> https://www.nj.com/news/2026/05/nj-town-moves-to-make-gas-leaf-blowers-illegal-by-2027.html

05/16/2026

05/16/2026

The Manalapan Environmental Commission has their demo gardens ready for this season… Ready for people and insects alike to enjoy! 👨‍🌾🦋

We hope you’ll join us for our Nature Fest and Native Plant Sale on May 31 9am-2pm🌿

Fun for all ages and great way to get all your landscape questions answered!

05/15/2026

NEW VICTORY GARDEN!
Hi Folks,
Dennis is a tireless advocate for the InfoAge Museum on the Camp Evans site. As Chair of the Pt. Pleasant EC, he is also deeply involved with the Patchwork for Wildlife in the town.
It would be greatly appreciated if we could help him out with his latest initiative - a Victory Garden (below), especially if you are in the area and are interested in development of the Museum.
If you can help, just reply to him for details. Thank you!
Cheers...Jon

From: Dennis Blazak
Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2026 7:04 PM
To: Jon Gibbons
Subject: ISEC

Dear Jon,

At the radio telescope on Marconi Road, we have a "moon tree" (a sweetgum tree grown from a seed that flew around the moon on the Artemis 1 flight).

Also, we will plant a Victory Garden (a la WW2) this season along Marconi Road. The goal is to remind people of how, 80 years ago, our nation united to oppose the scourge of totalitarianism and make the world safe(er) for liberal democracy. Perhaps some PFW people would like to help with what will be, in essence, a community garden. Seedlings will be planted within a week. Volunteers who can water and w**d are welcome. They may contact me for details.

Best regards,
Dennis Blazak
732 664 0924
Director, infoAge Space Exploration Center

05/12/2026

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it so it doesn't contribute to climate change. Through forests, wetlands, and preserved open spaces, plants absorb CO2 during photosynthesis and lock it away, acting as natural carbon sinks that benefit us all! 🌱

But that's not all, these natural solutions don't just fight climate change, they also filter harmful air pollutants like particulate matter and ozone, improving the air we breathe every single day. Healthier ecosystems mean healthier communities across the entire state! 💚

Learn more about Carbon Sequestration by visiting NJDEP's Air Quality Awareness Week page at: dep.nj.gov/aqaweek/

05/08/2026

The shrubs along the fence aren't just landscaping. They're where most songbirds actually nest.

Cardinals, catbirds, and song sparrows raise young in the shrub layer, not the treetops. The caterpillars those parents feed to nestlings need to be within feet of the nest. Native shrubs host them. Most common ornamental shrubs host very few.

🌿 Six native shrubs ranked by caterpillar support:

- Blueberry — one of the most productive shrub genera for caterpillar species. The berries feed dozens of bird species in late summer on top of it.

- Dogwood — flowering and pagoda dogwoods support caterpillars in high numbers. The berries are among the most sought-after fall foods for migrating thrushes.

- Native rose — wild roses like Virginia rose host far more caterpillars than imported tea roses. The hips persist into winter as bird food.

- Viburnum — arrowwood, nannyberry, and blackhaw are the ones worth planting. Native viburnums support a food web that ornamental replacements don't.

- Hazelnut — American hazelnut is overlooked. Polyphemus and io moths use it as a host plant. Catkins feed birds in winter, nuts feed mammals in fall.

- Sumac — staghorn, smooth, and winged sumac. Often confused with poison sumac, which grows only in wetlands. Native sumacs feed birds through winter when the berry clusters hold.

The plant you choose between two that look the same is rarely a tie 🌿