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I gave a Filipino colleague some of my tomato harvest, and in return, he gave me some of the tomato jam he made.

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Homemade tomato jam on toast with scrambled egg
August 29, 2026 at 3:02 PM
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I planted the music garlic today, about 12 cloves of them. Let’s see if any of them take and survive throughout the winter; if I get lucky, harvest is not until July 2027!

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A garlic clove in a garden bed
October 3, 2026 at 6:44 PM
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Beautiful Saturday morning walk in the backyard, October 3, 2026 😀 My phone can’t capture how bright the asters and goldenrods are in our backyard right now! They make me smile!

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Goldenrod in the sun Asters in the sun
October 3, 2026 at 3:43 PM
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Monday morning walk in the backyard, June 29, 2026 😀 The native plants are ready for the heat here in Jersey City, NJ

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Jersey City, NJ terraced backyard with native plants Pycnanthemum incanum, or hoary mountain mint Verbana hastata, or blue vervain Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver's root)
June 29, 2026 at 12:33 PM
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I’m tickled at how these bok choys are growing! After using their leaves and stems, I put their bottoms on a shallow dish. 4 days later, they’re sprouting new leaves. When roots start to show, I’m going to move them to the greenhouse.

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October 3, 2026 at 10:53 PM
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There are also 2 black swallowtails! Here’s one liking the liatris native plant.

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July 12, 2026 at 5:14 PM
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The swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) are out!

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Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
June 19, 2026 at 5:38 PM
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Friday morning walk in the backyard, September 25, 2026 😀 We’ve had heat waves and rainstorms this summer, so these native flowers are later than usual: asters, sneezeweed, goldenrod. The bees are still loving our garden here in Jersey City, NJ!

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Asters in Jersey City, NJ Sneezeweed in Jersey City, NJ Goldenrod in Jersey City, NJ
September 25, 2026 at 3:13 PM
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7 days later, the peonies!

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Peonies in bloom!
May 27, 2026 at 11:54 PM
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Thursday afternoon walk in the backyard, October 1, 2026 😀 I think I have ghost eggplants because they didn’t get enough sun. I stopped pruning the tomatoes because the season is almost over so their leaves have shaded them.

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Eggplant harvest today, 6 total but 3 are pale
October 1, 2026 at 7:57 PM
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One of my favorite New Jersey native plants in our backyard is
this veronicastrum virginicum. I first saw them at the High Line a few years ago. When it was time to design our garden, their plant list was one of many I consulted.
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July 5, 2025 at 4:55 PM
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Post storm Sunday morning walk in the backyard, July 19, 2026 😀 Our friends the bees and monarch butterfly are back on the milkweed, the liatris, and the borage.

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Monarch butterfly on swamp milkweed in Jersey City, NJ Bee on borage in Jersey City, NJ Bees on liatris in Jersey City, NJ
July 19, 2026 at 2:43 PM
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Morning walk in the backyard, March 22, 2025 😀 I cleaned the cobalt blue bird bowl and added clean water for the first time since it started freezing outside.

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March 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
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A small parol ⭐️ from the Philippines is now in the greenhouse!

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August 29, 2026 at 1:04 PM
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Made fattoush with the lettuce harvest today!

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Two bags of lettuce harvest out in the pebble garden Fattoush salad: lettuce, bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, onion, and pita bread
March 16, 2025 at 7:43 PM
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Keeping tabs, April 20: the cercis canadensis is blooming

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Cercis canadensis blooming: purple flowers taking over its branches
April 21, 2025 at 2:51 AM
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Morning walk in the backyard, May 5, 2025 😀 Second: geranium maculatum. I planted about 10 of these plugs but only see 1, and I’m afraid I’ve pulled a lot of them thinking they’re weeds. Ooops. 🧵

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New Jersey native plant geranium maculatum with light purple flowers and leaves that look like giant parsley
May 5, 2025 at 1:58 PM
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It took a lot of time and patience in between heat waves, unhealthy air due to the wildfires, and rainstorms but the latest addition to our backyard is finally assembled and standing!

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A greenhouse and a terraced backyard with native plants
July 20, 2026 at 12:56 AM
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Morning walk in the backyard, November 15, 2025 😀 I’ve learned to love “winter interest” in our native garden. There’s no cleaning until next year in the spring!

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Winter interest native plant Winter interest native plant Winter interest native plant Winter interest native plant
November 15, 2025 at 8:34 PM
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Picked some tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil from the backyard. Caprese for dinner with smashed cucumbers in sesame oil and garlic.

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Picked some tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil from the backyard. Caprese salad from backyard harvest smashed cucumbers in sesame oil and garlic
August 6, 2025 at 12:29 AM
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Why I’m growing my own tomatoes here in Jersey City, NJ. There’s at least 18 plants I grew from seeds in March that I’m hoping will be viable.

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www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/o...
A tomato plant in a black fabric pot Multiple tomato plants in black fabric pots
June 22, 2025 at 12:36 PM
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Hi, sugar peas! 🫛 Hi, borage! 🌼

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Sugar snap peas starting to develop in the garden Borage flower starting to blossom in a garden
June 3, 2025 at 1:06 AM
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A drone shot of our backyard with terraces of native plants from New Jersey. The top part has 4 veggie boxes with over growing tomatoes, cucumbers, chard, peppers, and herbs.

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A drone shot of our backyard with terraces of native plants from New Jersey. The top part has 4 veggie boxes with over growing tomatoes, cucumbers, chard, peppers, and herbs.
August 24, 2025 at 5:21 PM
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Almost 4 years later since we tackled all the Japanese knotweed from this abandoned backyard

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Native New Jersey pollinator plants surround a large water feature bowl.
May 25, 2025 at 1:57 PM
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Morning walk in the backyard, May 5, 2025 😀 The native New Jersey plants are looking very happy after the downpour this past weekend. 🧵

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A Rottweiler-Pit standing and overseeing a garden with terraces. In the foreground are a water feature bowl and a red maple. Behind them are more greenery.
May 5, 2025 at 1:51 PM