Challenges
What happens when things don’t go to plan — pests, failures, surprises, and the lessons that come from working through them.
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When Wildlife Won’t Behave
I planted a young kousa dogwood in my front yard after admiring a row of blooming ones near a parking lot in Berkeley Heights. The white bracts looked proper and sweet—it was the sort of ornamental tree that would soften my small suburban lawn without overwhelming it. Illustration generated with ChatGPT. The spot looked right: part sun, dappled shade, decent soil, and I had a place where I could see it from the bay window of my home. I watered the tree, watched it settle in, and imagined the future version—a round little tree, maybe ten feet tall, covered in white
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My Dwarf Zinnias Grew Way Too Tall
I’ve grown zinnias before. I know how easy they are to grow from seed and how gorgeous they can be during their midsummer bloom. For about two dollars, a packet of seeds can produce an abundance of cheerful summer flowers. The problem with zinnias is that their height does not fit every garden. I knew that when I planted the seeds — I knew they grew very tall, so I purposefully bought a dwarf variety. My grow boxes are designed mostly for low-growing plants, and the seed packet promised these zinnias would grow only 6–8 inches tall. They couldn’t have been more wrong.
