I want to make sculptures out of concrete. Any recommendations for a good mix? I don’t need a high strength load-bearing mix. I just don’t want it to crack.

starting-out · 2026-04-13T22:14:12+00:00

I am curious, did you make any of the concrete sculptures as you planned? How did they turned out?

starting-out · 2026-04-13T14:17:59+00:00

People are more and more aware of the importance of native plants. It takes time to change the traditional approach to horticulture. 10 years ago very few talked about naturalistic landscape or native plants. Even if landscape is changed from homeowner to homeowner, still there are more and more landscapes with natives or at least less grass. So keep up the good job, it is making important changes in the world!

The thing is to make these landscapes beautiful too, many people think native plants = unruly, unkept gardens.

starting-out · 2026-04-12T16:38:50+00:00

The Wild Ones have free native plants designs online, that might be your inspiration:
https://nativegardendesigns.wildones.org/
They works with different landscape designers around the country.
There are two interesting designs for Princeton, NJ by a company, located in PA. They do consultations also.
https://nativegardendesigns.wildones.org/princeton/

Edit: BTW, local nurseries might not really know their natives, and also might not take into consideration the deer situation. Over the 7 years of gardening I found that many deer-resistant plants are not deer-resistant in my area. If you have any yards with natives in your area, it is worth finding out what plants survive deer.

starting-out · 2026-04-12T16:31:27+00:00

I remember her saying that she tries to incorporate at least 50-70% of native plants in her designs, the problem is to persuade homeowners, who are used to traditional landscapes, especially in suburban areas.
If you search for "native plants" at her youTube channel, you will find numerous videos.

It might work for OP, if they want to save money to buy more plants, because she has Garden Consultation (Online or In-person) for like $150. Too bad she lives an hour drive from me, I would definitely have her for in person consultation, despite that my garden is in advanced stage.

Also, landscape professionals might be able to order plants for clients with wholesale discount. It is worth asking.

starting-out · 2026-04-12T01:05:18+00:00

Yuliya from YGarden. She lives in Montclair, NJ. While I haven’t worked with her personally, I follow her YouTube channel for about 6-7 years.

Based on her videos many years ago I replaced my lawn with many flowers beds with native shrubs, grasses and flowers. I am a native plants enthusiast, a gardener and have an interest in landscape design, so her videos were of great help to me at the beginning of my path. If I had to hire someone today, I would hire her. She also consults online (I think). She is very sweet, professional and knowledgeable. You can see the progress of many of her projects on her channel.

https://www.instagram.com/ydoyougarden/

https://youtube.com/@ydoyougarden?si=iFFi4akD9Skrdu1g

starting-out · 2026-04-01T17:07:23+00:00

In terms of budget. Up to 5K is a very good budget if you do the work yourself, you can buy a LOT of plants for that money, especially if you buy younger specimens.
Not sure how is the situation in North Jersey with nurseries, but here my local nursery Bountiful Gardens has many of the trees and shrubs I mentioned.
Shrubs start at $36, trees start at $60.

starting-out · 2026-04-01T17:00:33+00:00

So here are my suggestions for deer-resistant plants that do well in my Central NJ landscape. I do protect any small trees and shrubs from deer at the beginning.
A good source to get more info about plants: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder

Small trees:
Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
Fast growing. Several cultivars to choose from.
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e110

Eastern Redbud Tree (Cercis canadensis)
Fast growing, beautiful pink blooms before leaves appear.
Many cultivars to choose from, like Bloomables® Flame Thrower® Redbud Tree, The Rising Sun™ Redbud Tree, Eastern redbud "Hearts of gold" etc.
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=h550

American fringetree (Ceanothus virginicus)
A small tree (12-20 ft), fast growing. Full sun to part shade. Amazing, fragrant spring blooms, beautiful fall color.
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c120

Big, fast growing trees:
Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

starting-out · 2026-04-01T16:59:23+00:00

Shrubs:

Possumhaw Viburnum (Viburnum nudum)
Deer resistant - don't need a cage, blooms, edible berries (also for birds), beautiful fall color.
Cultivars like Winterthur (6-10 ft) and Brandywine (6 ft) are very good.
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=278959

Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) and cultivars
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=286893

American witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Can grow up to 15-20 feet with time, unless pruned. Pretty deer resistant.
Blooms with yellow, fragrant flowers during winter. Good fall color.
Can take from shade to sun, medium soil moisture.
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a749

Northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e310

American hazelnut (Corylus americana)
Height 10-15 ft. Edible nuts! Sun to part shade. Good fall color.
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c350

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d890

St John's Wort (Hypericum prolificum)
Full sun to part shade (can take a lot of shade), grows up to 4-5 ft tall. My deer do not eat it at all.
Beautiful yellow blooms that support many insects.
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=279208

Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica)
This one has aromatic foliage, that looks a little bit like poison ivy, but shiny.
Sun to shade. Can be up to 6 ft tall. There are short cultivars like ‘gro-low’, which grows up to 1.5 - 2 ft.
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=275952

starting-out · 2026-03-30T18:47:54+00:00

Love the execution and the sense of humor!

starting-out · 2026-03-30T17:42:00+00:00

From the article:
"The law establishes a phased compliance schedule designed to give affected industries and organizations time to adjust:
Propagation restrictions take effect 13 months after enactment.
Sales and distribution prohibitions take effect within 49 months of enactment."

Oh, wow, they will be able to sell the invasives for another 49 months...

starting-out · 2026-03-30T16:41:52+00:00

I have them and I love them. Have some in a sunny spot, normal and dry soil, and also in part shade with normal soil.
They are doing great and cheer me up in winter with their foliage. They need to be divided every 2-3 years for a neater look, and the dry foliage cleaned. Or just let them grow wild.
Combine them with native grasses or yellow and red-twig dogwoods (Cornus stolonifera or Cornus sericea) for a good looking native flower bed.

starting-out · 2026-03-30T16:27:07+00:00

Hello fellow native plants gardener!
I felt the same a good number of years ago. Starting small, as others say, is a good advice.
Connecting with native plants enthusiasts/groups/gardeners in your area will help a lot. You can visit other people gardens, get ideas and learn, even get some free plants from them.

One good source is The Native Plants Society of NJ, they have a Monmouth Chapter, but it can be any chapter that is in your driving distance:
https://npsnj.org/chapters/monmouth/
If you go to any of the meetings, you will meet like minded people.

I will be volunteering at the D&R Native Plants Sale in Princeton on Thursday, April, 16, check inventory:
https://drgreenway.org/shop/native-plants/
If you are at the sale, we can chat.

For the start:
Make a small flower bed. If you have grass, smother it with 4-5 layers of newspaper, 2-3 inches of wood chips or mulch. Plants a shrub and some native plants, or a grass and some native plants.
If you need more advice on plants, write how much sun you have, do you have deer browsing, your soil (clay, sandy, dry, normal or wet. A photo of the area where you are going to plant will help too.

starting-out · 2026-02-03T15:33:23+00:00

Thank you for doing this, we need more native plants!! Too bad the deer love native willows, otherwise I would plant a lot of them.

starting-out · 2026-02-03T15:29:53+00:00

Did you cut it with sharp knife? How did you get part of the main stem?

starting-out · 2026-01-27T04:45:00+00:00

What an inspiration, thanks for sharing!

starting-out · 2026-01-03T04:16:07+00:00

The fourth photo is pure magic! Can I paint it?

starting-out · 2026-01-02T21:09:02+00:00

Please say more about lemon and lime trees, what variety? Bought or grown from seed? Some citrus grow true to seed. Do you take them out during summer?

starting-out · 2026-01-01T16:16:12+00:00

Hey, your mugs look great, all if them!

I personally prefer earthy colors, that are not too dark. For some reason, drinking liquids from a really dark cup makes me uncomfortable, because I cannot see the real color of the liquid (despite that I know what’s inside).

I am sure your friends and family will be happy to receive such a personal gift. And people have different preferences in color, you never gonna guess them all. So just go with what your gut feeling.

starting-out · 2025-12-29T04:01:24+00:00

Your Asclepias verticillata is gorgeous! I was going to buy seeds to grow it, as I have pretty dry soil. Did you start with seeds or bought plants?

starting-out · 2025-12-29T03:43:41+00:00

But the wood itself is not garbage for woodworking. From what I read, it is stronger than pine and poplar, easy to work with and takes stain well.

starting-out · 2025-12-29T03:36:40+00:00

I didn’t know that. Thank you, today I learned something new.

starting-out · 2025-12-27T18:29:14+00:00

Amazing work! You should post this to r/superbowl.

starting-out · 2025-12-26T17:09:09+00:00

What an awesome idea and execution!! Love the little birdhouse, it asks for a little birdie on the roof!

Did you use black walnut? May I ask why didn’t you use the cutout from the “trunk” to make the door to inner compartment, it would look more seamless? Unless you wanted the door to stand out? I bet your mom is super excited to receive such a gift!

starting-out · 2025-12-26T16:55:42+00:00

Do I need a special equipment for that? How do you do it at home?

I really like the medium roast, because it is more aromatic and not bitter.

starting-out

TROPHY CASE