Arbor Day is coming up on April 29. Planting a tree is a selfless act of optimism and faith in the future.

The lovely smell of damp earth and early flowers tells your nose that spring is here. Why not plan for a garden that’s fragrant all season?  

Making a splash as the season's first big thing, cheerful daffodils are everywhere in April. One secret to their success is durability, a product of their toxic nature. 

The plant we know as the Easter lily has a curious history, a tangled web of ancient and biblical symbolism, wartime trade disruptions and good old-fashioned capitalist enterprise.

The largest display of ornamental cherry trees in the country is in New Jersey -- not at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.  But don't procrastinate. The bloom season is early this year and as ever, all too short. 

Heard but rarely seen, tiny spring peepers greet the new season with a ringing chorus of song. Listen for them in the evening as you pass ponds and wet roadside ditches.

Prod cut branches into bloom and steal a jump on spring. Kids, you can do this at home -- it's easy, it's fun and it's free.

Just when you thought it was safe to go out in the woods, along comes one of the strangest of our native flowers. Skunk cabbage will surprise you with its alien looks and wily ways. 

When snow melts away and winter is on the wane, snowdrops appear to signal spring is not far off. These brave little blossoms cheer the weary heart.  

Witch hazels bloom long before spring has sprung, reason enough to find them enchanting. Their uniquely-shaped flowers and bracing scent add to their allure. 

Let there be hearts and flowers! But let me also share some naughty secrets and unconventional advice for Valentine's Day. I'm only trying to help.  

Keeping accurate garden records is the secret to making better gardens as the seasons go by. A garden journal is an indispensable item for every gardener's tool kit.   

For you, it's the heartless dead of winter. For orchid-lovers, it's peak bloom season and time to indulge in feverish celebration. 

Here, kitty. The fuzzy catkins of pussy willows beg to be petted. Have your kids had the pleasure? 

This week New Jersey was featured in Britain's Daily Mail with a spread on the fossil dig in Mantua, which may yield clues to the mass extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. It's not our only fossil claim to fame. And gardeners aren't the only ones digging in the dirt.

It's a long, long way 'til spring, but growing amaryllis and paperwhites is first aid for the chlorophyll deprived. We have to do something to keep our spirits up...all of them. 

Honor the old ways. Improve your chances for good luck in the new year by taking care of business according to age-old superstition. Got a better idea? 

Season's greetings! One of my older (and most requested) columns, offered with holiday warmth and cheer.

I'm launching a new blog that carries on in the spirit of my long-established traditions -- investigating closely, caring deeply and bringing the balm of laughter to all things. Hope you'll visit often.