Margaret Roach, the New York Times gardening columnist and host of the podcast “A Way to Garden,” is back with me again to discuss what’s new in her garden and what she’s planning for in 2025. Margaret is a repeat guest many times over and a listener favorite who always has interesting observations to share.
Margaret has written her New York Times column, In the Garden, for five years. She comes from a journalism background, which taught her to research thoroughly before writing anything. She also learned to become a good interviewer and listen carefully. Among her past jobs are New York Newsday garden editor and the first garden editor of Martha Stewart Living. Margaret was a senior publishing executive in 2007 when she decided to leave the corporate world behind to become an organic gardening advocate and dedicate more time to gardening on her 2.3-acre property in a rural area of the Hudson Valley, surrounded on three sides by 7,000 acres of New York State park forest.
Margaret Roach has been gardening at her home in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York for more than 30 years.
Among the many reasons why I admire Margaret is her sense of organization. She is a consummate list-maker and -follower. That’s how she gets everything she needs to get done on 2.3 acres.
In addition to my interview of Margaret looking back on 2024 and looking ahead to 2025, she interviewed me for her “A Way to Garden” podcast. You can the episode on her website, Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Help Managing Invasives Is Hard to Find
The palette of invasive plants — multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), privet (Ligustrum) and oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), etc. — is much more pressure than it used to be, Margaret says. As much as she removes them from her property, these woody invaders keep coming back as the seeds are dropped there by birds that eat the invasives’ fruit.
Post-pandemic, the Hudson Valley’s year-round population has grown as weekenders from New York City became full-timers. Housing prices went up and there is no rental housing available, Margaret says. That has made it harder for restaurants and grocery stores to find and retain staff, and Margaret now has a hard time finding landscaping help. She used to get help from the same person every week, but she doesn’t have that consistency any more. She needs to explain tasks anew every week and keep the instructions simple.
“That’s the way I have to go and manage this place from now on,” she says. “I can’t expect to find the perfect partners that I’m going to want to do horticulture with here like in the early days. I always felt like I had a colleague almost that I was working with, and that’s just not the case anymore.”
Her advice for enlisting help to remove invasive weeds is to pluck out an example of each weed and put it on a baking sheet. When help arrives, hand the helpers the baking sheet and tell them to pull out all they can find, including the roots.
“They don’t need to know the Latin name,” Margaret says.
You could take your phone and show them photos of the invasives, but there is no substitute for looking at the actual specimen. A weed in a picture doesn’t always look exactly like the weed in question before your eyes.
Repeat Offenders
Oriental bittersweet is a woody vine that strangles trees. It has characteristic orange roots. Even a young seedling has bright orange roots that let you know you are pulling up the right plant.
“These are these little things that the person will notice and maybe that draws them in, and maybe they get interested in plants too,” Margaret says of engaging helpers.
That way, she can teach more people that oriental bittersweet berries should be bagged up and tossed in the trash — and not allowed to spread this invasive to more places. When oriental bittersweet is not controlled, it can spread exponentially.
Garlic mustard, an invasive she used to see only in isolated patches, has spread like a groundcover. Multiflora rose has become like hedges. She says the roadsides around her have nothing left but invasives. There are still native trees overhead, but the shrub layer and below are nothing but invasives.
If you have an old garden and landscape where you planted an herbaceous layer beneath your shrub borders and trees, you shouldn’t have as many problems with invasives. Weeds will have a hard time coming up around your groundcover plants. But inevitably, some weeds will pop up.
A Carjack for Woody Invasives
Margaret spoke over the summer to Daniel Weitoish, the arboriculture supervisor for Cornell Botanic Gardens in Ithaca, New York, for her New York Times column. He asked her if she has a Weed Wrench, Uprooter or Pullerbear. It was the first she learned of this type of tool, which is designed to remove unwanted woody plants, and it set her on a research journey.
“It looks more like a tool that you would be using for construction or something,” Margaret says. She compared it to a carjack.
These tools have a collar that goes around the trunk of an unwanted tree, shrub or vine, and you step on the tool before using leverage to lift the plant straight up out of the ground.
The biggest option among these tools can pull up a 3-inch caliper tree, and it offers an alternative to removal methods that include cutting a plant at the base and applying herbicide multiple times until the plant stops growing back. It’s also an alternative to digging up a plant and its roots, which can take hours.
“You can take out a whole row of them in the time it would take to dig one,” Margaret says.
I am familiar with this tool from when I did a kind of roadshow of the “Best of the Must-Haves” garden tools at all the big garden shows. It was one of the featured products, and it is very effective at what it does.
“It’s good to have the right tool to make the job easier,” Margaret says.
Goodbye, Doublefile Viburnum
Margaret and I have both grown doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum).
She recalls that when she first started gardening, doublefile viburnum was one of the choicest spring-blooming white-flowered plants. It is Asian in origin, and there was a time when you just couldn’t have a garden without one. But then it started self-sowing and is now seen invading native woodlands. It is another woody plant that has gone wrong.
“I had a big old one in the front yard, and I always enjoyed it,” she says. “It was beautiful every year, both in flower and in fruit. But this year, during that extended stretch in the fall when there was more time to do stuff, I got help and we dug it out and cut it down and dug out the whole root system.”
Doublefile viburnum was coveted for its attractive white flowers but it proved to be an invasive plant.
(Photo Credit: Margaret Roach)
It’s hard to remove a plant that’s been such a fixture, but it has to happen, she says.
Likewise, ornamental barberries proved to be terrible invasives, seeding in woodlands and along roadsides while also being tick magnets.
She is replacing her doublefile viburnum with oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) which are not native in New York but are native U.S. plants further south. They have four seasons of interest and aren’t fussy.
Doublefile viburnum has read fruit, which provides an extended season of interest. But the fruit also spreads the plant to areas where it outcompete native plants.
(Photo Credit: Margaret Roach)
Winterberry Hollies
Margaret has a number of winterberry hollies (Ilex verticilata) — four large groups of 10-12 plants each — some of which are as many as 30 years old. Cedar waxwings love their berries and flock to the trees.
“It’s a massive amount of fruit, and a lot of times I’ve combined them with other native fruiting things like Aronia — the chokeberries — and some of the native viburnums,” she says.
Native fruiting trees are great additions to a landscape if you love birds. The birds will love you back.
Winterberry holly, Ilex verticilata, is loved by cedar waxwings.
Christmas Bird Count
Bird populations change in response to how much plants fruited or seeded, Margaret points out. When the fruit and seeds of a bird’s plant of choice have a good year, the birds are healthier and able to raise larger families. Likewise, when a particular insect that is a bird part of a bird’s diet proliferates, that species of bird will also proliferate.
Margaret took part in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count this month, and a large population of mourning doves was noted. A member of her group wisely pointed out that “something went right” for mourning doves last year.
Because Margaret has water features in her yard, she noticed more wildlife around in dry years. When water is more difficult to come across, animals find her garden.
I don’t have bluebird nesting boxes, and I don’t use a tray feeder — which bluebirds tend to prefer to other bird feeders — but this year bluebirds showed up en masse. After seeing none for seven years, I saw a dozen at a time. They visited my water feature this year, which has been out every year, but Margaret notes that it was dryer this year.
“They come to us to partake because we tend to be in a more cultivated, slightly moister, taken care of environment,” she says.
Naturalist Julie Zickefoose, an author, illustrator and wildlife rehabilitator from southeast Ohio, has a particular expertise in bluebirds. It was tough and dry there this year, and she had the most bluebird eggs in her nesting boxes than she has ever had, Margaret points out.
A bluebird alights on a new nesting box.
(Photo Credit: Amy Prentice)
Water Harvesting
Margaret’s raised bed vegetable gardens have been in the same place for 30 years. As the climate has become hotter and dryer, she worries about overtaxing her private well to keep the beds irrigated. She wants to bring some of her most delicate plants, like the salad greens and tender herbs, closer to her house. That way, when she uses water in the house, she can capture some of it to use on those plants. For example, when starting up the tap to get hot water, she may run a gallon of cool water before the water comes up to temperature. She can catch that gallon in a pitcher and take it to her plants.
It’s amazing how much water you can save in a day through water harvesting in your home.
Moving the tender plants close to her house will also mean the plants will get less sun, which can be beneficial for tender leafy crops.
Margaret’s raised bed gardens get a lot of sun. She will move her tender salad greens and herbs closer to her house so they don’t get fried in the sun and to make it easy to water them with water harvested in her house.
(Photo Credit: Margaret Roach)
The Virtues of Having Water Features
A water feature — whether just a tray of water or a moving water system — makes an incredible difference in the number and variety of wildlife that will use your yard.
Insects like dragonflies can’t reproduce without a permanent water source, Margaret notes. Dragonflies eat mosquitoes, so they are very beneficial to have around. Birds and frogs will also control mosquitoes and are attracted to water.
Frogs, toads, salamanders and so many important organisms are dependent on a body of water to go through their life cycle, she says.
“I can’t imagine not having it,” she says of her water features. “I did it the first couple years I was here — two in-ground water gardens — and they’ve been pretty low maintenance, frankly. I never changed the water out. That’s one thing people think you have to change the water, like you’re going to clean it or something.”
Margaret uses floating plants, like a layer of duckweed added in spring, to prevent the sun from penetrating the water and fostering algae growth.
Margaret Roach’s water garden. Duckweed blocks sunlight to suppress algae growth.
(Photo Credit: Margaret Roach)
Jumping Worms Subside
Asian jumping worms are an annual species. That means the adults don’t live through the winter. They die when the frost comes, but before then, they lay eggs. Any eggs that overwinter successfully will hatch in spring.
When jumping worm populations are high, they process organic matter out of the soil very quickly. What’s left has a consistency like coffee grounds. Plants become loose in their planting holes because of the poor soil with an unnatural consistency. “The plants like almost want to fall over,” Margaret says. “It’s awful.”
Four or five years ago, the invasive jumping worms were a problem in the Hudson Valley. But recent dry years have been bad for jumping worm populations. They can’t effectively reproduce.
Asian jumping worm is found in close to 40 states now. Tea seed meal, which is an organic fertilizer from Camellia species, can be sprinkled on lawns and beds in summer. It will irritate the skin of jumping worms and make them come to the surface.
“It’s really gross,” Margaret says. “I don’t know if you’ve ever smelled a lot of dead worms, but it’s not nice. It’s funky business.”
People are still divided on whether using tea seed meal is a good idea, she added.
Japanese beetles, like jumping worms, reproduce better in a moist environment. That’s why a watered lawn has more problems with Japanese beetles than one that’s not watered.
Invasive jumping worms process organic matter quickly and change the consistency of soil into something like coffee grounds.
(Photo Credit: Margaret Roach)
I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Margaret Roach. If you haven’t listened yet, you can do so by scrolling to the top of the page and clicking the Play icon in the green bar under the page title.
How do you plan to tackle invasive species in 2025? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.
Links & Resources
Some product links in this guide are affiliate links. See full disclosure below.
Episode 015: Life Lessons on Gardening and Design, with Margaret Roach
Episode 020: Gardening for the Birds with Margaret Roach
Episode 065: Tips For Reducing Garden Overwhelm, with Margaret Roach
Episode 080: Putting the Garden to Bed: End-of-Season Advice from Margaret Roach
Episode 101: A Way to Garden: Observations and Lessons, with Margaret Roach
Episode 243: Always More to Learn in the Garden, with Margaret Roach
Episode 360: Reflections on Gardening, with Scott Medal Recipient Margaret Roach
joegardener Online Gardening Academy™: Popular courses on gardening fundamentals; managing pests, diseases & weeds; seed starting and more.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Organic Vegetable Gardening: My new premium online course. The course is designed to be a comprehensive guide to starting, growing, nurturing and harvesting your favorite vegetables, no matter what you love to eat, no matter where you live, no matter your level of gardening experience.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting: Everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed — indoors and out.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Beginning Gardener Fundamentals: Essential principles to know to create a thriving garden.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Growing Epic Tomatoes: Learn how to grow epic tomatoes with Joe Lamp’l and Craig LeHoullier.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Pests, Diseases & Weeds: Learn the proactive steps to take to manage pests, diseases and weeds for a more successful garden with a lot less frustration. Just $47 for lifetime access!
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Perfect Soil Recipe Master Class: Learn how to create the perfect soil environment for thriving plants.
Margaret Roach – A Way to Garden
A Way to Garden Podcast with Joe Lamp’l
The New York Times: In The Garden
“How to Garden in an Unfamiliar Climate? Expect the Unexpected” by Margaret Roach
“The Backyard Parables: Lessons on Gardening, and Life” by Margaret Roach
“And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading in the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road” by Margaret Roach
“A Way to Garden: A Hands-On Primer for Every Season” by Margaret Roach
Milorganite® – Our podcast episode sponsor and Brand Partner of joegardener.com
Disclosure: Some product links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we get a commission if you purchase. However, none of the prices of these resources have been increased to compensate us, and compensation is not an influencing factor on their inclusion here. The selection of all items featured in this post and podcast was based solely on merit and in no way influenced by any affiliate or financial incentive, or contractual relationship. At the time of this writing, Joe Lamp’l has professional relationships with the following companies who may have products included in this post and podcast: Corona Tools, Milorganite, Soil3, Territorial Seed Company, Earth’s Ally, Proven Winners ColorChoice, Farmer’s Defense, Heirloom Roses and Dramm. These companies are either Brand Partners of joegardener.com and/or advertise on our website. However, we receive no additional compensation from the sales or promotion of their product through this guide. The inclusion of any products mentioned within this post is entirely independent and exclusive of any relationship.
