8 / matters magazine / summer 2026 heart of the matter Featuring Local People, Places and Things that Matter Since 1990 READ & RECYCLE Please address all correspondence to: Visual Impact Advertising, Inc.© P.O. Box 198 Maplewood, NJ 07040 973-763-4900 mattersmagazine.com info@mattersmagazine.com Matters Magazine© is owned and published by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc., P.O. Box 198 Maplewood, NJ 07040. Matters Magazine is free, with editions direct mailed seven times a year to the residents of Maple wood and South Orange and distributed to businesses and surrounding communities totaling 16,000. Subscriptions are available to non-residents for $30 (U.S.) $40 (Foreign) annually. No part of the publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. Matters PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEF Ellen Donker ASSOCIATE EDITOR & SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Anne Mandell ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Rene Conlon H. Leslie Gilman Amy Power GRAPHIC DESIGN Ellen Donker COPY EDITORS Charles Hammer Jayson Rodriguez CONTRIBUTORS Kristen di Gennaro Adrianna Donat Amy Lynn-Cramer Cindy Perman Ilysse Rimalovski Julia Maloof Verderosa E very year, as spring moves into summer, I am deter mined to improve my gardens. I’m aware that I should probably be saying this in winter when it’s time to start seedlings, but I can never seem to rustle up the enthusiasm or plan ahead to get a spot in the Maplewood greenhouse. Early June comes along and I’m just getting started with clearing garden beds of leaves and weeds (hoping I don’t yank a perennial by mistake) and figuring out what I want to plant. If I haven’t made it to the Maplewood Garden Club plant sale, then I’m off to Home Depot. Faced with racks of possibilities, I often buy more seed packets than I have room to plant: cucumbers, string beans, various lettuces, cantaloupe, cilantro and more. I also buy plants: tomatoes and various peppers as well as herbs such as rosemary, parsley, thyme (if mine hasn’t survived the winter), dill and basil. Then I have planters to fill with annuals. I find hang ing baskets to flank the front door with a color scheme that I use for the urns on my front steps. For the back yard, I fill various pots and planters for areas that need a visual boost. I let my perennials populate the garden beds, hoping the deer don’t devour them for a midnight snack. If I’m lucky, I plant everything by the second week of June. And then the weeding and maintenance continue. My newest project was to tidy up my herb garden rather than have a collection of random pots crowded around the patio furniture. A family member had a raised plant er on legs that I secretly envied for years. After research ing different options, I ordered a galvanized planter in pale green. The day the planter was delivered, I drafted my daughter Madeline to help me assemble it. She’s very logical and much better than I am at spatial tasks. Plus, she follows directions. There’s no winging it in her world. With most projects, I usually make a few mistakes along the way and have to reassemble pieces to get it right. I’ve accepted that to be part of the process, but it’s time consuming. Sometimes directions aren’t clear, steps are left out or I misinterpret a diagram. The directions for this planter were pretty straightforward, but I was an noyed that most of the parts weren’t marked. Madeline and I worked well together. An hour and a half later we had a handsome planter. We hadn’t backtracked once. Now for the fun part: It was time to fill the planter. I had read about using logs, leaves and grass clippings for the bottom of the planter. That would mean less soil to fill the planter and the logs and leaves would break down over time and supply nutrients to the soil, making for healthier plants. I also added corrugated cardboard from the planter’s packaging. For the soil, I had bought a ginormous bag that required two people to lift it. Into the planter it went. Still it wasn’t enough. Madeline wondered how I thought one bag could fill it, the logs notwithstanding. She pointed out to me that I could’ve done the math, as I must’ve learned how to calculate cubic feet in middle school. This is when her teacher vibes come out. All I can say is I simply didn’t think about it. The next day I ran to Home Depot for a second bag and I planted the herbs. I can’t wait to see them mature and fill out the planter. If all of this sounds like a lot of work, it’s true. I just know that in the quiet hours of July when I’m sitting in my back yard with a good book, surrounded by my blooming plants, lush herbs and productive vegetables, I’ll know that it was all worth it. Springing into Summer Gardens It’s worth it in the end BY ELLEN DONKER
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