Mary Jo DiLonardo has worked in print, online, and broadcast journalism for 25 years and covers nature, health, science, and animals. Young trees sometimes have smooth bark that's unbroken by ridges.

Every garden is a thing of beauty in the growing seasons — spring bulbs, summer flowers and fall foliage all carry on with extravagance. But winter is coming, so the colorful garden superstars will ...

Here it is, the season of same-old-same-old: same old freezing rain, same old snow, same old chill winds, gray skies and barren, shivering timbers. In most parts of the country, it is the season of ...

With bright colors and interesting shapes, unusual tree and shrub bark can add visual interest to winter landscapes. Many types of bark become more distinctive and sought after during winter months.

I was up in the mountains this past weekend and got to visit with one of my favorite trees — the striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum). I did some googling and it turns out striped maples are a lot of ...