This past Easter Sunday, I hiked the trails of the Japanese Garden and bird sanctuary at Jackson Park. The Japanese Garden is a reconstruction on the original site of the Japanese Garden from the Chicago World’s Fair 1893. In the background you can see the Museum of Science and Industry, which is the only building [...]
This past week, I was in Florida and the Bahamas. I can’t wait to share the Edison house garden and lab with you. Edison spent a majority of his time in Fort Myers, Florida, finding an American source for rubber, with Goldenrod becoming the best solution. He became quite a lover of the tropics, [...]
If you were ever reading a paper or watching the news, you saw that Texas was on fire this past summer. With the most consecutive days over 100 degrees recorded, it was hot. It was also brown. Xeriscaping, choosing native plants that don’t consume any extra water, is popular, as it well should be, in [...]
The Chicago Park District has used castor bean plants intermixed with prairie grasses to make a striking entrance to their park building. With its deeply lobed palmate leaves and a height between 6-10 feet, it’s grand, but don’t eat it! THIS PLANT’S SEEDS ARE VERY POISONOUS, AND IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED TO BE GROWN IN [...]
This past weekend, I was up in the non glaciated parts of southwest Wisconsin. The land is hilly and picturesque, a wonderfully serene world.
Back in the Spring, I stopped in Wicker Park to visit Billy and Katie’s secret garden. They’d been given access to the garden lot next to their apartment. Eager to grow food, be urban farmers, and share the excitement, the two have been hosting garden Thursdays. I’ve gone a few times and it has been [...]
This past week, I had the pleasure of visiting Lauren’s garden. Shaded by a large pine and plum tree, her garden is ruled by shade and slivers of light. Great on the hottest summer days, but lending little space for veggies, Lauren has made great use of two small plots, one of tomatoes and one [...]
Today I got a late start in the garden. Figuring that it was cloudy and cooler, I could sleep in and the containers wouldn’t perish. Much to my dismay, squirrels, of course, had knocked over a planter and crushed the plants growing below. This is the epic, constant battle, me vs. squirrel. While picking up [...]
I met up with Karen to get a second story view of her garden. Like many homes in Chicago, she and Matt share the yard with their downstairs neighbors, Rick and Lindsey. When the two brothers, Matt and Rick, bought the two flat, it came fully landscaped with map included. It’s more of a holding [...]
Visit the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. You won’t be disappointed. Part of the University of Minnesota, it is home to wild and landscaped gardens alike. With 12.5 miles of trails, there’s hardly enough time in one visit. My family and I walked through the gardens closest to the main building, and then drove the 3 mile [...]