A Garden Cemetery

Well that's an odd name for a post you say and I agree!

On a recent trip to Germany, sitting in the office and just wanting a break, a coworker suggested that I walk two blocks to a flower shop and then stroll through the cemetery. Yup, that is the go-to place for people in this industrial/commercial complex to take a walk.

As I headed off in that direction, I could see other office workers heading in the same direction - or coming back from that path. How had I never noticed this in my part visits here?

The little flower shop was closed - but I pressed onward.

Sure enough just past the flower shop was a small but well beaten pathway into what appeared to be a wooded lot.

Then Viola!

Review Glessner House - Chicago Historic Site

A tour of Glessner House, in Chicago's Prairie District had been on my bucket list for a few years. Glad to have completed the tour and experience early in 2017.  

Prairie Avenue, once known as “millionaires’ row” began subdivision in the 1850s.  Chicago icons George Pullman and Marshall Field helped establish Prairie Avenue as Chicago’s premier residential street. Alas by the 1910's the area had fallen out of fashion as the city grew - and today only a few of the original houses remain. Luckily with the rebirth of the south-side- live seems good in the area.

Photo: http://www.glessnerhouse.org/

The exterior of the house I found stark contrast to other homes of the period and on the street. This was the intent and desire of the owner and architect. Lots of good history to the home design can be found on the museum website. I especially liked that the house was devoid of windows on the north-side - environmentally sound and kept more private.

German Christmas Markets - Review

Rothenburg, Germany

I had the opportunity to be in Germany on a business trip at the start of the Christmas season. Luckily few colleagues took me to Christmas markets in four different towns! These Christkindlmarkt, are street markets during the four weeks of Advent.  The majority I went too were around the town square - or the oldest/largest church. There was always local food, hot drinks (several flavors of mulled wines!) and open-air merchants willing holiday items or trinkets. Many had a schedule of singing and performances from local artists. 

I was in markets in Frankfurt, Mannheim, Rothenburg, and at Schwetzingen Castle (and garden!) Frankfurt was so very large! Almost too large. The one around Schwtzingen Castle was perhaps too small. My favorite was in Rothenburg as the whole town is historic and it just felt like a fairy tale! The only downside to this location was getting there - took four different trains from Frankfurt! Well off the beaten path for tourists (but not locals.)

Dublin Castle & Garden - Review

Why am I posting so many things about Ireland? Maybe it's because I'm working for a Dublin based company and traveling there perhaps a tad too much...

A colleague asked it I wanted to visit the Dublin Castle and Garden. She had me at "garden."  That said, without having done any research - it was not what I expected. I thought old ruins of a building with some acreage of grounds - similar to Powerscourt.  I learned that the Dublin Castle is really a government building in the middle of Dublin proper!

We first arrived before anything opened - and it was perfect to walk around the exterior, linger in the garden and really absorb the atmosphere. Later in the day there were hundreds of tourists which made it a tad difficult to place oneself back in time to get a feel for the history.

Dublin Castle - Fall 2016

 

Dublin Castle Tour - Fall 2016

 

Kilmainham Gaol - Dublin Historic Prison (Review)

Hundred Year Old Prison Door - Dublin

On a recent trip to Dublin I had a meeting directly across the street from what seemed to be a very large tourist attraction. I learned it was Kilmainham Gaol prison and that I just had to take time to go! Super glad that I did - as a fan of history and wanting to get off the beaten path a bit. This was an excellent stop. 

I didn't realize much of the history of Ireland until I took this tour. The prison was built in 1787 and many key figures in Irish history were incarcerated and executed here. There could be some really fun costume/haunted house events here. Lots of details on various websites and books. 

Everyone has to go through on a tour - which is a good thing. Our guide was knowledgeable and fun. She put into context the conditions in the country versus the prison - sharing that some were trying to get put into prison as the conditions her, which were harsh (overcrowding, dirty, little food) were better than on the streets. The prison was for both women and men - noted somewhere that 40% of inmates could have been women. This was attributed to lack of employment opportunities or marriage after males emigrated. (women arrested for vagrancy or prostitution or other...)

Perhaps owing to my love of antiques like old woods - I was fascinated with the doors and metal work as you can see in the photos below.

Other Dublin / Ireland events and tours on my blog can be reviewed here.

Old Trinity Library - Book of Kels; Dublin (Review)

A colleague had attended Trinity University in Dublin and insisted that, as an antique and book lover, that I take a visit to the Trinity Library and Book of Kels exhibit. When I learned that this site, the Long Room, was the inspiration for The Jedi Archives in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (where they discovered that the planet had been erased) - yes I had to go!

Long Hall, Trinity Library, Dublin, Ireland - Sept 2015

These photos are from a visit in September 2015.

Book of Kels - Bible, Trinity Library, Dublin

The Book of Kels is an illustrated bible created by Celtic monks 1200 years ago. The exhibit has a great deal of history in the exhibit. Entry into the exhibit is times - but even then it was very crowded. A new portion of the book is shown each day. You can also see it in these digital archives. Today when people barely read a book or even write a letter - it is an interesting exercise to imaging how it could have taken so many people so many years to create this masterpiece. Some say it is one of Ireland's national treasures - which is easy to understand. No photos allowed - so I grabbed an image from the digital archive for your enjoyment. 


Other Dublin Day-trips and tours are reviewed in these blog updates.

Review - Glendalough, Wicklow Ireland

Tower - Glendalough, Ireland, 2016

On prior trips to Ireland I had gone on day-trips north of Dublin to Howth and explored the Botanic Garden.  

On this trip I had a half day free for another adventure, exploring more of Ireland. 

I had the good fortune to be invited down to the Wicklow area.  This is one of Ireland's National Parks and an easy day-trip from Dublin.

Although a raining overcast day (what else would it be?) this was a very enjoyable diversion! I think the light rain kept the majority our sightseers away - the trip did get very crowded towards the end of our stay. 

Our focus was hiking with a close second for good food and a bit of shopping - so it was recommended to try Glendalough and Sally Gap and then head to the coast.

Woodlands at Glendalough, Wicklow, Ireland

Glendalough is a pretty valley with bonus of historic sites and well groomed trails and easy access. There are ~9 trails that range from a few minutes to several hours or days. We started with the "green trail" to the ruins of an early christian settlement called Monastic City. We were fortunate to have gotten a very early start arriving as the parks opened. Later in the day the tour buses were pervasive and the trails a tad congested - at least near the visitor centers.

Please see below for some additional photos of the day. Other Dublin Day-trips and tours are reviewed in these blog updates.

Review - Powerscourt Gardens, Dublin Ireland

Powerscourt Tower Garden - 2016

One a recent trip to Europe I had the opportunity for a day trip from Dublin to visit Powerscourt Estate and Gardens. It has been dubbed one of the most beautiful gardens in Ireland and at some points in history - perhaps the world.  The gardens were designed in the 1700's  with rose gardens, reflecting ponds, tree plantations, long vistas and even a pet cemetery. As you can imagine over 300 years - there could be lots of pets :(

Top-line - an enjoyable visit and nice to get out of the city. I would not say it compares in quality for gardens in other parts of the world..

• Pros - a great historic site and good long vistas over the formal garden, very nice cafe
• Cons - a bit of a distance, trails beyond the core garden are not well maintained, on the bus route so can get crowded, pricey.

One the way back into Dublin we took the coast road and spent time at the James Joyce Museum which was quaint and  very interesting. 

Entrance to Powerscourt Estate and Garden 2016

Please read on for some photos of the day. Also see my other reviews of Ireland sites and adventures.

Ireland National Botanic Garden - Dublin (Review)

Entrance - Dublin National Botanic Garden

When on holiday I am compelled to visit local Botanic Gardens. You can see my prior reviews of the Huntington Garden in California, then Denver Botanic Garden, the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, the Bird Haven Conservatory outside Chicago... well you get the points. I love these places.  So I was delighted when I was able to drag my traveling companion to Ireland's National Botanic Garden located just outside Dublin. Easy to reach by bus!

I was attracted to the location based on the history. The first glass houses were built in the 1700's - then expanded as unusual plants from around the world started to make their way to Ireland. Between 1840 - 1860 the major glass display houses were created. This is the same time as conservatories were springing up in Chicago. It was so nice to see the similarities and differences. Oh the Victorian / Edwardian times when strolling in Greenhouses was the best day out, and when great strides were made in understanding the plant kingdom. 

Dublin National Botanic Garden

A very interesting role of this garden was the assessment of exotic trees to the Ireland environment. Strolling the grounds these old trees look simultaneously majestic and out of place. Many of these are planted in groves - so you can see several different species of Oak tree, Larch, Holly and others side by side.


Here's a quick review of garden overall - in addition I have some specific posts for the Rose Garden and an outdoor Dahlia display at the Dublin National Botanic Garden. 

All photos taken in the spring of 2015. Also see my other reviews of Ireland sites and adventures.

Review Bird Haven Victorian Conservatory - Joliet

Bird Haven Conservatory, Joliet, IL Jul 2015

South of Chicago, in Joliet Illinois, there is a nice example of a Victorian Conservatory which was once common as part of large mansions and residential estates of the well to do.  I visited the Bird Haven Conservatory and was surprised by what I found and didn't find. I very much enjoyed the visit and recommend this as a day trip from Chicago particularly in conjunction with Midewin Tallgrass Prairie previously reviewed on this blog.

In particular I couldn't help but compare and contrast to Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory which was built around the same time - but with a very different philosophy.  Also updates and additions to the facilities has shown some major differences.

• At Bird Haven, typical to the period, plants are placed in pots within the conservatory. At the Garfield Park Conservatory plants were planted in the ground to provide a sense that one is actually in a tropical or other exotic environment. This approach was considered very radical at the time. 
• Both facilities have been updated over time. At Bird Haven a very large brick structure was added adjacent and connected to the site. I thought this really detracted from the historic integrity. The Garfield Park Conservatory was also expanded - to accommodate groups and catering. In this case a similar glass structure and style was used. So it seems more cohesive. 
• Updates on the inside of the conservatory were also a bit different - similar to the comment above. Some of the adds at Bird Haven, to me, detracted from the overall design. 

Please enjoy the additional photos.

Morton Arboretum - Springtime Woodland Beauty

Daffodils naturalizing the woodland

Today I had the pleasure of visiting the Morton Arboretum - just west of Chicago. I was a tad worried that it was too early in the year to visit - but I was so wrong!

The woodlands and grounds are awash in native woodland spring blooms! Miles and miles of trails - be that pavement or with mulch.

People young and old enjoing the grounds. It was interesting to hear people talking about the shape and form of trees and would they look right at their home. That's great to take a long view to support trees! So many old growth trees needed to be removed - ash and elm disappearing in favor of maples I guess.  Nice that people are thinking about some diversity!

At the arboretum it's easy to identify the different species. This spring the fruit trees and flowering shrubs add to the ambiance.  This was such great inspiration for my own woodland restoration efforts!

Thousands of Trout lily and groves of May-Apple were so beautiful. Not a single buckthorn tree in sight!

Open Woodland - No Buckthorn!

Mayapple flowers in Spring

Highly recommended :)

Here are just a few shots from the day.

Review: Cloisters New York

In early spring I had the opportunity to visit New York city and went up to visit The Cloisters Garden and Museum.  My New York friends were very skeptical of taking the long train ride. However, noting that they had lived in NYC for nearly a decade and needed to do something new, they acquiesced with my request :)

History 

The Cloisters, New York Mar 2015

The 66.5-acre Fort Tryon Park was kicked off by the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1917, when he hired Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., to create the park, which he later donated to New York City in 1935. The museum and adjacent gardens were built in 1934-39 on 4 acres of the park and were created through grants and endowments from Rockefeller. With insight to future development, Rockefeller bought and donated hundreds of acres of the river front property across from the museum, the New Jersey Palisades to the State of New Jersey. The view is awesome.

The building itself looks original to the rocky point and so old. With good reason, the building was designed by Charles Collens using parts of five cloistered abbeys. Talk about repurposing :)  . Further old building from Europe were disassembled and shipped to the site where they were reconstructed and integrated into this beautiful museum.  The photos below give a small sense of the integrated feel and medieval ambiance!

Container Gardening - Inspiration from Rick Bayless Garden, Chicago

Architecture: containers
adding height to the garden

In an earlier post I highlighted the urban agriculture and leisure areas in Chef Rick Bayless' farm/garden in downtown Chicago.  I was also very pleased to see all the containers used in the garden.

I've captured a few of my favorites here for your consideration and inspiration.  I use quite a few containers in my own garden and teach others on the subject. So I'm always on the look out for tips, examples, and motivation. 

One thing that I find interesting in this case is that many of the plantings seem to stay consistent over the years - as I compare photos from prior tours and blogs.  Hitting on something that works and sticking to it is not a bad thing at all! I'm still in trial and error state in many parts of my garden. 

Some interesting aspects of the use of containers:

Architectural elements along pathways and within/raised gardens. For example the raised pots in the photo just above right. We were told that the sun hits the top of the garden much more than the floor - hence the high sun items raised up to greet the day.   Another interesting use of containers was to add strong vertical structure to the porch area. These large containers create an effective screen from prying eyes looking into the house, beautiful colors, and vegetables too. The climbing vine is a spinach variety!  This photo also transitions well to my next point which is clustering more than one container together in one vignette. 

Review - Chihuly at Denver Botanic Garden

Chihuly - Blue Spiky Glass at
Denver Botanic Garden, 2014

Denver Botanic Gardens presented an outdoor exhibit artwork by celebrated American artist, Dale Chihuly.  The Glass from Chihuly's sculptures – ranging in size and form – added bold colors and dramatic beauty to the Gardens' 24-acre urban oasis.  Chihuly first exhibited glass within a garden setting at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory - which houses a permanent exhibit of Chihuly glass in it's Aroid House. 

The glass in Denver was on such a large scale. In some cases the glass over took the surroundings it was so overbearing, beautiful, creative, and yet at times not in sync with the surroundings.  Which is not to say that I didn't love the exhibit - I adore the Denver Botanic Gardens, I think I just had very different expectations.  There was a piece of art glass almost around every corner - so much to take in.  

Take a virtual tour, see what you think from the photos below. 

Urban Gardening / Farming - Tour of Rick Bayless Property, Chicago

In August I toured the Chicago urban farm and garden owned by Rick Bayless - chef and restaurateur. The garden features a mix of traditional beds, raised beds, containers and vertical garden space.  It hosts annuals (Tropical), herbs, vegetables, Citrus, fruit, succulents, and "farm" animals.

The garden was started over 15 years ago - as a hobby, but also as a demonstration of urban agriculture and to support organic greens and vegetables for his culinary needs. Since then it's grown to cover three city lots.  The vegetable growing space is over 1,000 square feet and includes indoor and "alternative growing spaces."  By alternative I'm referencing porch grow-box, vertical gardens, as well as indoor space utilizing grow lights.

Chicago Urban Garden (see the beehive)

At the start of the tour the guide and full-time gardener stated "don't try this at home" indicating that the garden has evolved overtime and is a business with nearly 6-8 part time

Garden Inspiration - Residential Wonder

Front entry - circular drive

I had the opportunity to tour a residential garden in Northern Chicago area today.  The home was built in the early 1920's and was one of the largest in the area.  Over the years the estate was subdivided, but this home maintains nearly 2 acres of grounds.  It felt a bit like a European estate - maybe Italian  or English.  The old brick work, bit of moss, vibrant color all welcomed me.

I was so appreciative of the opportunity! The homeowner says that it is her garden that makes her happy - and I could tell. While it looked wonderful to me, I'll tell you that she had a little project for each area I photographed.  Like all of us who continually move things around in our gardens - that's half the fun! 

I hope these photos inspire you as they did me.

Pear trees, hosta and groundcover along roadway

Wildflowers and Native Plants of Peru - A Tourist view

Native Plants flowering at Machu Picchu, Peru

From adventure traveler to casual tourist, the Inca Trail provides an unforgettable experience. I traveled it over forty years ago and still dream of the cool, lush, humid Andean rain forest full of unusual flora and fauna. The mystery of the high city and long forgotten tales. If I was taking the trip today, I'm sure I would soak up all the bromeliads and orchids which are native to this area.  The native flower is an orchid! Peruvian native plants are often lusted after house plants :)  The abundance of unusual native plants in Peru is acute in the Machu Picchu Sanctuary and nearby areas. Peru hosts more than 3,000 known orchid species, and some experts claim that this is only half of the Peruvian native species; more to be discovered!  So just think, if you take this hike you might discover an orchid that you could call your own?!

Review of Tour at "The Plant" vertical farm in Chicago

For some time I have been eager to get down to the Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood and tour The Plant - an experiment in vertical farming located inside an old meatpacking facility. How cool is that? Well - for me it turned out to be not so cool, it was an outing that I do not recommend at this time.  I bet in 3-5 years it will be an awesome venue.

OK - what I liked about it. The fundamental premise of the organization and the mission it serves. That's what got me there. I wanted to see the hydroponics lab too!

Let me give you an over view of the tour - which ran about an hour, and cost me $20 for my friend and I.

- Introduction (15 minutes) - in the lobby area I was provided an overview of The Plant organization and facility. The tour guide also educated visitors on the closed loop system and linkages between various parts of The Plant that are planned or anticipated future developments. Key here is future - much of The Plant facility is still in a state of disarray or construction. The introduction presented essentially the exact information which is available on the website. Visual aids were pages from printer taped to the wall. :(

- Review of future brewery location (10 minutes) - we walked to a large room, full of rubble, which will eventually house a brewery. Here there were posters on the wall discussing the principles of anaerobic digestion, and we were provided an overview on this science. We also looked out the windows to the vegetable garden below. 

The Plant, Chicago - hydroponic garden - 2013

- Tour through lower level - (12 minutes) he we walked by an area where mushrooms were grown. The door was shut, there was nothing to see.  We then went into the Hydroponic garden to see floating beds of lettuce and other greens and tanks that housed the tilapia.  There was another brief discussion of the principals of the vertical farm (same material reviewed previously).  While there were folks working here and discussion of the science and study occurring - we were not treated to any additional insight to their learnings. The set-up itself seems kludgy - well I'm used to touring manufacturing sites with lots of automation and sleek equipment, maybe this is as good as it gets.

Hydroponic greens - The Plant, Chicago

Fish tanks, Hydroponics garden, The Plant

- Tour of food production areas (20 minutes)  - Here we walked through old meat preparation areas and old smoking units.  We learned the plans of the organization for this space. I was hit by the very strong odor still remaining from the smokers. The most interesting part for me was that one of the individuals on the tour had worked at this facility back in the day when it was meat processing. His stories were excellent - if not a bit gory at the same time.  We saw two areas in current production of baked goods. This was a very lean operation for small scale production.  If you've toured the Eli's Cheesecake Factory here in town, you will understand the low volume nature of this test-kitchen.  

The Plant, Chicago - old smoker room. 2013

The Plant, Chicago, future shared kitchen space. 2013

- View of Anaerobic digester - look out the window to see the machine which we learned of earlier.  This will eventually be used to generate energy from food and plant waste material. Great idea! 

the Eisenmann anaerobic digester, The Plant

That was it. End of the tour. I had hoped to see more items in operation or to learn more about their findings.  I wanted to know more than I learned on the website. I was disappointed. That said - I do support the mission and direction The Plant is going.

If you do head to The Plant for a tour, pop around the corner to Garfield Park Conservatory afterwards for a bit of green, it will round out your day :) 

For some reason, singing the Oscar Mayer wiener song...

Teresa Marie

Harvesting Hydroponic Garden - The Plant

Behind the scenes at Garfield Park Conservatory - Spring 2013

This spring I had the opportunity to peek behind the scenes at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. The conservatory is over 100 years old - and the buildings behind it, on the Northside, are almost as old.  In the photo below you can see the conservatory (square shape with the (A) marked on it), the production greenhouses just north, and then just north again, in the blue box, are these working buildings.



Garfield Park Conservatory Grounds - Aerial View

The West Park System was the part of Chicago politic responsible for the conservatory.  This was before the formation of the Chicago Park District.  When the smaller conservatories in Douglas Park, Humboldt Park and Garfield Park were taken down a key element in the decision on where to place the larger "Jensen Conservatory" was the existence of the Power Plant building in Garfield Park.  The Power Plant is the eastern most building in this space.  It's got this great brickwork and high windows. Really pretty. It was constructed in 1896. That's some old architecture :)

In 1928, the West Park System built the "works" building adjacent to the Power Plant. Today it is used by the Chicago Park district for various trades.  The trade building was designed by Michaelsen and Rognstad, so it's affectionately called the M&R building.

Below are a few photos of a quick exploration of these old buildings.  The last two photos are from inside the M&R building looking back onto the Conservatory.  It was a really fun day and an interesting perspective that I'd never before experienced.  One portion of the works building houses the shop that makes signs for the Chicago Park District, that was pretty interesting. There is also a carpentry workroom - that smelled just amazing.

I kept thinking these would make great loft offices or apartment spaces. Or perhaps an awesome party venue?

I enjoy the rich history of Chicago and the Conservatory. Always something old to learn :)

Power Plant and M&R Building Garfield Park - 2013

Garfield Park Conservatory - Back Yard, 2013

 

View from M&R Bldg over back of Garfield Park Conservatory, 2013

View out of Woodshop window

Happy Exploring,

Teresa Marie

Sinclar's The Jungle at Chicago History Museum

I recently participated in a book review class at The Chicago History Museum on Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.  The book was on my list to read this year and I thought participating in a book group would be fun. In a way taking me back to high school or college days when I probably should have read this classic.  Years ago I tried reading The Jungle and hated it; this time I loved 2/3rds of it! (This blog is not a review of the book, rather a review of the offering by The Chicago History Museum and my experience taking the book club.)

I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book - focus on a period of time in Chicago that I find fascinating. On a recent trip to The Dreihaus Museum (blog review here)- I became very interested in how the majority of the populace in Chicago lived at the time. That's why The Jungle got onto my reading list. The juxtaposition of the lives portrayed in the book versus the Marble Mansion is quite stark.  The facilitator from the Chicago History Museum added good commentary on the historical inaccuracies or questions that exist in the book. That was perhaps my favorite part of the book group.