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!

For the love of Irises

Springtime means irises and I'm lucky to have many varieties in my garden. Did you know that name iris comes from the Greek work for rainbow.  I have a pluthera of blue/purple, white, and yellow colored iris perennials. Most I've secured free off Craigslist or Freecycle. I have a few unique and native ones I purchased which I'm nurturing. 


It's not a native flower for U.S. gardeners - its originally from Syria. While used in perfumes, medicinals, and even to produce beer and wine, for me it's purely decorative.  I do have some challenges being in a cold climate garden. Not all iris varieties will do well with such a short growing period. 

Want to get inspired by iris? Check to see if there is a local flower show with this theme or try to visit one of the Historic Iris Display Gardens. My closed one in a state away and they have a wonderful end of season "garage sale" which I'm already planning on attending in July. Now that's planning! 

Iris - endless variety

Here are some tips for growing iris in a cold climate garden: 

Bee Yard - Helping Mother Nature

This year I decided to lend my garden to be an apiary or bee yard. Yes please bring on the beehives of honey bees.  I reached out to a few beekeeper associations and within a day or so I have several beekeepers who offered to keep hives in my yard in exchange for honey (or not depending on the health of the hive.) Bring it on! 

I don't really care if I get any honey well just one jar would be awesome. I wanted to let someone expand or learn their craft while helping Mother Nature bring back the bees, and potentially help out my own garden productivity. We selected a spot in the sun nestled up next to some Arbor Vitae and away from the road and pedestrian traffic. That also means away from the mosquito foggers.  The beekeeper also put in a little water fountain with a solar pump so they would have a ready water source - and the mosquito larvae wouldn't thrive. 

It was a grand experiment for all of us.

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.

Designing 360 Degree garden views

Walled Garden Flower Bed

Something my grandmother taught me about flower gardens was that the design needed to consider views from all angles. 

That is a concept that she mastered not only once but many flower beds and all year long too! 

I wish I knew now what she planted and where - but alas, I just recall the beautiful output of all her hard work.

Recently I saw a beautiful flower bed - brilliant despite challenges with sun and water.  In some views there are not so many flowers but a variation in leaf size and plant height creates interest. 

Kitchen Scraps to Garden Treasure - Easy Plant Propagation

Starting plants from leftover scraps

Springtime and fellow gardeners are getting excited about planting seedlings. Seed starting is a key activity. This year I'm excited to be planting food scraps. Yes, there are a number of foods that you can grow from kitchen scraps. That's pretty great. The next best thing to buying local is not buying at all. Is this food recycling? It's nice to always have a home-grown supply of these items on my kitchen window sill or garden.  While it saves a little bit of money - it is also easy and fun! Kids that come over find it amazing.

To facilitate the process I use a plastic container from Costco apples. These little impressions are the perfect place to put the root end of celery, carrots, lettuce. Take a look at how this all works with examples of specific veggies. 

Here's my list herbs and veggies that I've (tried to) regrow from the scraps. Others listed at the bottom can be grown from seeds - but that's another story :)

Planning My Vegetable Garden

Home Grown Goodness! 

One of my favorite garden activities in the winter time is planning out the plantings for spring and summer. This year I'm getting more serious about the vegetable garden. That is because I'm eating lots more veggies this year :) and my neighbor cut down mature ash/elm trees which were along the property line and reducing the sun available to my garden.

Last year I broke my wrist in the spring so the vegetable garden never really got planted. It sat fallow all year. So this year it should be ready to burst forward with an abundance of produce!

There are many great resources for planning a vegetable garden. Advice for site selection, soil preparation, and more available. My task was selecting the plants and arranging them.

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. 

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

Urban Vegetable Gardening - Grow Your Own

What do you need to grow your own vegetables - space, soil, water, light. Sometimes that can be a challenge in the middle of a city. A few solutions are container gardening (see prior posts and links here) as then there are raised beds. If you have any trepidation about what may be in your soil or the composition of your soil - there are steps you can take to get in the right direction. These include "lasagna gardening", "raised bed gardening", and "vertical gardening."

Let's explore these last options - and I'll use photos taken June 2014 at the Garfield Park Conservatory and prior blogs to illustrate.  The outdoor Urban Demonstration Garden at the conservatory is a purposeful example of an Urban Vegetable Garden.

Panorama of Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory, Urban Demonstration Garden June 2014

Harvesting Herbs for perfect flavor

Do you want to know when to harvest herbs from you garden? Here are tips I've garnered over the years. 

First off - is the herb something that you grow for the leaves, flowers, or seeds. That matters. For example, when harvesting (the evil) mint, pick the leaves you need. For thyme or rosemary you may take a whole sprig for putting with a roast. In other cases, like garlic, wait until the plant practically dies away and dig up the bulb. 

Tips for harvesting leafy herbs:

• When: Harvest as soon as the plant is established and frequently to encourage plants to produce new leaf growth. (Chicago would say early and often!). I like to cut herbs in mid-to late morning when they are no longer moist from dew and after I've figured out dinner plans in early evening ;)   In the heat of the day, if it's really hot, plants may droop a bit and harvesting at that time may harm the plant.  Especially with the hot summer's we've had lately.  

Maximizing Your Herb Garden - Maintenance

Formal Herb Garden (Photo from St Louis Mag, by JJ Lane)

If you've put in an Herb garden or started them up in containers - a little maintenance can really improve your harvest.  While I envy a large formal herb garden like the one shown on the right - I need to maximize a much smaller place. That means some work year round. Good news is that herb plants, general have low maintenance requirements. All one needs to do during the growing season is remove weeds, provide water, perhaps mulch or fertilize, and prune/harvest.  Below see more details on these steps and other considerations.

Selecting and hiring a Landscape Designer

What front entryway design will complement my home
and add curb appeal? What will the design cost?

I like to do yard work and gardening, but over the years I sometimes need an experienced, trained landscape designer,  a strong set of hands, or just large equipment I don't have. I needed help with a major redesign of my home’s landscape, working with large overgrown plants, and working with hard-scaping.  Then there is taking down and maintaining trees which needs a professional too. What with the cost of landscape design, minimum fees, and more - this was not a decision I took lightly. That said, I know that curb appeal can add value to my home, so I didn't want to be disappointed either.

So what do I look for in a landscape designer / landscaper? What's a good selection process and decision criteria for landscaping help?


The above picture is one and example of a project where professional help can save you. Here there is hard scaping removal and installation, the need to manage water flow away from the house, curb appeal, buried power lines, and building aesthetics to consider. This could be a DIY project from hell. So if you've got anything like this that has many facets and gives you pause as a DIY - start the process to find the right help.

Here’s my list of must haves:

Invasive Plant: Garlic Mustard - Identification & Control

Garlic Mustard should have been on my list of the dirty dozen plants that I try to keep out of my garden.  Here's a quick take on Garlic Mustard, how to identify, and importantly control it. 

Garlic Mustard Background:

Garlic Mustard Invasive - thriving in rock border

Garlic Mustard  (Alliaria petiolata) is an invasive biennial herb with a distinctive garlic/onion smell. First found in New York state in 1868, it was probably brought by Europeans as a medicinal herb. These days it grows in over 31 states and is labeled an invasive plant. It has no natural enemies of note in North America.  Garlic mustard grows in open woodlands, dense shade, driveway cracks, and your vegetable garden.  It's a biennial so in the first year it produces only leaves, the following spring the plant sends out white flowers on ugly stalks up to 3 1/2 feet tall. Each plant can produce 350-7000 seeds which are dispersed in late summer.  

Container Gardens - Growing Herbs

Grow Your Own Fresh Herbs - Container Gardening

More recently as I teach Container Garden classes I'm asked specifically about growing herbs.  In particular small urban patio gardens and families with small children seem to enjoy this activity. I am an avid consumer of fresh, home grown herbs! Photo of harvest of mint, dill, parsley! Herb container gardening is a great way for new gardeners to dig in. There is a great satisfaction in serving delights from your garden. Plus the fragrance from herbs is wonderful. There are many herbs that I always grow in container (aka mint!) This year I'm putting more herbs and veggies in containers to make it easier to access from my kitchen! Planning container gardens is one of the many tasks on my Spring to-do list for my cold climate garden. 

Spring To-Do List for a Cold Climate Garden

I cannot wait to get back into the yard and garden this year. Especially given the amount of snow and cold we've had this winter in Chiberia. So many activities to get accomplished to both prepare my garden for a wonderful spring and start plants off strong!  I thought I would share the items on my list. Oh and please check out my Fall Cold-Climate Garden Checklist too.

Here's my spring to-do list for my Zone 5 /5b cold climate garden.  Check your frost/freeze dates by zip code on this website.

Spring Garden preparedness List:

• Check the fence for repairs or digging (dogs :)  )
• Check tools - repair, sharpen or replace
• Check Garden machines for repair and maintenance (Lawn mower, rototiller, leaf blower, chainsaw)
• Make sure I've got enough insecticidal soap, deer spray, dormant oil, fertilizer
• Check repair or replace hoses (sprinklers, spray heads) and put out into yard. Order a truckload of wood chips (free from landscaping companies.)
• Check that all drains are open and clear
• Get free manure from local equestrian center
• Find garden gloves and repair as needed
• Check garden spray bottles used to apply chemicals

A Dirty Dozen - Plants to keep out of your garden!

Keeping invasives out - to make room for these beauties!

I'm making my spring garden to-do list and I notice that many of the tasks involve getting rid of plants rather than planting them! These are my "dirty dozen" of plants I wish had never rooted on my land. Managing these highly aggressive / invasive species is a major chore.  These plants expand via fast-growing roots or rhizomes or expel dozens of seeds annually. So over time you may get much more than you planned!  Many of these are plants I purchased at garden centers or picked up free online through Craigslist or similar sources. Getting plants free should have been my clue that these plants go CRAZY!  Others I inherited with the garden when I first moved in- nearly 12 years ago, this challenge started with Bishops Weed and honey suckle. I pulled them out, cut them down and still they return year after year. I spray them and abuse them. They can be very B-A-D. I'm still at it - and there is not much left. Man some of those roots are tenacious! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Clearly the former owner of my house LOVED her buckthorn and honeysuckle greatly. Fellow gardeners in my neighborhood love some of these and readily take up the debate as to why I'm pulling them out. My response is always that they are taking space, resources and time from the plants that I really want to flourish in my garden.

So, here's my "Dirty Dozen" of plants I would like to bite the dust and never return. Your experience may vary - but I encourage you to think twice about putting any of these in your garden.

Fall to-Do list for my cold climate garden

I am ever so busy in the garden this time of year. So many tasks to get accomplished to both put my garden to sleep (metaphorically) for the year and to prepare for a wonderful spring!  I thought I would share the items on my list.

Fall Flower Garden To-Do List:

Add Mums for Fall Color

• Divide day lilies (trade with friends :) )
• Divide peonies
• Plant hardy mums (from friends or rescued from commercial sites)
• Remove annuals as they are spent
• Select any annuals for overwintering. (get tips on this blog entry)
• Collect fall flower seeds
• Prepare for winter sowing (cone flower, shasta daisy, gaillardia, salvia)
• Move perennials which were in containers into the garden
• Scour garden centers for plant sales 
• Clean out dead plants and leaves (to mulch) 
• Dig out hardy decorative grasses as needed to manage spread 
• Pick aster flowers for drying

Fall Garden To-Do List for Bulbs:

Fall - dividing time for iris

• Divide daffodils (note marked with yellow and white golf tees. Note, I mark the placement of bulbs in my garden with golf tees. Yellow for daffodils and red for tulips. When I think a clump is ready to be divided, I place a white golf tee there too. Then in the fall I know where to dig and not dig)
• Plant daffodils, tulips (mark with yellow and red golf tees respectively)
• Plant garlic
• Start drying down canna for storage
• Dig up begonia tubers for winter storage

Fall To-Do list for Shrubs and Trees:

• Prune off diseased, damaged or broken stems.
• Plant new shrubs
• Trim back long branches that may be broken by snow
• Stake down limbs of Japanese Maple for bark-over the winter (move into the spot you want the branch to be in when it is limber. As it barks over in the winter it should stay in that spot next year when you remove the line.)
• Fertilize those trees/shrubs not done in springtime
• Mulch in trees
• Cut down and remove invasives (buckthorn, honeysuckle, privet)

Fall To-Do list for Vines, Ground Cover & Ornamental Grasses:

• Propagate by layering the euonymus vines (make shallow cut in vine and bury it.)
• Cut back vines from house and shrubs
• Pull tender grasses for over-wintering indoors. See this blog for how-to
• Pull out invasives (buckthorn, poison ivy)

I love fall weather! So crisp and just a great time to be outside! Which is great because I know what I'm doing today, tomorrow, and the next day!

Today I'm singing and feeling Forever Autumn by the Moody Blues!

Enjoy

Teresa Marie
 

Woodland Restoration - Adding in Mature Trees

One of my major projects is the restoration of a woodland adjacent to my house. I think I should start to call it a garden restoration, since as I've continued to clear away at the under-story of buckthorn, I'm finding more and more decorative plants. I've even found old wire supports for peonies which are sadly  all faded away.  I also found a new favorite wildflower - the privet. This year as I was clearing I came across 10 or so bushes in bloom. The fragrant is so wonderful! Can't wait until next year as these mature some more!

Anyway, the parcel I'm working with is approximately 294 ft long x 62 ft wide. It's the eastern portion of the woodlands that is closest to my house. That's right - it's 0.42 acres. Nearly a half acre that used to be someone's showcase garden, and is not trash.

Woodland restoration satellite view - google maps. 

In the photo to the left - this is the area between the two roughly horizontal roads and approximately three-quarters of the distance between the major road on the right-hand side, and the end of the photo on the left hand side.  I call this my "guerrilla garden."

The photo is wintertime clearly - so it's hard to see just how dense the trees are.  In the next photo below, the perspective is from the intersection in the lower right hand side looking back against this parcel. There is a little rock garden I carved out, a big overgrown rose bush, and a big burning bush (almost 12 feet tall!). Almost every thing else is buckthorn and poison ivy.

Before restoration, east side of woodland - looking west.

Happy days - removing buckthorn by the truck-full

I've started clearing from the south and east sides of the woodland (garden.) Mostly because this is the side that I see all the time!  For the past 10 years I've been planting the little saplings givin away for free on Arbor Day in this space. I think about half have thrived.

Nobody else in this neighborhood had the vision that I did for the restoration. This includes the owner of the land whose house is way off to the left hand side of the first photo (which is why they don't care about it at all.) Every time I was out there hacking away at the "trees" - someone would stop and complain, or I'd just get dirty looks. I generally have the buckthorn piled up in the street for pick-up so I have also gotten actual notes in my mailbox about what a mess I'm making in the neighborhood.  This sentiment was particularly acute when I had completely cleared the eastern side - the after clearing photo below. More open, light streaming through, room for growth....plus, the property owner was now so pleased she is begging me to keep going!

After clearing Buckthorn - wide open spaces

Digging a big hole for tree

It was pretty interesting watching them plant these trees.  They are to be planted in  a low area. I was worried about the quality of the soil. There were a few surprises. For example, we found lots of pavement chucks and stones. Looks like someones dumping ground for road work. :(  On the positive side, the soil is rich so we didn't need amendments.  The trees were planted to sit about 8-10 inches above ground level. This is because the water pools here with heavy rains and we wanted there to be some portion above water. Then soil was ramped away from the trunk to match the existing ground level. Then we applied mulch over that. Later I'll also apply a layer of wood chips.

In addition to these evergreen trees, I planted two serviceberry and one crab apple that I purchased at the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance plant sale a few years ago.  In addition I had a few native plants from local sale - a button bush and two chokeberry. I also picked up a few items from close out a Lowes (distressed for $1 - $5 each ! Yeah)  These were three golden privet, and two mountain fire pieris. Lastly, I picked up some daylilies and hosta for free of craigslist and scattered these in front of the trees.  I had some leftover stone from a porch demo that I used to create a little pathway.  In fall I'll distribute the existing flowers from the left had side along the front as well.

June 2013 - Woodland Restoration with new trees

Taking the long view - I really hope the next owner is passionate about this garden. In the past few days as I've been out there working neighbors driving by have actually yelled "great job" as they fly by!  In a few years I'll start redistributing some of the saplings into the open spaces created by continued removal of buckthorn, dying elm and ash.  I envision my kids coming here years from now and showing their own children the "little trees" then cared for as a child - which should be reaching for the stars.

Dreaming big!

Teresa Marie