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October 8, 2020

Gardeners Forum

Falling in love with florals this season

The season of fall is synonymous with a gorgeous array of various shades of red on a myriad of shrubs and trees. The sight of stately trees in all of their glory at the end of a beautiful summer is what many of us look forward to all year. Often overlooked though are the dozens of perennial flowers that offer up their beautiful blooms as we approach months of cold, ice and snow. It seems as if for these flowers it is their final performance of the season. It’s a performance you don’t want to miss.

Brown grass?

My daughter, Mary, came over on Sunday. Due to social distancing we were hosting her and her boyfriend, Stephen, on our deck. As she was sitting down, she looked into our backyard and asked “What happened to the lawn?” It looked like we had purposefully tried to create ugly brown stripes and circles in our lawn by spraying herbicide.

It wasn’t us, but a climatological condition that is causing the lawn to go dormant. The lack of rain had resulted in dry brown grass in stripes over our septic lines and a big brown circle over our septic tank.

Going green can be oh so colorful

Colors often evoke emotion. I always smile when I see a yellow flower. They remind me of the big yellow happy faces that were seemed so prevalent during my childhood in the 70s. Flowers also have the ability to evoke a variety of emotions. One look at a Queen Anne’s lace flower immediately brings me back to my grandmother’s farm in Union. It was a very peaceful place. Colorful flowers can be a powerful combination.

You *can* do it

I measure my level of domesticity by the very high bar set by my grandmother.  As I head off to bed with two sinks full of dirty dishes, I silently say ‘Grandma would have never done this.’  When I hire someone to wash our windows, and I don’t take the time to wash every set of curtains while he is washing the windows, I feel like I am missing the mark.

Blooms with a view

As with most of our lives over the past 4 months, my son’s life has taken on a very narrow scope. As a freshman at Middle Tennessee State University, his life used to include get- togethers with friends, professors lecturing in classrooms, strolls around a gorgeous campus, Sunday morning church services and trips to Nashville.

Garden State: Growing your own food in a time of crisis

We have all responded to the pandemic in different ways. For some, that response means sheltering in place while other members of our family bring us the essentials. For others, it means learning new ways of doing daily or weekly tasks; ordering food and communicating with others through cell phones, tablets and computers. For many, work now begins with a walk to the kitchen table instead of a 45 minute commute. My family’s response included an afternoon spent planting vegetable and herb seeds in containers with daily updates during dinner about their progress.

Making your garden last

My husband is a stuff guy. I am a “less is more” girl. His motto is why buy one of something when you can buy three and have a few extra? I only buy something when I absolutely have to. When he cooks, it is in large quantities, and he puts the extra in the freezer. I’m perfectly content with making just enough for that particular meal.

How to put a spring in your step in this uncertain season

With age, it seems, comes self-awareness. We become aware of our strengths as well as our weaknesses. Our likes become more apparent as well as our dislikes. Our ability to verbalize what we need to feel comfortable, even happy, may also grow with time. Control. I have come to realize for me to feel comfortable, it often boils down to control. A calendar that is filled with professional and personal obligations make me happy.

Rome-ing Italy and Greece, part 2

A friend of mine (Janie) and her husband (Bill) live in Seattle. They enjoyed a 3-week vacation in Italy and Greece and agreed to share their adventure. This is Part 2 of that journey with their next stop on their cruise from Greece to Turkey.

Put some spring in your step

When Chris, my husband, and I first started dating I had the opportunity to not only get to know him, but also his parents. I received a front row seat to a lifestyle that was completely unfamiliar to me.

Volunteering, it’s in our nature

The butterfly population in Northern Illinois is growing! It was recently reported on the radio that volunteers who spend time monitoring butterflies on public lands had seen an increase in butterflies this summer compared to previous years. While of course, I am thrilled that the efforts to support the butterfly population are working, I am more interested in the volunteers and their efforts.

Can do: preserving your fall harvests for the colder months

Fall, for many, is the most favorite season. Favorite fall activities include going to pumpkin patches with family members, Christmas shopping at craft fairs, and of course taking a few moments to admire the gorgeous fall colors exhibited by our natural environs.

Rake to the finish

My mom and I enjoyed watching my daughter participate in cross country meets throughout her middle school and high school years. After the start of the race was announced we would yell ‘Go Sarah’ repeatedly until she was out of site. We would then anxiously pace around, silently willing her on as she battled heat, other runners, uneven running surfaces and hills. After about 20 minutes, we would see her approaching the finish line.

Tips and tricks for National Indoor Plant Week

Happy National Indoor Plant Week! Yes, it really is a thing.  Kind of a made up holiday like the recent Grandparents Day or the upcoming Sweetest Day. That being said the benefits of having indoor plants are most definitely not made up. They are very, very real.

Come Again? Best new perennials to keep around

Gardening is said to add years to your life and life to your years. In order for those years to pass more beautifully and easily for gardeners, the Perennial Plant Association has developed a Perennial Plant of the Year (PPOY) program. For the past 29 years, members of this non for profit organization have met each summer and voted on which perennial flower they best exemplifies certain characteristics. Characteristics of past PPOYs include low maintenance, disease and insect resistant, have interest over several seasons and are hardy. Here is a summary of the past 10 years’ worth of what could be considered the best of the best perennial flowers.

Fall into weekend fun outdoors this season

By the time you read this, my heart will be a little less full, my smile a tad forced and my eyes a bit red. Life is full of transitions and changes. Some are easier to work through than others. The transition that is taking place in our house is one that will result in three incredibly happy kids pursuing their dreams at the universities of their choice and two parents struggling to adjust and move on with their lives. We are officially empty nesters.

The grass is always greener on the other side of lawn care

We have an area in the front of our house where grass doesn’t grow very well. My husband, bless his heart, has tried in vain for 3 years to establish lawn in this area. Inevitably, no matter what he has tried grass seed or sod, this area ended up being bare soil. It was the topic of conversation on a recent Saturday night. Although I could see he was tired and frustrated from working on the project once again, I had to admit, I really never noticed that part of our yard.

Human / Nature

Recently, there was a discussion on the radio regarding the implementation of self-service checkout lanes at Jewel. I listened especially closely because my son is a checker at the Huntley store. The consensus of the discussion seemed to be that shopping at Jewel was more rewarding when the visit ended with interaction with the checkers and baggers.

How to ‘win’ the war on weeds

On a recent Sunday morning, I spent a few hours watering the plants at our garden center. Normally I spend Sundays holed up in my office trying to get done all of the work that has piled up on my desk throughout the week. This Sunday was different. I needed to be outside. Frankly, it was quite depressing.

Walk this way

Recently Christopher, my son, his girlfriend, Celeste and I drove down to Tennessee. Each of us had our own purpose for making the trek. Christopher, as an incoming freshman, was attending the summer orientation for Middle Tennessee State University. This was his chance to register for classes, meet potential friends, and start to acclimate to literally a new climate. It was also important for him to share with his girlfriend where he would be spending the next four years.

Plant chats

For this column, we have the opportunity to hear from Julie Janoski, the Plant Clinic Manager for The Morton Arboretum. As the Plant Clinic manager Julie is in charge of helping to field questions brought to the Arboretum by homeowners, gardeners and professionals.

Polar vortex’s toll on spring growth

Thursday, January 31, 2019. What were you doing on that day? What about the next day, February 1?

I know it is hard enough to remember what we had for breakfast somedays, much less what we were all doing 4 months ago. For the vast majority of us, though, the answer to both questions would be we were at home.

Talking facts about annuals with Carol Scheffler

For today’s column, we are talking with Carol Scheffler, a sales assistant at Ron Clesen’s Ornamental Plants, Inc. RCOP is a wholesale grower of high quality annual flowers and plants.

Milestones and memories

Milestones naturally lend themselves to contemplation and celebration. Family birthdays and personal anniversaries have lead to some of the happiest memories for our family. Businesses often celebrate their longevity and employees who have been with the company for a long time are recognized. Recently this community, your community, celebrated 20 years in existence. What a treasure this community has become to our area!

Gardening is ‘for the birds’

Throughout the winter and early spring, my husband and I have been spending a portion of our morning at the local gym. We drop off our son at school and then head into town to spend an hour doing something good for ourselves. There is a group of local residents that are all at the gym about the same time each day. Our conversations the past few months have revolved around the health of relatives, company visiting, the daily news cycle, and of course, the weather.

The scoop on landscaping

For this week’s article, we are talking with Marissa Stublerthe Membership and Marketing Manager for Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA). Marissa, thanks so much for being available to answer a few questions for our readers!

Saving some green on your landscape

Shopping, for me, is always done out of pure necessity. I don’t get any pleasure out of it and would rather be doing a whole litany of things outside the confines of a store, rather than being inside it. There is one thing I do enjoy about shopping though. It is that at Kohl’s at the end of the whole experience, I get to look up at the large screen that details the purchases and circled in red, is the amount of money that I saved. It is a good feeling knowing that I chose wisely and am saving some money.

Stepping it up in the garden this spring

I have a love/hate relationship with my Fitbit. As an activity tracker, it measures the number of steps I take, my heart rate and even my sleep habits. I love it because it was a Christmas gift from my children. The fact that they all pooled their well-earned money to choose a gift that I wanted means so much to me. It isn’t quite the gift that I had hoped it would be though.

Planting those projects in advance

The path that my son Christopher is traversing while determining which college to attend has been long and arduous. What started as fun Saturday afternoon strolls around picturesque campuses quickly became spending hours sitting in front of a computer writing essays, ordering test scores, and hitting the submit button while silently praying that he had done enough to receive the prized ‘You’ve been accepted’ email.