I have a special place in my heart for spring ephemerals. They are early harbingers of spring. Perhaps what I love is the surprise: You weren’t expecting us, but here we are! Volunteers are always welcome (though maybe not Dandelions and Creeping Charlie…). Perhaps I identify with their shy nature, since many of them have to be sought out in the back of flower beds, beneath otherwise innocuous-looking green leaves. And they certainly don’t overstay their welcome! Some of them do just show up, with no fanfare, perhaps a remnant of the time long ago when our block was open prairie. Others are pu ..read more

I may not post as often as I wish I did, but I can’t tell you how many posts I have composed in my head — I have a regular dialogue with you all, whether you hear it or not. It is lovely to think of so many people spread so far who have appreciated this garden, and it’s about time I shared some updates! Clematis jackmanii, the Great Wall of Purple, is thriving this year. It is so large, I feel that I should refer to it with plural pronouns, they, them, theirs. For this post, I am going to focus on bringing you up-to-date on what’s been blooming. Let’s walk through the garden together and appre ..read more

Thank you for all your lovely comments on the last post – later this week or next week I will try to respond to as many as I can. Meanwhile, I want to share some photos of spring in the garden with you. The garden is blooming its heart out, which is both a great comfort and a reminder that Jason is not here. Because we both traveled so much for work, we texted a lot, and I keep finding myself wanting to take a photo of something spectacular in the garden that he needs to see. Let me give you a little tour. First, the bloodroot, which I am trying to watch closely — it has a way of blooming one ..read more

As those of you who have been reading this blog over the last few years know, Jason has been sick with pancreatic cancer since the summer of 2020. With chemotherapy, the advance of the disease was slowed, but early this year it became clear that the chemo was no longer working as it had been, and Jason decided to begin home hospice care. This last weekend, early on Saturday morning, he passed away, surrounded by Judy and his sons, David and Daniel. This blog was an important part of his life for more than a decade – a creative outlet, a community, a tribute to his love of gardening and sometim ..read more

There’s lots of news and updates, and I (this is Judy) have a small favor to ask (so read to the end). To begin with, we are excited to announce the arrival of our first grandchild! When Jason complained that I wouldn’t let him dig up ALL of the grass in the backyard, this is who I was saving it for. She is tiny now, but it won’t be long before she will need space for running around and will be falling in love with the flowers and butterflies. Three days old. One of the wonderful nurses in the NICU made this bow. Her name is Addie, and she is seven weeks old. She is adopted from a birth mother ..read more

I haven’t written a post for several months. As some of you know, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer back in mid-2020. The treatment has kept me going but my hands are numb and this makes writing a challenge. Some have suggested dictation software and I’ve been meaning to look into that. Common Witch Hazel blooms in October I’ve also been combatting fatigue and difficulty concentrating, so I’m not sure if dictation will be an effective answer. However, it’s a new year so I thought I would try to generate a short post. Highlights of my last few months: We went to Maine in October where we a ..read more

Prairie or Sullivant’s Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii) is worth considering as a garden alternative to Common Milkweed (A. syriaca). A key difference is that Prairie Milkweed is much less aggressive, in fact in my garden it has been fairly slow to establish. Another difference is that the individual flowers of Prairie Milkweed are larger, and I like the pink/purple-white two tone effect. The flowers on Common Milkweed, though, are more numerous and have a stronger fragrance. The leaves of Prairie Milkweed are hairless. Prairie Milkweed likes moist-to-medium fertile soil and full sun. In my ..read more

So I had the good fortune to meet a fellow avid gardener recently. His name is Mike Miller and he lives in the adjacent town of Wilmette. He was nice enough to invite Judy and me to visit his garden. As soon as we pulled up to the curb, I could see that it was something special. Mike, a middle school music teacher, and his spouse moved here six years ago. In the front garden, a dense mix of mostly shorter grasses and flowering perennials provides a canvas from which emerge taller perennials, roses, dwarf conifers, and Hydrangeas. The plot has the benefits and challenges of full sun throughout ..read more

It seems that plants are always teaching me new lessons about how they behave in the garden and respond to weather and other conditions. This summer, there are three native plants that have been on my mind. The Driveway Border First, Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata). I’m fond of this plant with its central cone like a clown’s nose and bright yellow yet droopy ray flowers. In rich garden soil, though, it tends to grow too tall (5′ or more) and flop. To limit this tendency I use tall tomato cages. This year it’s growing even taller than usual – over 6′. It must like this year’s hot summer ..read more

So we got back from our trip to New York about a week ago. We had an excellent time, though travel wears me out more than it used to. Judy took about a thousand photographs (not an exaggeration). Most of the material I’m going to keep for later, but I do want to do one post now about a garden in New York that just opened this year. Little Island is a 2.5 acre garden that is built on the remains of an abandoned pier on the Lower West Side. It’s quickly become a very popular attraction. It’s a free public park, but to control crowding tickets are required after 12 pm. Fortunately, our hotel wa ..read more