Gatsbys Gardens

The Gilded Age (Part II)

2012-01-28T07:23:00.000-06:00

In 1883 when the Nickerson home was new it looked like this: Five years later in 1888, the sandstone facade has absorbed pollutants so it looks like this. By the time Richard Driehaus bought the house in 2003 it looked like this, caked with layers of pollutants that had caused damage to the stone and the embellishments. The whole house was cleaned by a laser technique and where there was

The Gilded Age (Part I)

2012-01-26T09:46:00.003-06:00

I have always been interested in vintage, furniture, glassware, design, etc. However, my trip with the Art Institute Study Group was overwhelming! The Nickerson Mansion (Driehaus Museum) at 40 E. Erie in Chicago, Illinois A contrast of time with the columns of the nineteenth century with the skyscrapers surrounding this step back in time. In 1883 Samuel Nickerson (who founded the First

Behind The Scenes

2012-01-21T18:11:00.123-06:00

I was invited again this year to the Proven Winners Choice Luncheon at the Mid-America Horticultural Show in Chicago. It was a bitter cold day and I thought to myself this better be worth it! Lake Michigan looks foreboding but it is still a beautiful sight even on a cold winter day. I loved this Golden Spruce, grows only fifteen feet tall and has yellow needles on the surface. The smaller

A Family Affair

2012-01-17T18:44:00.002-06:00

I kind of went back in time, to my childhood and then to my young adulthood. After attending my Garden Study Group luncheon we were transported over to the ultimate in the neighborhood flower shop, the Phillip Flower Shop Warehouse. Cooling lockers for all of the arrangements that are ready to be delivered. Buckets of fresh flowers just waiting for the designer. Flowers come into the warehouse

Color In The Winter Garden

2012-01-12T07:11:00.002-06:00

Color and interest in the winter garden is a challenge. I have been working on this for the past few years and realize that it is still a work in progress. The Rhododendrons are a wonderful reddish brown color with pinkish buds. They like being protected during the winter and summer, mine are behind a stone wall up close to the foundation of my home. Azalea Karen keeps its reddish leaves all

In Search Of Spring

2012-01-06T05:59:00.007-06:00

I have often wondered what it would be like to live in a more temperate climate where winter was fleeting and the lines were blurred between the seasons. Well, this year in the Chicago area so far it is the winter that isn't, virtually no snow, above average temperatures and crunchy dirt but not a hard freeze. My Pink Meidiland roses and the grass have stayed green. Uncovered Italian Parsley

Making A List

2012-01-02T16:56:00.001-06:00

The past two days have been very much like a real winter in the Chicago area, high winds and snow, not much, bringing along with it very low overnight temperatures. We are expected to warm up into the forties again by late in the week. This type of weather is not good for plants freezing and warming without the snow for protection. It has been a good time to look at the catalogs I have

Plant Of The Year

2011-12-28T18:50:00.000-06:00

The 2012 plant of the year is Jack Frost Brunnera. It has been marketed since the year 2000 so it has had plenty of time to prove itself. Brunnera Jack Frost in my summer garden It is not inexpensive and unless you order it online it most likely will be in the double digits, worth the price because it looks fantastic for at least three seasons. Three others received honorable mention this

The Night Before

2011-12-24T12:57:00.000-06:00

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

Visions Of Sugarplums

2011-12-18T08:02:00.000-06:00

It is difficult to be a gardener this time of year but our efforts in the colder climates need to move indoors. I have never done as well with indoor plants and assume that they just don't like me! I brought the dracena in from the patio this fall because I love the magenta stripes in the leaves. So far it seems to be thriving. I can't count how many indoor plants I have lost from too little

In The Eye Of The Beholder

2011-12-11T07:58:00.004-06:00

As I drove up my driveway in the back garden, my granddaughter, who I had just picked up from school, said "your garden is so bare grammie." Structures and grasses add interest in the winter garden. This is the same area in July with the pathway and bench only visible from another angle. Trees also add structure to a garden even a small garden needs winter interest. The Pagoda Dogwood is a

A Wow Of A Catalog

2011-12-08T09:37:00.000-06:00

I have never seen this seed catalog before, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, www.rareseeds.com It is filled with magazine quality photos, articles and recipes. The veggies look like you could eat them right off the page! Pages of flower seeds also Lots of unusual tomatoes They even have a sense of humor! The prices of the seed packets seem competitive and if you can get hold of this catalog

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like ....

2011-12-03T06:46:00.001-06:00

I can't believe how fast this has all come upon us, the 2011 Holiday Season! I met my gardening friends at a local nursery and it is so pleasant to shop there because they have an indoor greenhouse. This was a huge container and very pricey, just pick it up and carry it away to your home. There were some smaller versions which were more affordable. Winterberry is beautiful, very expensive

Before The Snow Flies

2011-11-29T06:12:00.000-06:00

As I looked at my outdoor container plantings I thought I had better get those photos taken before we are knee deep in snow. There was one year that I never saw my containers until March! It is too bad that pansies and parsley are not Christmas plants because we really would have blooms and greenery into December. The concrete planters by the garage are a combination of incense cedar,

A Vintage Christmas Decor

2011-11-25T19:37:00.002-06:00

I have been working in just about every area of holiday decor, inside, outside all around the house. The tree is done, narrow because of the area it must fill, lots of memories on this tree from my children and students through the years. The mantle in the family room is filled with vintage and faux decor. The mirror is vintage and the candles are celluloid (from the 1930's) lit from underneath

Indoor Gardening

2011-11-20T17:54:00.001-06:00

I have just about put the garden to bed, bulbs planted, some perennials moved, north side grasses cut down and yard ornaments put away for the winter. It is not over, indoor gardening is just beginning! I love this glass and wire container from West Elm. I put pond rocks in the bottom for the Paperwhites. This tall container should hold those floppy leaves. I have packed five Ziva

Greening Up For The Holidays 2011

2011-11-14T18:07:00.001-06:00

I attended the annual container workshop at a local nursery and I thought to myself what could be new and different about putting a container together one year later! Well, I should know by now there is always something new in the gardening world. Glitz is all the rage this holiday season, spray painted birch branches in white, gold and silver. Birch is preferred because the branches are more

Gassed

2011-11-10T18:43:00.002-06:00

I don't know what to say, feeling so upset about what's going on outside my house. There are huge piles of dirt dug up with just as many huge holes in the ground, something about converting to high pressure gas lines. One of the things I read about high pressure gas lines is to run if you smell gas! This is encouraging, live with my eighty year old lines underground or worry about the whole

A Celebration Of Food

2011-11-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

The Standard Market is a celebration of food imagined by four local people who are from the food industry. They forged this idea through a proof of concept to obtain funds and open a unique type of grocery store. There were no food samples, which is unique in itself, they only accept credit cards, no cash and do not encourage tipping in their restaurant or grocery loading area. There is a

Fallout

2011-11-01T06:05:00.006-05:00

Camera in hand I headed out to take a few last photos of the fall garden. I was pleasantly surprised to still see such color and interest even as we enter the month of November. My Accolade Elm has turned a beautiful golden color. This is the tree that lost over a third of its root system in the spring with the gas company digging to repair a pipe, hope it survives. My neighbor's Red Maple

Let The Show Begin!

2011-10-27T19:26:00.005-05:00

I took a trip into Chicago with friends for a theatre tour. I thought to myself what could be so interesting about theatres that I went to as a child, young adult and older adult that I had never noticed before as special. Oh well, I figured the lunch would be worth the trip. This is the entrance to the Oriental Theatre, built in 1926 by the Rapp brothers and run by Babalan and Katz. It began

The Haircut

2011-10-22T07:23:00.003-05:00

I went to get my hair cut and somehow the conversation gravitated towards landscaping and cleaning up the garden. She has no idea what I do in regard to writing a blog or just being obsessed with gardening. Panicum Ruby RibbonsThis is a smaller Panicum which will layer in front of my Lythrum Morden's Pink, especially when it is cut down. I am very pleased to see this color early in the summer

Crabtree Farm

2011-10-19T06:21:00.001-05:00

Do you ever wonder where you have been all of your life? When you have worked for a very long time spending each day being locked in for eight plus hours you sometimes miss what is going on outside of your daily endeavors. That is how I have begun to feel when I go to places like the Oriental Museum on the grounds of the University of Chicago last winter and when I visit a place like Crabtree

Garden Writers Workshop

2011-10-15T19:42:00.002-05:00

I was lucky enough to be invited to the fifth annual Garden Writers Workshop at Midwest Groundcovers located in St. Charles, Illinois http://www.midwestgroundcovers.com/ They are an industry leader in the propagation, growing and wholesale distribution of nursery stock and deliver all over the Midwest. It was a beautiful day and we began with a presentation on native plants and how important

Around The Garden

2011-10-11T18:11:00.001-05:00

We haven't been around the garden in a while so I thought before there is nothing to show, I would take a stroll. The alley garden is a work in progress. I have learned that when anything is planted against a structure it tends to lean forward and needs to be supported to look its best. The grasses were ringed this year along with the Centranthus. I will be doing the same with the agastache