Tony Palumbo and the Gifts of Irene

  • Post published:08/23/2013
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  Two years ago Irene came rampaging through the area turning the rivers into torrents overleaping their banks, washing away roads and buildings, breaking hearts and pocketbooks. Tony Palumbo, artist, owner of the Green Emporium and gardener, was at his easel watching the rain pour down. Neighbors came urging them to leave. Palumbo’s partner, chef Michael Collins, said they would wait it out. Their house had survived the storm’s of ’38 and ’87. It would survive this one…

A Family of Gardeners – the Hollisters

  • Post published:08/17/2013
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  Kevin Hollister and his family live across the lawn and through the woods right next door to his sister Sarah Hollister. Together they share multiple gardens. Sarah has lots of vegetables for the two families, many of them growing on utilitarian or whimsical structures. Kevin hosts Tomato World and Blueberry World, dozens of trellised tomatoes of every sort, and a large patch of blueberry bushes, bent with the weight of the fruit and covered with old tobacco…

Mountain Mint for Pollinators and for Tea

  • Post published:08/09/2013
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Mountain mint was one of the fascinating new plants I saw yesterday when I visited the beautiful and inspiring Wildside Cottage gardens in Conway.  According to an Illinois Wildflowers page    "Many insects are strongly attracted to the flowers,   including various bees, wasps, flies, small butterflies, and beetles. Typical   visitors from these groups include honeybees, Cuckoo bees, Halictid bees,   Sphecid wasps, Eumenine wasps, bee flies, Tachinid flies, Wedge-shaped beetles,   and Pearl Crescent butterflies. Most of these insects…

Welcome Pollinators

  • Post published:07/27/2013
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When we think of pollinators we think of honeybees, being trucked to orchards in the spring or to pollinate vast mid-western fields in the summer. The decline of the honey bee, because of disease, mites, and the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), has been in the news for some years. The concern is that crops will be threatened by insufficient pollination and our food supply will be in danger. Knowing all this, Tom Sullivan, a former bee keeper,…

Water in the Garden – Fountains, Birdbaths and a Waterfall

  • Post published:07/10/2013
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  Most of us will never have a reflecting pool in our garden, but water in the garden comes in many forms. The Bloedel Reserve has many beautiful ways to use water in the garden., this is just one. A small fountain near the house makes electricity for the  recirculating pump easy. This small waterfall has been 'tuned' to make lovely music. The water enters in a lovely fishpond. A simple birdbath in the shade. A more elaborate…

Welcome to the Greenfield Garden Club Tour on Saturday, July 6

  • Post published:07/05/2013
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Welcome to the Greenfield Garden Club Garden Tour. Welcome seems to be the theme on the Greenfield Garden Club Tour which will be held on Saturday, July 6 from 9 am to 4 pm. This beautiful garden on a challenging slope in Gill has several garden rooms, from the small sunny garden with its fountain and pool surrounded by astilbes, ornamental grasses and bright coreopsis to the woodland garden with its gravel paths and colorful mushroom ornaments. Each garden…

Two Gardens on the Whately Garden Tour – June 15

  • Post published:06/14/2013
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  The Garden Tour Season is well begun. Next Saturday, June 15, the Whately Garden Tour sponsored by the Historical Society includes 5 five diverse Whately gardens that will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. rain or shine. There are woodland gardens, gardens that reflect other cultures, cottage gardens and gardens that welcome all kinds of wildlife. A Garden for Family and Friends Last week I visited Nicole and Joe Pietraszkiewicz  who bought a newly built…

An Unusual Rock Garden on the Forbes Library Garden Tour

  • Post published:06/10/2013
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The Forbes Library Garden Tour descripton of this garden included a 'rock garden'. This is not the kind of rock garden I expected, but it made a great edge between the road and the 'real' rock garden that is comprised of native plants, and larger stones. I thought it resembled a dry river bed. Though not intended to support flowers, it is possible to see some tiny wild flowers making themselves at home in this unusual rock garden.…

Forbes Library Leads Off Garden Tour Season

  • Post published:05/29/2013
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Julie Abramson' s garden  is just one of six garden that will enchant garden lovers on the Forbes Library Garden Tour on Saturday, June 8, from 10 am til 3 pm. Julie's is a collector's garden that features some notable trees, clematis, and a colorful array of perennials and a rock garden. I was intrigued by the description of a rustic arbor covered with climbinbing hydrangea, PLUS two other arbors covered with roses, honeysuckle and clematis. Pure romance!…

Houston Gardens in March 2011

  • Post published:03/26/2013
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Two years ago this week we left the cold and muddy landscape of Heath to visit Houston and our daughter Kate and  her family. Because the landscape of Heath is currently cold and snowy I needed to revisit those sunny Houston days. One day we drove out to Cindy's Corner of Katy to visit her beautiful garden. Flowers everywhere. Cindy's corner  garden is not large, but it is colorful and filled with every kind of flowers. Roses too. So…