Information
from Past Shows
July
She can compost and she can grill! Christine Nye of the Shedd Aquarium cooks at a Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association picnic. Mike's behind the camera waiting for his corn on the cob.
The Tribune's Beth Botts exhibits the form that has made her Chicago's best garden reporter.
Mike and Roy Diblik hold up a tree after participating in a panel at Northwind Perennial Farm
July 27, 2008
When you visit the Shedd Aquarium, you probably don't think much about the plants. You're there to see fish, right? And lizards. And stuff like that. But somebody has to take care of those plants, in and around that world-renowned institution. And that somebody is my friend, horticulturist Christine Nye. Not only does she find plants for the many exhibits indoors, but she is working on creating sustainable landscapes outdoors. She has been employing organic techniques like compost tea applications to the lawns and gardens around the aquarium. And she has worked with Roy Diblik (remember him?) on plant palettes that make sense. Christine recommends that if people are interested in brewing their own compost tea, the easiest way to begin is to check out this website: www.simplici-tea.com.
She is also a fan of organic lawns (who isn't?) and suggests these websites for the homeowner who is trying to get off of the "perfect lawn" merry-go-round:
Illinois Extension's groundcover suggestions
Wild One's "No Mow" Lawn
No Mow GrassInterested in urban agriculture? At one time, that was considered an oxymoron. But thanks to groups like Angelic Organics Learning Center, more and more people are reaping the benefits of the connection between urban and farm living. You can learn more about this next Saturday, August 2 during the Urban Farm Field Day in Chicago from 10AM to 1PM.
Angelic Organics' Martha Boyd says that it starts at the Resource Center's City Farm at 10AM for a farm tour and chat with Grower, Tim Wilson. He'll explain their urban farm model and growing methods, and answer questions.
Then it's on to Green City Market at 11:30AM to shop and talk with Farm Forager Sheri Doyel and Dennis Fiser of Tomato Mountain Farm. The Market also serves as backdrop for an Author Talk with Holly Bishop at 12PM. She will read from and discuss her book Robbing the Bees. Chicago Waldorf teacher and beekeeper, Brian Gleichauf, will facilitate the discussion. This event is sponsored through the Chicago Public Library's SummerReads (PDF) program (see p23 for Food System events).
Bring a sack lunch and picnic afterwards - or buy your lunch at the Market!
View a Map of the Day.
You can register for the Urban Farm Field Day on the Angelic website, or send an email to chicago@learngrowconnect.org . The $5 fee helps to pay speakers for their time with us. (Pay via Paypal or in person.)
This is also a CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) event -
Learn more and join CRAFT to attend more excellent on-farm events for FREE.
From Rick DiMaio: Wildfires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are filling our skies in Chicago with elevated smoky and hazy layers. That's right, nearly 2 dozen wildfires across the Canadian prairie nearly 1000 miles to the northwest is producing enough smoke that is able to make it all the way down to northern Illinois at heights of 15,000 to 25,000 feet. Even though the clouds have cleared and the humidity is low, the sky has a milky white appearance to it due to the smoke that is blanketing the southern portion of the Canadian province and extending southward over the Great Lakes and eastern United States. The image at the left shows the smoke, and you can click on it to get a larger view. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC .
July 20, 2008
Ken Haller has to be the frontrunner for the title "Bee Guy," although Aristotle is a close second. He has all the latest information about everything from colony collapse disorder to how to easily and humanely rid yourself of an unwanted swarm.
For more information about Ken and the Illinois State Beekeepers Association, check out their website. And to find out what those things flying around your garden are,, go to Viking Honey Farm's homepage and click on insect identification.
The Prairie State Bonsai Society has more going for it than an apparently paradoxical and highly evocative name. (Just think little tiny prairies.) It has the amazingly knowledgeable Dan Costa, who has been known to call in to the show to correct Mike from time to time. And not necessarily about bonsai, either.
A couple of weeks ago, Paul Tukey talked on the show about the Washington Mall project. Bradfield Organics provided the fertilizer for that highly successful experiment in growing a completely organic lawn. Bill Sadler heads up the Bradfield Organics® product line for PMI Nutrition International, LLC and knows what it took to make things work.
Ricky and Fred may not be gardening experts, but that won't stop them from putting in their two cents worth, aided by Chicago improv comedians Dan Gately and Randy Craig.
July 13, 2008
Harold Washington once called her "Bitsy Boots" (not on purpose, of course). While I find that hilarious (and she doesn't), it truly does short change the accomplishments of the Chicago Tribune's garden writer, Beth Botts. One of the things I like about Beth is that she has a serious environmental side to her garden writing. So serious, in fact, that she has just received an award from the Garden Writers Association for a series she did about the difficulty in recycling all those plastic pots in which we purchase our plants. In fact, she just did a follow up on that article, which you can read here.
Good for you, Bitsy, er, Beth! (Oh, heck, I'm just jealous 'cause I didn't win a writing award this year.)
On my very first show on WCPT in April, I interviewed the University of Illinois Extension's AmySue Mertens about the looming crisis in Springfield concerning funding for Extension. At that time, the money that helps fund Master Gardener and 4-H programs (among many others) throughout the State of Illinois was restored, but the issue reared its ugly head in the past couple of weeks. Once again, though, thanks in part to the outcry generated by citizens who know the benefit of these programs, Governor Rod Blagojevich spared the ax, choosing instead to trim certain line items. You can get specifics by logging onto the Extension Partners website.
Meanwhile, Jeanne Harland, Legislative Chair for Extension Partners released a statement, in which she says that the work must continue:
"Fortunately, summer presents an excellent opportunity to show legislators first hand the projects and community efforts completed by Master Gardeners, 4-H clubs and various commodity groups. Remember that even though this budget is now technically law, we know from experience that the money is not truly real until the check is in the bank."
Two of the great garden walks that our great city has to offer are happening next week...and now I can say that at one time or another I've judged the gardens in both of them. The Sheffield Garden Walk's Laury Lewis honored me this year by asking me to be one of the judges of that terrific walk, which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary. It's one of those events that you can attend and never see a garden at all, thanks to all the other diversions, like music and food and drink. Not that I would ever encourage you to skip the gardens. The Sheffield Garden Walk happens over two days, Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20. Donations are $6, and $10 after 4pm.
The Dearborn Garden Walk is hitting an even more impressive milestone, as it celebrates 50 years of great gardens on the Gold Coast. I helped judge these gardens several years ago...and I hope that the gardeners have recovered by now. This is a much more traditional kind of walk, but the gardens are just as spectacular. It occurs one day only, Sunday, July 20. Tickets are $30 until noon on July 19, and $35 after that.
If you're more interested in greening from the inside, you might want to take advantage of the Chicago Green Home Fair on July 19 at the Chicago Center for Green Technology. Come explore how you can create a more environmentally-friendly home for you and your family. Whether you're planning to remodel or just want to learn what's new on the green building scene, spend some time meeting vendors and retailers with sustainable products to help you make a greener home. And the best news? It's free. Knock yourselves out, kids.
July 6, 2008
Here are the basics about the remarkable Roy Diblik.
* He has been growing plants professionally for more than thirty years.
* He knows absolutely everything there is to know about perennials.
* He is a gentleman and a gentle man.
* He is a midwest treasure, horticulturally speaking.
* He knows absolutely everything there is to know about perennials.
* He worked with Piet Oudolf on the Lurie Gardens at Millennium Park.
* His Northwind Perennial Farm is quiet and beautiful and as exciting to a plant-lover as Disneyland is to a seven-year-old.
* He knows absolutely everything there is to know about perennials and now he's written a book that puts all that knowledge within the reach of the average
gardener.Roy's new book is called Roy Diblik’s Small Perennial Gardens: The Know Maintenance (TM) Approach. You can find more information about the book at the American Nurseryman website.
Northwind Perennial Farm is located in Burlington, Wisconsin, just northwest of Lake Geneva. Check out their website.
And speaking of remarkable people, you can include the inimitable Randy Schultz in that category. You see, Randy has been touting the Mailorder Gardening Association on my shows for years. These are the people who provide those gorgeous catalogs that keep your gardening jones satisfied during the hours and/or months that you can't actually be outside with your feet in the dirt. As Randy points out, the name seems a little out of date, especially because so many orders are done over the Internet. And yet, what would you call it? The Internet Gardening Association? The Mailorder and Internet Gardening Association? The We-Used-To-Do-A-Lot-Of-Snail-Mail-Gardening-Orders-But-Now-It's-A-Lot-Faster-'Cause-We're-On-The-World-Wide-Web Association?
See what I mean?
For now, they're sticking with the MGA. It's a venerable name, and there are more than 200 organizations under that umbrella, which means that you can find pretty much anything you want in the gardening realm if you just log on to the link above. Give it a try.
You don't have to be a gardener to love the earth and its products. Truly Organic Apparel sells clothes made of organic cotton that has been colored with natural dyes. As they put it, "Fast fashion, like fast food, causes many ailments, both environmentally, with pollution, and socially, with cheap labor. We believe in slow fashion- our garments require more time to make, as plants need to be collected in season for dyeing. People are paid fair wages, and everything we use is made as eco-friendly as possible, right down to the packaging: tags made from recycled paper and bags made from bio-compostable potato."