Information
from Past Shows
May
May 25, 2008
When you buy plants do you ever wonder where they were grown? If you don’t, maybe you should. That’s because locally produced plants have certain benefits. Mary T. McClelland of Beeson’s McHenry County Nursery is also a member of the Ornamental Growers Association of Northern Illinois. She lists three immediate benefits of buying locally grown plants:
- They are more adaptable to the weather and soil conditions of this region
- Buying locally grown plants supports businesses in our area
- Buying locally reduces the energy consumption needed to transport plants across the country.The OGA is also involved in a program with the Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanic Garden called Chicagoland Grows®. It’s an innovative plant introduction program developed to promote and encourage the use of new and recommended plant cultivars that are well adapted to growing conditions in the Upper Midwest.
Rich’s Foxwillow Pines in Woodstock is an OGA member. Every year, Rich Eyre, his wife Suzie and his mother, the lovely Margaret (going strong into her tenth decade!) put on their “Hosta Happening” at the nursery. They sell hostas (naturally) and donate the proceeds to Heifer International. Stop by next Saturday, May 31 from 9 am to 4pm at 11618 McConnell Road in Woodstock and help a very worthy cause. All proceeds will benefit Heifer and will be matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support the new East Africa Dairy Development Project.
May 18, 2008
What’s a gardening show without a weather segment? No, that’s not a riddle, it’s a rhetorical question. I’m saying that so much of gardening is about weather that having a weather person in the house is a pretty good idea, dontcha think?
That’s why I’m excited to welcome meteorologist Rick DiMaio to the program today. You probably remember him from his days on Fox News Chicago. Nowadays he’s teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago, but he’s still a meteorologist and he has a passion for educating people about global warming. All in all, a good fit for me and my show.
Anyway, the goal is to provide a comprehensive weather forecast on the show each week that you can use to plan your gardens and your lives. For more information on Rick, click here to go to his website.
Bob Passovoy (or Dr. Bob, as he is known in his column for Chicagoland Gardening Magazine) is a “pond person.” You know the type: they love their koi more than they love their kids. It’s okay. We’ve been friends long enough for me to know that he’s harmless. I think. However, he knows a ton about backyard ponds and the fish and plants that go with them. And I have him on the show once in awhile ‘cause I know practically nothing about that stuff, though he keeps trying to get me to dig a pond in my yard. Good luck, Bob.
For more about his organization and their activities, go to the Midwest Pond and Koi Society website.
May 11 , 2008
Allan Armitage is one of those people who makes me humble. He’s a world-renowned author, speaker and writer. He’s written more than 360 articles and papers in the most respected horticultural magazines and journals in America. He’s authored eleven books. He’s a respected teacher and speaker. And he’s a nice guy. Ooh, that makes my blood boil.
Anyway, he’s on my show because of Lis Friemoth, who calls herself “The Garden Hoe.” She’s a friend of his and coaxed him into speaking up at Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin on May 17 and 18.
He’s doing two talks for Northwind, one on Saturday at the nursery and one on Sunday at Hawks View Golf Club in Lake Geneva. The event on Saturday is $50, the one on Sunday, $75. For reservations call 262-248-9229. In either case, you’re going to be inspired.
May 4 , 2008
I’m not the first to say it, but let me be the first to say it really, really loudly:
BLUE BAG IS DEAD! LONG LIVE BLUE CART!
After thirteen years of recycling insanity, the City of Chicago finally decided to abandon the ineffective and much-hated program, thanks to pressure from the media and many environmental groups, including the Chicago Recycling Coalition. I’m proud to say that I’m a board member of the CRC, though my role in bringing down Blue Bag was minor, at best. Anyway, go to our website above and discover just how many ways there are to make this planet better through recycling.It’s not news to anybody that it’s been an unusually cool spring. Global warming has found itself on the back burner, so to speak.
But hang on to your inhalers. We’re already a month into the Ozone Season (I didn’t even realize that there was such a thing), and the number of Ozone Action Days is likely to climb this year. But it’s not necessarily because Chicago’s air is getting dirtier.
Brian Urbaszewski of the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago stopped by to tell me about the new EPA standards that went into effect on March 12 (insert RHAMC pdf). And even though the new standards are tougher, if you read the following article, you’ll understand why the RHAMC is still not happy.
Associated PressSays Urbaszewski: “Unfortunately, the EPA simply ignored the recommendations of their own scientific advisors, as well as major national medical and public health organizations; both claimed that the medical evidence supported a tighter ozone limit. In the end, EPA set a health standard for dangerous ozone smog that is still too weak to protect public health.”
I’ll let that comment speak for itself.
And, if you think that people are the only things being affected by bad air, you're wrong. Look what it's doing to flowers:
You might have heard about Prairie Crossing up in Grayslake, which calls itself a “Conservation Community.” It was designed to combine responsible development, the preservation of open land and easy commuting by rail. And another thing they’ve been doing up there is teaching kids how to grow things. That might not sound particularly special, until you ask a child where tomatoes come from and they respond, “Dominicks.”
Rosalyn Deigan and Nicole Jain Capizzi were in studio to talk about the Prairie Crossing Charter School and the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm and, in particular, the 3rd Annual Growing With Nature Organic Plant Sale. (insert pdfs) They’re helping to teach and inspire a new generation of gardeners, who will probably be closer to the earth than their parents. Pretty inspiring stuff. Check out the links, and if you’re up Prairie Crossing way on May 10, spend a few bucks on some great plants. It’s definitely a win-win thing.May 10th at Station Square (PDF)
Plant Sale Flyer (PDF)