I can't remember ever having a plant that's caused me more stress than the fiddle leaf fig I bought on a whim at Costco last July. But it's not the plants fault it's a bit of a diva. I'm asking a rainforest plant accustomed to humidity to suck it up in a midwestern climate marked by dry furnace heat in winter and cold air conditioner breezes in the summer. Not exactly the environment these guys crave. It's my fault for having jumped on the bandwagon with other fiddle fanatics. But I'm glad I did because, for now, I think I have this thing licked. Fiddles are everywhere these last several years. From print to TV, they appear in most staged room designs and people have to have them. Including me. Bringing it home reminded me of the day my husband and I brought our first daughter home ...
Soak Seeds to Speed Up Germination
I live in the Chicago area, which more or less means I could start the day in a bikini and end it in a snowsuit. Case in point...on April 25, it was 73 degrees F, on April 27 it was snowing. Yes, snowing. On April 28, the rain was relentless and the thermometer barely reached 45 degrees F. Bitter. My growing window is unpredictable and I often don't set anything out until at least Mother's Day. Even then, I'm leery and hold some things like tomato seedlings until the last week of May. Direct sowing tomatoes, jalapenos and ground cherries (some of our favorites) is impossible here. A narrow growing window means the time it takes directly sown seeds to germinate, produce flowers and finally fruit brings me to the first fall frost and zero chance of enjoying my hard work. So I resort to ...
Coffee Grounds for the Garden: How Much Is Too Much?
When I was a kid, my mom would sprinkle her philodendrons with a combination of coffee grounds and egg shells. The plants grew like wildfire, especially the one on the kitchen table. It got an additional jolt from the mixed vegetables my brothers and I buried in there during dinner time. We were raised in a home where you weren't excused from the table until your plate was clean. Mom and Dad would leave the table, having finished their meal, and us kids would sit and stare at each other until one of us came up with a brilliant plan. We each took turns serving as lookout as the others deposited a spoonful of mixed veg into the planter. To this day, lima beans still make me gag. We hated them and the plant was an excellent way to dispose of them. Mom discovered our little secret a year ...
The Splinter That Inspired A Pergola
In 2007, opportunity knocked in the form of a three-inch sliver in my four-year-old daughter's little foot. It was as gruesome as it sounds. Despite that, I asked the surgeon to save the piece of wood for posterity. For now, it's in her baby box that contains lots of "firsts." First sippy cup. First favorite toy. First story book. I'm willing to bet she's the only kid with a giant piece of wood sealed in a urine specimen jar with a label that reads "Abigail's First Sliver" along with the date. She'll be 16 in a few months and has yet to inquire about it. Too many bad memories, I suppose. To this day, I don't know why I told her to come in and put shoes on. We tend to run around barefoot in the backyard. But I suspect it had everything to do with an article I read about skin-penetrating ...
Calamintha nepeta: A Pollinator’s Smorgasbord
Calamintha nepeta wasn't a plant I chose. It chose me. Several years ago, I attended a writer's conference and received a plug pack that contained a mixture of Summer Beauty allium and Calamintha nepeta. Neither looked very impressive. But being the plant junkie that I am, I found a sunny sight for them and waited. And man was I impressed! I wasn't struck the way one would be by the enormity of a hardy hibiscus bloom. The fascination came from the way this little plant with the delicate white flowers hosted a United Nations of insects all summer long with no effort from me beyond the first year in my garden. It's a very soft spoken plant. Sometimes those are the ones most worthy of our attention. The frenzy of pollinators darting through it created all the buzz it needed. Metallic ...
10 Tough Plants for Dry Shade
I have a love/hate relationship with dry shade. Love for the leaf textures that make the space interesting, hate for the time it's taken me to discover what works in this most challenging of garden situations. I've killed a lot of stuff in my search for plants that can tough it out without much coddling. No fancy irrigation systems here. Just me and a hose. Fifteen years ago, the southeast corner of our backyard was a soupy mess after every rainfall and consistently damp throughout the rest of the growing season. The lots in our neighborhood are arranged on slopes and each home has a sump pump that empties into the closest sewer which happens to be in our backyard. After living with the situation for five years (I was busy chasing toddlers), I decided to plant trees that could help us ...
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