Hard to believe, but I had big plans for these two little sticks the moment I laid eyes on them at Costco last March. What gardener isn't hungry to play in the dirt after a long winter? They didn't look like much but the moment I realized they were Chicago Hardy figs (Ficus carica) I was instantly envisioning fig jam, prosciutto wrapped figs, figs stuffed with blue cheese. Figs. Figs. Figs. The reality however, is that I haven't got a clue how to grow a fig tree, but the fact that it's got Chicago AND Hardy in it's name has to mean I might not kill them. Right? At just four inches from root to tip, the saplings were on the dry side, the tiny leaves crisp and barely hanging on. A bit of condensation on the inside of each bag told me they weren't completely parched but the roots would ...
SIBO: More Than Just A Tummy Ache
You never realize the importance of the passenger seat airbag "ON" light illuminating until it doesn't any longer. Little things like this are taken for granted. Kinda like how the sun will always rise. Until it doesn't. So when the light glowed last week (for the first time in over a year) as my daughter Abigail settled into the seat, we were silent. It's significance meant more than just the reassurance it provided, it meant my daughter was healing. The sun was rising and man was it bright. At 82 pounds and 13 years old, she was slight but strong, her weight enough to allow her to sit in the front passenger seat. This was June 2016 and around this time, things started to change. Long tearful stints in the bathroom, tummy aches after every meal or snack. A general feeling of malaise that ...
Espalier DIY: A Small Space Garden Solution
In 2012, I was scouting magazine locations and came across a garden along Chicago's North Shore unlike any I had ever seen. What stood out was the tree positioned in a narrow planting bed on a north-facing wall and I was instantly intrigued. So much so that I knew I had to figure out how to put something like that in my small garden. The homeowner, Kim Visokey (a self-proclaimed Garden Freak), had planted an espaliered Kieffer pear tree that produced plenty of edible fruit. Espalier is a pruning technique developed by a French monk, Father Legendre, in the mid 1600s, who stumbled upon the idea purely by happenstance. Food production can be a challenge, especially when you're faced with the task of feeding a monastery. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Fruit buds ...
A Grateful Gardener Gives Thanks
Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing if I didn't have a garden. It's work, man is it work. But when you love something so much, it doesn't feel like it. Ok, sometimes it does. Like when the English ivy is sucking the life out of your serviceberry and you have to remove every. last. bit. of. it. Ugh. But it's done and the robins and cedar waxwings will be thrilled to have their favorite tree restored. I've learned to NEVER plant ivy, no matter how lovely a ground cover, again. In retrospect, I'm thankful for the lesson. Plants with attributes like "will tolerate sun and shade" or "fast spreading" and "tough as nails" are glaring red flags. Too much of anything is often not good. Unless it's chocolate. Every year brings new challenges, new realizations and plenty of new ...
Slow Food With Strangers for Thanksgiving
If thoughts of gathering round the table with family for Thanksgiving send your blood pressure through the roof, consider dining with strangers, seriously. They can't sling dirt, they don't know you. And even if they did, you'll likely never have to see them again. It's a win, win. Agritainment, a national trend that gives people a taste of the rural life, might be the solution for the holidays. This was my first experience and it got me thinking that this type of venue may be perfect for people who don't exactly enjoy family dinners. My husband and I were invited to experience one of Locavore Farm's Dine On The Land events. What a treat! This was business and pleasure for me as I was scouting the location for a potential magazine story. The invitation came from Rachael Jones, AKA ...
Amaryllis: Forcing For the Holidays
For as long as I can remember, an amaryllis has graced my kitchen windowsill at Christmas time. They're elegant, incredibly easy and, as I learned this summer, full of surprises. Typically I'll buy a bulb in October and plant it in potting mix, or sometimes leave the soil out entirely and allow only the root plate to touch the water in a clear glass vase. Long, strappy leaves emerge like green tongues from the bulb and grow incredibly fast, giving way to a thick stalk that houses the bloom. The south-facing window offers up plenty of light and I get something to look at as I conquer the nightly dishes. Aphrodite bloomed last Christmas. In the past, I've gotten amaryllis bulbs from big box stores for $5. At $15, Aphrodite was a splurge, but so worth it with her pink edged, frilly white ...
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