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I used to think dust was the only thing I could grow on my windowsill. Houseplants were not my thing. So you might be wondering, after such an admission, why the heck you should trust me on this one. My answer is simple. I haven't killed these guys. And that's saying something. I'm not the most doting houseplant mom. Most of them get the third child treatment. You know, the kind where you temporarily ignore the saggy diaper and crusted snot smeared across his face long enough to down a cup of coffee, brush your teeth and attempt to look human. You care about their wellbeing but aren't maniacal about it like you were with your firstborn. Lucky for us, most houseplants thrive on neglect. Children, not so much. But I've matured enough to know that a little attention to their health is worth ...

I had never visited the Garfield Park Conservatory so when my friend and fellow writer/plant lover Beth Botts offered a guided tour in the middle of February, my guy and I were Johnny-on-the-spot. A two-acre public greenhouse is good medicine for winter weary souls. Often referred to as "landscape art under glass," the conservatory is part of the Chicago Park District and is located on the city's West Side. It's a horticultural phoenix, rising from the ashes of disrepair, public disinterest and a colossal hailstorm in 2011 that shattered half of the glass panes in the fern room. For months, workers armed with tweezers painstakingly removed shards of glass from priceless plants, some of which have been there since the conservatory's opening in 1908. The conservatory was designed by ...