A MUST SEE : CHICAGO'S NEWEST PUBLIC GARDEN

Looks like a scene on a postcard ( left ) but I made this photo during a visit to my cousins who live out in the country in Michigan. This is what my garden would look like if I had the acreage they do.

But I digress. Click on the Millennium Park link on your left and check out The Lurie Garden.

The garden is a great resource for beginners who can view the large variety of annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs that grow well in the city. The website gives a complete list of what is planted in the garden. Free tours are offered from mid-May to September. Take your camera and notebook with you.

ANOTHER FIRST FOR CHICAGO

NO, NOT ANOTHER " COWS ON PARADE. " On the left is yours truly, Carolyngail, with the cow she helped decorate for the Chicago Artists' Coalition back in '99 when the cows took over the city. This is also a first for me -the first time I've appeared on my own blog ! What does a country girl do when she sees a cow ? Milks it of course.

When the "Cows on Parade " was going on my daughter called from her office and said, " Mom, I've got you on speaker. Everyone wants to know if the cows with horns are male or female. " Speaker, or no, I couldn't help but utter, " Cityfolks ! Both male and female cows have horns, I replied. Laughter in the background. Click.


Yesterday , our Mayor, Richard M. Daley, announced plans for " Cool Globes : Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet. " One hundred globes will be positioned along the lakefront downtown this summer to bring public awareness of solutions needed to reduce global warming. The show will run from June until September.

Our Mayor is very cool himself. I believe that he is an earth sign like me, Taurus, so he can't help but have a green thumb. And then there was the time I was listening to U.S. 99 country radio and he called in and requested a song . Damn ! I was impressed.

He also brought the country music festival to Chicago. I got to see my idol, Hank Williams, Jr. in person . You've got my vote, Dickie.

Back to Chicago's first. Mayor Daley has done a lot to keep Chicago in the forefront on enviornmental issues , with such programs as adding hybrid buses , green libraries, police stations and public schools. He's even got a gorgeous rooftop garden above city hall ( more about that in another posting. )

Each globe is designed by an artist ( No, I didn't get to do one this year ) and is five foot wide. They'll be auctioned off to raise funds for conservation clubs after the exhibit ends. I think they would look cool as a garden ornament, or placed in the wonderful Lurie Garden in Millenium Park for permanent display.

Our Mayor is certainly doing his part to make our fair city a "cleaner, greener place. " That's one of the things I like best about him, the other is that he is a regular Chicago guy who has never tried to " rise above his raising , " as we say down South.

WINTER IS THE ONLY TIME I HAVE FOR READING AND PAINTING

The UFO on the left is a digitally altered photo I did of a persimmon ripening on my window sill. Got a lot of time on my hands.


Garden Quote : What a desolate place would be a world without flowers ! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome. -Clara Balfour

I grow very nostalgic for the sunny South in Winter and turn to books to relieve my yearnings . I'm a big fan of Fannie Flagg, author of Fried Green Tomatoes and have just read her book, Standing in the Rainbow. It's very entertaining and I highly recommend it.

I have another book that I am re-visiting because I liked it so much when I was younger : A Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers. Fantastic book that was made into a movie . And for goodness sake if you've never read To Kill a Mockingbird by my fellow Alabamian, Harper Lee, well then , you must because it is proclaimed far and wide as one of the best novels of all time. Plus, the character Scout reminds me of myself .

So there Oprah, you've got your book club and I've got mine. Think I'll call it Carolyn's Choice.

A GREAT RESOURCE FOR BEGINNING AS WELL AS SEASONED GARDENERS

My backyard goldfish pond last June.( right ) In Asia a garden is not considered a garden unless it has water. Word of advice : In Chicago dig it at least three feet and even deeper if you can so that the fish can go to the bottom and not freeze. A floating de-icer also helps keep the pond from freezing over.


EARTH LAUGHS IN FLOWERS-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The link I consider of utmost value to the beginning as well as the seasoned gardener is the TV channel, The DIY Network ( link at left ) which has such interesting topics as : Planning a Garden, Complete Lawn care, Container gardens, Pruning basics, Winter gardens, Growing Good Tomatoes, Getting Started, Weekend Gardening, Landscaping and Curb Appeal, Diseases and Weeds, Seasons and zones, and so forth and so on.

And, if you click on GENERAL INFORMATION you'll get another huge selection of interesting and informative subjects. Some of you may already be subscribers to the DIY TV Network, available in Chicago on Dish Network at Ch. 111 ,(or you can check on the website to see if it's available in your area). All TV episodes can be printed, and there are videos on their website that you can play.

Who can ask for anything more ?

A GOOD REPUTATION

GARDEN QUOTE : THE GREATEST GIFT OF A GARDEN IS THE RESTORATION OF THE FIVE SENSES.-Hanna Rion

BRRRRR-it's colder than a chigger's belly button in Chicago. We're paying for a warm January. I like to look at the Spring and Summer photos of my garden when it's this cold. Yep, I'm pleased to say that's a shot of the Wisteria standard blooming for the first time ( May-June '06 ) since I planted it three years ago.

Benjamin Franklin said that it takes many good deeds to earn a good reputation, and only one bad one to destroy it. Growing up in the conservative South and the Fifties this was pounded into our heads and it kept many a young gal from going astray.

I didn't know just how good my reputation as a gardener was until I overheard two of my neighbors discussing my dead lawn. " She must be experimenting on something new, look how yellow the grass is, " one said to the other. Yeah, right, yellow grass is the rage this year. As I approached she asked me what was going on . " I killed it; too much fertilizer, too little water, " I replied. The look on her face was one of sheer amazement, as if I could do no wrong. Guess my sterling reputation as a gardener was forever tarnished in her eyes by my one misdeed.

NO TIME FOR BLOGGING TODAY - IT'S SUPERBOWL SUNDAY

JOJO IS SINGING THE SUPERBOWL SHUFFLE. GO BEARS !