A PRAIRIE IN THE CITY

The garden above looks more like a park setting than an apartment building. How many apartment buildings have you seen in a big city with a garden like it ? I'd venture to guess none at all. This garden is in a large apartment complex at the end of my street and at one time was home to drug users, alcoholics and other direlicts. I contacted the slumlord and let him know that the residents would no longer tolerate the conditions of his building and would report him for violations to the city.

Much to my surprise and delight , he took me at my word and sold it to a reputable owner who proceeded to fix it up and got decent tenants. A friend of his, a Botanist who knew plants but not much about garden design or maintenance, installed the garden above. The owner told me that he wanted "no maintenance " ( translation : grass ) and thought that by planting masses of perennials he'd have no work. I just rolled my eyes.

There were very few evergreens or deciduous shrubs for structure so in the winter it was a bare, brownish gray landscape devoid of any plants or winter interest. In the summer the masses of spreading perennials were lovely but without care soon became a jungle of overcrowded plants vying for nutrients. It looked a lot like a wild prairie and I'm sure it was home to a lot of rodents, a big problem in the city.

Then came word that the building was being sold to a developer who was turning it into condos. The first thing to go was the garden. $75,000 worth of plants ! The developer spread the word that anyone could take whatever they wanted and of course the neighborhood descended upon the garden like vultures . At least most of the plants were saved and replanted in neighbors yards. The weeping purple beech ( middle photo ) a pricey tree worth at least $600-$700, unfortunately was too large to be dug and was destroyed.

The landscape now is a grand brick paved courtyard with two huge fountains, lawn and shrubs, more in keeping with the grandeur of the historic architecture . Not as wild and pretty as the prairie for sure, but much more practical.

Because the garden had so many different varieties of perennials, I used it on our walk to teach new gardeners . Of course as a designer I pointed out the flaws in planting without structure or aforethought. I'll miss the summer show but I'm glad I made the photos to remind me of it.

GARAGE GARDEN

View from my window

It's bare now and devoid of life but my neighbor's garage garden was an oasis from the rest of the world this past Summer. The huge tree beside it leafs out and the large Spruce on the other side provides privacy.

I featured this garden on our garden walk and visitors were enchanted with it. You can't see it in the photo but the homeowner used vacant space next to the garage for an Asian Tearoom where one can sit in a Japanese style rock garden.

This is a shot of what it looked like back in the Summer :






Many developers are not leaving space for front or back gardens and rooftop gardens are becoming popular. Gardening on a rooftop is a real challenge and not for the meek. I have many rooftop garden customers at the garden center and when they ask me what tree is the most durable for Chicago's cold winters and hot summers I always answer : Pines.

ANOTHER IRRESISTIBLE GARDEN ORNAMENT

This is just TOO cute to pass up and is a bargain at $9.99. Personalization of the ornament is free . Visit debandco.com and click onto "Hobbies. " I know, gardening is NOT a hobby, it's an obsession and I've told them as much. Plus they misspelled gardener and of course, I let them know that as well. I had an email from the owner, Debbie, who said that in 7 years no one noticed the error !

WHAT I DID ON SPRING BREAK

Jojo is even bum-fuzzled

Sixty five degrees on January 7, 2008 - a tie for the record set back in January 1967 . Like a lot of the locals there was no way I was going to spend this gorgeous day inside. Bet there were a lot of no-shows at the offices .

I shed the boots for my gardening clogs and went outside to enjoy the spring break. My goldfish even came out of the murky depths to the top of the pond to greet me. It had been so warm this winter that string algae had started to grow on the pond so I cleaned that out . I clipped off a few straggly perennials and raked up excessive leaves that had been hidden in the snow. But mostly I just sighed and soaked in the warmth as I sat in the garden with my faithful companion Jojo the rat terrier who was busy chasing Sparrows.

The record warmth of the past few days has the ground saturated with the melted snow and last night we had more rain which may cause flooding in some areas. I heard that parts of Indiana got 2 to 2 1/2 inches of rain overnight . The downside to the warmth was the first tornado to occur in January . Unfortunately 2 people were killed and a lot of property damage has been done in the Midwest.

Old-timers are reminded that it was 65 degrees a day before the worse blizzard in Chicago history hit in late January 1967 .

It's back inside and back to work for me. I'm waiting for the other shoe to fall, but at least I'm glad I enjoyed a brief Spring break.

THIS OLD CHICKEN HAS FLOWN THE COOP !

It's 63 degrees in Chicago and I've gotta get out and enjoy it. For those of you stuck inside please cheer up with a little comedy :

From ZERO TO 60 IN 3 DAYS

Three days ago it was Zero in Chicago. Today a lovely Southern wind brought us temperatures that broke the 1907 record of 54 degrees. It was a toasty 61 degrees . YES ! Sunday, January 6, 2008, sixty one wonderful degrees.

Of course this will probably be as fleeting as a snowball in hell but I just couldn't stay inside and not enjoy the balmy Chicago weather. It's nice to see green grass again.

Guess I won't be saying " That'll be a warm day in January " anymore.