Community Supported Agriculture

 Pardon My Garden by My Gardener will be giving a talk this Saturday April the 3rd at 10am at Winestyles in Woodridge located at 6430 Main St. 

The talk will be on Community Supported Agriculture.  Harvest Moon Organics Farm will talk about organic farming.

My Gardener will be talking about the origin of Cottage Gardens and how to incorporate herbs & veggies into your perennial borders.

Please  come out and see us if you are in the Chicago area.

Garden Duck

As Spring progresses I find myself wondering if the Garden Duck will be back. Last year we had a Mallard Duck make her nest in my front yard garden right near the front porch. She hatched 10 duckings in our garden. I've started to see Mallards beginning to pair off. Her spot is still there right between the Tradescantia x. 'Concorde Grape' and the 'Green Gem' Boxwood. I wonder if she'll be back.

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Waiting for warm weather in Chicago after a long and snowy Winter is like sitting in detention waiting for the final bell to ring. It seems like it will never come.

When I think of warm weather, I have dreams of Summer flowers. Borders bursting with color!

This is a display I did a few years ago...enjoy my Summer Dream fellow gardeners!

Spring Displays

Spring is really starting to pop! My Crocus are blooming their little hearts out, my Daffodils are getting ready to flower, and my Forsythia bush is ready to explode!

For extra added pop in your early Spring garden try the following Spring annuals: Pansies,Violas, Stock, Nemesia, and Sweet Alyssum. All our tolerant of frost.

The Spring Snow is already gone and a memory. The Sun is shining, the birds are singing and Spring is Springing up everywhere!

Make sure to take the leaf/mulch cover off of your bulbs as they push up.

It's also a good time to cut back your Hydrangea arborascens( Annabelles, White Dome, Limelight) Roses, and Clematis.
A quick sidebar on Clematis. A lot of people will tell you that you should only cut back certain varieties of Clematis. I have been gardening for over 30 years now and I can tell you it doesn't matter what variety of Clematis you have, cut them back, they will grow and they will flower. I base my decision on whether or not to cut my Clematis back based on how crappy the old vine looks. Fear not if the vine is budded, if you think it looks like crap, cut it back and let it regrow.

It's Snowing!!!

Snowdrops seemed an appropriate picture for the day since it is Snowing here in Chicago.

Just yesterday it was Sunny and 65 degrees....*sigh*

I will take comfort in the fact that Spring Snow never stays for very long.

I hope you left some cover on your perennial beds if you're in the Midwest!

Enjoy the beauty of your bulbs blooming with a kiss of Snow!

March Snow!

Enjoy this lovely day in Chicago. It's been in the 60's all week here. It's going to drop to 34 degrees overnight tonight with a rain and good chance of Snow!

Spring in Chicago an be a cruel mistress seemingly coming and going as she pleases. So enjoy this beautiful day and brace for the cold rain & Snow to follow. Take solace in the fact that these late jolts of cold are Old Man Winter grousing on his way out of town like a grumpy old man.

Anyone that uncovered their garden beds to bare dirt might want to find some cover for anything that pushed up with a week of nice weather.

Enjoy the day!

Early Spring Things to do

Well it is set to be another stunningly beautiful early Spring day here in Chicago. Temperatures will get into the upper 60's away from the Lake today.

Get outside my Gardening Friends and enjoy! It's a good time to do some Spring Cleanup work done. Cut back any foilage that you left up for Winter interest. Ornamental grasses, perennials, Hydrangea arborascens cultivars( 'Annabelle'/'White Dome'/'Limelight), roses, Clematis. Go ahead and rake any leaf cover or mulch off your bulbs and clean up any debris etc in the corners of the yard, but leave some cover over your perennials pushing up. We are suppose to get some cold rain and Snow next week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!!!! It's another beautiful Spring Day in Chicago get outside and enjoy it while you can. We are suppose to get cold again and have a chance of Snow next week! Fluff your mulch but don'ttake it off yet, at least not in Chicago!

Well it is a beautiful day in Chicago! The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and we are suppose to get temperatures into themid50's today!!! I am going to finish cutting back my ornamental grasses and other perennial foliage I left up for Winter interest and of course fluff the leaf cover in my garden beds again. It is sooooo very tempting to remove that covering...but it's still too early to do so here. Do not succumb to the temptation we had a frost last night and we will definitely have more frost here in the Midwest in the weeks to come. Just fluff your mulch coverings for now and if these warmer temperatures stick around for another week or two we should be okay to at long last uncover our gardens to greet the Spring!
Enjoy the day wherever you are my gardening friends!

Crows & Bunnies

Well Pardon this Gardener, but I am very excited to see the Crow population starting to rebound here in Chicago. The Crow population was decimated by West Nile Virus several years ago. The drop in the number of Crows directly paralleled the rise in the local Bunny population and they have been a real menace in the local landscape. So I am hoping the Crows are going to get back to eating lots and lots of baby bunnies this Spring and save me some grief in the garden. Kill the Wabbits my feathered friends so I don't have to!!!

Spring ahead!

Spring ahead!!! Remember to reset your clocks and Spring ahead!!!!

Waiting for Spring for a Gardener is like waiting for Christmas fora kid. It feels like it will never come!

Today it's raining in Chicago. Warm but raining. Someday my Spring will come...

Fluffing the Winter leaf cover

Well, I am going to go out and fluff the mulched leaf cover I left on beds over the Winter. It's much too early here in Chicago to actually remove any Winter cover. We are nowhere near the frost free date for Chicago yet. It is good to get out there and use a rake to fluff up your leaf cover, especially if you didn't mulch it before you covered your garden for Winter. Wet soggy leaves can lead to all sorts of plant diseases. So just take your rake and fluff up your leaf cover to get some air circulating in the beds. That's your tip of the day and I am out the door to get some fresh air and fluff up my leaf cover.

Pardon My Garden, it will just have to keep.
I am going to the Flower & Garden Show today. A Gardener's Dream on the cusp of Spring!

Heavenly Perennials

Well Pardon My Garden. Since it is the season of Lent I thought I would post some perennials with names that are Heavenly. I will post the names here atPardon My Gardenbut if you want tosee all the pics they are on the My Gardener Facebook Page. The Clematis pictured is 'John Paul II'.
Here are the names of some other Heavenly Perennials:
Agastache x. ' Golden Jubilee'
Lychnis coronaria ' Angel Blush'
Astilbe x. ' Sister Theresa'
Phlox paniculata ' David'
Hemerocallis x. ' Heavenly Harp'
Aster alpinus ' Goliath'
Hosta x. 'Paul's Glory'
Helianthemum x. ' St. Mary's'
Coreopsis x. 'Heaven's Gate'
Hosta x. 'Praying Hands'
Hosta x. ' Stained Glass'

To view all the Heavenly Perennials check out My Gardener on Facebook. When my Technical Adviser returns, I will get everything posted here too.

Here comes the Spring!

Well the Spring is Marching into Chicago! The weather forecast for the next week is mid 40'to 50's! It will be tempting to go rake off the leaves and get at it, having lived in Chicago for my entire life, I know better. I will leave the protective leaf cover for a while longer. I will go out and cut back some perennials and ornamental grasses I didn't quite get to in the fall. There is of course still the shellacking od dog crap to contend with, I have gotten two bags out already....but I'm not done with that lovely Spring Cleanup task quite yet.

Perennials Theme Pcitures

Well Pardon this Gardener for not being skilled enough to remember how to post pictures on my Blog! I have just posted some pictures of perennials on the My Gardener Facebook page. I have several picture albums going with various name themes. I have perennials with Snow in their names. Perennials with Spring in their names and perennials named after Birds. When my Technical Adviser returns I will have him help me post the photo albums here on the Blog.
So if you're looking for fun perennial themes check out the My Gardener Page on Facebook.

Theme Gardens

Well Pardon My Garden. It's still too early and mucky outside to get into the garden to do any meaningful garden work so I thought I would start sharing some of the theme gardens I have come up with over the years. I have noticed that there are a lot of perennials named after movies and movie stars alike. Here are but a few for you to ponder. I have more, but I think I will dole them out in small groups. Here's a taste:

Alcea rosea ' Watchman'
Aster dumosus 'Peter Pan'
Aster dumosus ' Blue Lagoon'
Dianthus x. 'Little Boy Blue'
Delphinium x. 'Casa Blanca'
Delphinium x. 'Guinevere'
Festuca x. 'The Hobbitt'
Hemerocallis x. 'Pinnochio'
Hosta x. ' Rsiky Business'
Hosta x. ' Patriot'
Hosta x. 'Red October'
Hosta x. ' The Night Before Christmas'
Hosta x. 'Twilight'
Hosta x. 'Striptease'

Spring Rain

Spring Rain! It's falling outside my window, taking the last of the Snow with it. I love the smell of rain. Rich, organic and filled with the promise of life and growth.

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite thing..."

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Waiting is always the hardest part. Day by day the Snow is retreating and more signs of Spring are everywhere. The buds on the trees, shrubs and ornamentals are swelling. The bulbs are putting on some growth. The birds are coming back and the morning air is filled with song, the Sun rises earlier every day and the temperature is slowly creeping back up. Soon. It will be here soon.

Pardon My Gardener is watching the Hawks

Well, I know this has nothing to do with gardening, but it does have to do with Spring. Spring as a sports fan in Chicago means as a couple of things. Cactus League Baseball!!! #1 LET'S GO CUBBIES!, that's right, I'm a Cubs Fan. #1a LET'S GO SOX! that's right, I married a South Sider and a Sox fan. It also means LET'S GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!! The Hawks have been the best team in town all year. So LET'S GO HAWKS!!!!!

Get on the list

Spring is truly in the air! To all my friends, if you are going to need a garden cleanup or dividing and moving of plants please call me, emai lme or hit me up on Facebook and let's schedule something!

Poop Patrol

The Sun is shining and it's still frozen. Enough of the backyard has thawed, so this morning I went out to scoop some poop. Wow, that was A LOT of poop! I filled two(2) Target bags of poop and that is only from the half of my yard that is thawed! It was indeed a long Winter!

Amongst the copious amounts of dog poop I was scooping I could see seemingly endless piles of Bunny poop. Now I know Disney has spent decades making us all think that every animal is cute, cuddly and should be preserved and loved. I am much more pragmatic than that. My philosophy on Bunnies in My Garden is that any Bunny in My Garden is gonna be a Dead Bunny in My Garden. The same is true of Chipmunks in my Garden. Thumper, Chip and Dale and their like are very Unwelcome in My Garden. I will confess to being a ruthless killer of Garden Pests. Mr. McGregor has nothing on My Gardener. As a Biology major I had to kill and stuff more than a few mammals, so I am not squeamish. I can will and do kill Garden Pests. I do not use poisons. That is a no-no in my book because they can kill animals you don't want to kill, like your dog or your cat. You want to be very careful in suburban and urban settings with how you do battle with your garden pests. Trapping is usually the best option. I will leave it up to all of you as individuals as to whether you want to catch and release your pests or send them to meet their Maker. I'm pretty sure at this point you all know how I choose to treat pests in My Garden.

Spring

I keep talking about Spring finally getting here. But any Gardener knows that Spring doesn't just stroll into town and knock on the door and say "Honey I'm Home!" It kinds of moseys back into our lives a little bit more day by day. It's like watching party decorations go up. One day the world seems blah. Then little by little, day by day new 'decorations' pop up. A Snowdrop here, some Winter Aconite there, Daffodils here, grass turning the electric green of Spring over there, buds swelling on a Forsythia bush here on a Magnolia over there, until we wake up one morning and go and look out the Window and say "It's Here!!!!!"

Spring's is one the way. She's just moving back in slowly to make sure She doesn't forget any of here favorite decorations.

SpringThaw

The Sun is out, the temperature is rising and the Snow is finishing it's farewells. I am sooooooo ready for Spring. To get outside! It's a big tease a this point still. The ground is boggy beneath the Snow and there's still that shellacking of dog crap to deal with in the grass and garden beds. But the signs are popping up that it Spring WILL be here soon. The Song birds are coming back, the grass where it's peaking through the snow is green. The bulbs by the drive are making their push. But best of all it SMELLS like Spring. That crisp fresh Earthy smell, I can't get enough of it!



I want to share a favorite song quote that seems appropriate:

" kiss the ground run my fingers through the Earth, yes it feels so good to be alive!" Lucious Jackson

Pruners

I have a pruner addiction. I simply can not pass by a pair of pruners that I don't have and not buy them. I have more pruners than I can count. All types, high end , low end, brand name, no name. I just can't have enough pruners. My favorite pairs are always the lightest weight ones since I wield them all day trimming flowers when the Season is in session. I just got another pair for $6.99 at Target. I may need an intervention.
I think I will bring in my stash of pruners and clean, oil and sharpen all of them today. Pruner addiction. I've got it bad.

March Madness

Well it is March!!! Count down to Spring is officially on! Which is exciting and frustrating. March can be a Gardener's torment. Spring IS coming,you can smell it in the air. The song birds are making their way back to their Northern Summer Grounds, the buds on Spring Flowering Ornamental Trees & Shrubs are swelling. Even the Morning is anxious, starting a little earlier each day.

But I know it won't really be Spring until two things happen. The first is St.Patrick's Day. For me, that's THE day. Once I have eaten my Corned Beef & Cabbage, had some Irish Soda Bread, some Whiskey and my Goodness My Guinness. That is Winter's Last Dance and Old Man Winter needs to B.I.O.D.T.L( Beat it on Down the Line)So I can get my Spring on!

The second thing is far less pleasant. The removal of the shellacking of shit that covers my yard. Turf and Beds a like. This Winter was long and Snowy, the kind that doesn't lend itself to mid Winter crap cleanup. The Snow just kept layering upon itself,and so did the crap. As the melt down continues, it's going to melt into a craptacular ooozing blanket of shit, reminiscent of " The Blob" from the old horror films. I'll scoop what I can, as I can. But I've been Gardening for far too long and I know that there will a layer that will simply not be scoopable and I will have to rake it up and out of the Turf and the Beds. My dog,Earl will look at me those cute Golden Retriever eyes that say " It's about time you cleaned my toilet!" And that my friends is when it will TRULY be Spring!!!!!