tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29642831971057116042012-03-04T23:57:44.411-06:00Remarks from a veteran journalist, a lifelong conservationist, a consultant to nonprofits, a garden writer, a gardener and a ChicagoanBeth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.comBlogger1761100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-25087248436039465102012-03-04T23:57:00.000-06:002012-03-04T23:57:44.421-06:00

One of the things I have been doing lately instead of blogging is creating a new website. Two, actually. The garden writer/speaker/coach aspect of me is now based at The Garden Beat. The communications consultant aspect of me is now based at bethbotts.com.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-87271780262235173872012-03-04T23:53:00.000-06:002012-03-04T23:53:26.613-06:00

I was on Mike Nowak's gardening/greening radio show this morning, discussing whether environmental groups should take corporate money, why I have been invisible on social media since October, whether Chicago should lift its landfill moratorium, whether you should run out and buy annuals the minute they go on sale at the garden center (not!), the fact that the Chicago Flower & Garden Show is

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-69658873786922336502012-03-04T08:53:00.000-06:002012-03-04T08:53:55.362-06:00

Astute observers of this blog, if there are any, will observe that my last post was Oct. 9. Yes, I went dormant. I became too preoccupied with writing for, like, newspapers and magazines, as well as other work, and setting up  anew website, thegardenbeat.com, and also trivia such as family and friends, and following "Fringe" and the demise of "One Life to Live," and the blog posts I was planning

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-17991189297160604322011-10-09T16:39:00.000-05:002011-10-09T16:39:30.902-05:00

Here are links for more information on topics that came up Sunday when I was guest hosting the Mike Nowak Show on WCPT. Mike's website Organic Gardening magazine Chicago Tribune compost story Chicagoland Gardening magazine  Landreth Seed Co. saga Growing Home building a new farm Bike the Calumet 12-mile bike tour Oct. 16 Garfield Park Conservatory Conservatory events, including Plant

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-44230072589252404702011-10-07T17:45:00.001-05:002011-10-07T17:45:00.142-05:00

One of the things I've been working on this summer was writing a recently released report for the National Parks Conservation Association on the future of the Indiana Dunes National lakeshore. I'm just the wordsmith, not the policymaker, but I do have a close and longtime interest in this national park just an hour from Chicago. I knew it before it was a national park: My mom, Lee Botts, was one

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-87086554165347905642011-10-06T07:15:00.001-05:002011-10-06T07:15:00.921-05:00

I know it's hard to focus on gardening when we're busy enjoying what will surely be the last summerlike weather of the year. But these warm, sunlit days with no rain clouds in view mean: No rain. And that's bad news for our gardens. We're in a real dry spell -- Tom Skilling says it's our longest for seven months -- and the plants aren't done for the season. They're working hard on their roots and

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-83477340228782831782011-10-05T13:58:00.002-05:002011-10-05T15:02:15.691-05:00

Once again, I'll be hosting the Mike Nowak gardening-and-greening radio show this Sunday while Mike goofs off. Actually, I think he's going to his high-school reunion. One of the big ones. Multiple decades. I hope his Twitter and Facebook friends won't waste the opportunity this presents for commentary and discussion.    Meanwhile, a lively group of guests will join me Sunday from 9 to 11 a.m.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-22742685610815062162011-10-05T11:45:00.004-05:002011-10-05T13:56:20.765-05:00

We're being suckered by a stretch of balmy weather in Chicago right now. Temperatures in the 70s, flirting with 80s, are predicted for the next several days, until about Tuesday, it looks like, with nothing but sunshine.  For those of us who move our houseplants outdoors for the summer, this sort of weather in October is really dangerous. The temptation is to leave the plants out to enjoy the

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-87191484154947867412011-09-25T14:12:00.000-05:002011-09-25T14:12:11.287-05:00

Here are a couple of links for things that came up on the radio today (the Mike Nowak Show, gardening and greening, which I sub-hosted this morning). Intrepid producer Heather Frey and I managed to fumble through pretty well. Although I now realize that I and my guests Glenda Daniel of Openlands, Breanne Heath of Growing Power and Ed Lyon of the Allen Centennial Gardens at the University of

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-63038319437978783382011-09-25T01:58:00.002-05:002011-09-25T02:02:29.958-05:00

Today (well, technically, yesterday) I: Spent 7 hours in the garden. Got totally wet, thoroughly muddy and blissfully happy. Filled with shrubs and perennials the spaces created Thursday when, in my first experience with a chainsaw (vroom vroom!), I single-handedly removed 6 immense gnarly yew shrubs at least 50 years old with 6-inch trunks.   Was able to spend 7 hours in the garden Saturday

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-25132737915246713422011-09-25T00:33:00.013-05:002011-09-25T01:12:05.604-05:00

This is something I'll be mentioning on the radio Sunday: The Cook County Department of Public Health is in the process of developing a food system policy for suburban Cook County. They're trying to figure out how current public policy affects what we eat and what is available to us to eat, and how future food policy might be shaped. They say they are re-examining all the laws and regulations

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-31279944577910565802011-09-22T16:35:00.003-05:002011-09-22T16:46:23.460-05:00

While you are lolling around in your bathrobe Sunday morning, you might as well turn on the radio. I'll be substitute hosting the Mike Nowak Show this week from 9 to 11 a.m. on WCPT-AM 820 and FM 92.7 (north),92.5 9 (west), & 99.9FM (south). Mike seems to think he has something better to do. This will be a heavy gardening show. My guests will include Glenda Daniel of Openlands, talking about the

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-68635215113506602852011-09-12T22:14:00.015-05:002011-10-05T11:59:06.244-05:00

Got some rusty pruners? loppers? machete? Bring them to the County Fair this Saturday on Central Park Avenue in front of the Garfield Park Conservatory, and members of the Wicker Park Garden Club will sharpen them for $5 each. Meanwhile, you can second-guess the judges in the vegetable or flower arranging competitions, take the kids for a pony ride or to the petting zoo or to bounce or slide,

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-42543356067625515312011-07-24T11:00:00.011-05:002011-10-05T11:42:57.615-05:00

OK, so immediately after I spent hours watering and wrote long posts on how to water and what to water with it rained 4 inches in my yard. And I got off easy: In some places it rained 7 inches, and it was officially the rainiest day in Chicago since they started keeping records in 1871. I realize that remembering to water tends to make it rain, but this is ridiculous. So, when should you not

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-84149663396367727232011-07-21T07:15:00.002-05:002011-07-20T20:19:52.095-05:00

Successful watering is putting the right amount of water in the right place to plants' roots can soak up what they need without being drowned. I have strong opinions on this topic, which I will be discussing on Mike Nowak's radio show on WCPT Sunday from 9 to 11 a.m.I also have a small arsenal of chosen weapons for putting water where it needs to go. I find they make the task much easier.Here are

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-9680583977065043392011-07-20T18:42:00.007-05:002011-07-21T00:27:14.377-05:00

I have been doing a lot of watering lately. The heat monster has stomped hard on me and my garden. And all I can do to defend my plants is water.But all watering is not equal. Too much water can drown plants or train them to be weak and needy. Much of the water that is sloshed onto yards -- and the sidewalks and driveways next to them -- is wasted.Since the hot weather makes this topical, I'll be

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-3729530929268125472011-07-19T13:40:00.005-05:002011-07-19T13:58:08.550-05:00

Sad news this week: Sid's Greenhouses, with two garden centers in Palos Hills and Bolingbrook, will close down for good around the middle of August.I spoke to marketing director Scott Henderson, who said that a combination of sales lost to the recession and tight credit, along with other factors such as construction projects that restricted access to the Palos Hills location, have done the

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-79538529268737001592011-07-06T16:18:00.010-05:002011-07-06T17:07:47.489-05:00

No matter how many years I've spent gardening and how much I learn, I always have unpleasant surprises. Mostly because I failed to learn from last year's unpleasant surprises.1. Stake lilies before they bloom. Otherwise I end up with pollen all over me from wrassling with 7-foot-tall trumpet lilies. And in the same vein: Lay soaker hoses in early spring before the plants grow up. Don't wait until

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-35171001600843321262011-07-06T16:06:00.004-05:002011-07-06T16:16:55.539-05:00

My friend Mr. Brown Thumb is offering space in his blog in exchange for donations to help the Garfield Park Conservatory rebuild. If you give $500 to the conservatory for repairs after the devastating storm damage, he'll let you guest-blog about your product or service.I'm assuming there will be full disclosure that the blog space is bought and paid for.Mike Nowak had Miguel Del Valle, foreman of

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-64033134509675644082011-07-02T16:17:00.015-05:002011-07-02T17:28:23.116-05:00

The Garfield Park Conservatory Fern Room,less than a week ago I was dismayed to learn that the Garfield Park Conservatory, one of my favorite places in Chicago, was badly damaged by a hailstorm Thursday night -- so badly that it is closed until further notice, and the conservatory is begging for donations to rebuild. Donate here.The golf ball-sized hail smashed the glass roof in nine propagation

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-6175366892310436342011-06-10T01:10:00.003-05:002011-06-10T01:32:22.904-05:00

Just a reminder, folks: This weekend is What's Out There weekend, a not-to-be-wasted opportunity that the Cultural Landscapes Foundation and the Chicago Park District have organized for you to see many of Chicago's parks and other sites. I'll be one of the tour guides leading tours in Washington Park this Saturday afternoon (a roughly 1-mile, 45-minute walking tour).You can take a free trolley

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-67949148991115148792011-05-25T07:15:00.000-05:002011-05-25T07:15:00.087-05:00

It makes me so sad to see things like this. I know these folks thought they were making the tree prettier. But there's not much worse you can do to a tree than to dig into its roots to plant annuals such as these petunias.Most of a tree's feeder roots -- the fine roots through which it absorbs water and nutrients -- are in the top 6 or 8 inches of soil. Every time you dig in the soil around a

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-7048705276666004322011-05-23T23:15:00.000-05:002011-05-24T10:36:49.068-05:00

I'm boning up on my landscape architecture history this week, preparing to be a docent when the Washington, D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation comes to Chicago for a "What's Out There Weekend" exploring 25 parks June 11 and 12. If you have any interest in how Chicago's great parks came to be, sign up here for one of the tours or check out the many related events.My assignment is to guide

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-71134815852569407042011-05-06T17:52:00.008-05:002011-05-07T00:40:47.293-05:00

Updated material at endOnce again, the University of Illinois Extension is on the chopping block. As part of the ongoing attempts to get Illinois' budget mess under control, legislative budget-cutters have their eye on the University of Illinois Extension, which runs the Master Gardener program and 4-H. Yes, again.Massive budget cuts last year have forced a huge statewide Extension reorganization

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-48566109675608495882011-04-23T15:15:00.000-05:002011-04-23T15:15:00.721-05:00

Prairie smoke is one of my favorite native plants, though I haven't actually succeeded in making it work in my way-too-shady yard. It's a dry prairie and High Plains plant, and sticky clay on the north side of a building is not the soil or the exposure for it.But prairie smoke thrives in the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park, where I took this picture. It will be on sale at the garden's plant sale

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-22039225265725126732011-04-23T07:30:00.000-05:002011-04-23T07:30:00.756-05:00

Among the many organisms huddled against the unseasonable cold this April (including me) are my bloodroot blooms.I'm quite vain of the little collection of native wildflowers I have nurtured in my quite urban garden (I do a garden club talk on this, among other subjects). But they've been late this year. And the bloodroot blooms have been furled against the cold, looking from a distance like a

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-52591363440621326532011-04-22T13:37:00.001-05:002011-04-22T13:38:44.138-05:00

Neglected to mention this story of mine on dahlias that the Tribune published last Sunday.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-767059167977202092011-04-22T13:07:00.009-05:002011-04-23T10:58:16.629-05:00

It may be April on the calendar, but it has hardly felt like spring in Chicago lately. The gardening season has been delayed by weather that is cold, wet and way colder than normal. Grass seed is unsprouted in too-cold soil. Tree leaves are still furled. Garden retailers are getting worried, because gardeners (including me) are mostly staying inside and not going out shopping.But if the soil is

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-31505695194764287662011-04-22T12:21:00.008-05:002011-04-22T13:06:27.958-05:00

I stumbled across this otherworldly plant the other day in my garden. Well, actually I had to dig for it.I suspected its existence because I saw a sort of mound rising in a spot where I had dumped a thick layer of leaves last fall. Sure enough, when I pushed the leaves aside, underneath was this hosta plant, valiantly sprouting despite a total lack of sunlight. Without light, it had no

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-64710866868617028012011-03-04T10:00:00.001-06:002011-03-04T10:00:10.925-06:00

I spotted a few interesting things when I dropped by Navy Pier early this week to see the building of the Chicago Flower & Garden Show, which opens tomorrow. Wonder what's going on here? Go to the flower show and make a treasure hunt of it.Got a garden question? I recommend you call or e-mail the Plant Clinic of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, the Master Gardeners of the

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-71354597614287114502011-03-04T07:00:00.003-06:002011-03-04T07:00:12.064-06:00

I have a busy couple of weeks coming up with speaking dates.Tomorrow, March 5, I'll be speaking on small-space vegetable gardening at the Fernwood Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve in Niles, Michigan. They are holding their first garden symposium and I'm on the bill with Mike Nowak, Roy Diblik and Chris Woods, the designer of Chanticleer Garden near Philadelphia.That will keep me away from the

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-82981368775968504562011-03-03T13:00:00.005-06:002011-03-03T14:21:48.303-06:00

There's been a big hoo-ha the last few days over the revelation that the writer of the hilarious @mayoremanuel Twitter saga, which followed the adventures of an imagined Rahm Emanuel during the recently concluded campaign, was a Columbia College professor named Dan Sinker, and that the real mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel actually thought it was funny. The Atlantic broke the story on Feb. 28 and on

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-40783882968642177282011-03-03T12:24:00.004-06:002011-03-03T14:22:16.182-06:00

A few days ago, since I had many more important things to do, I went out in the yard and finished up my dormant pruning. It was about 25 degrees and snowing lightly on my head, with the remains of frozen snow crunching underfoot. Perfect yard work weather for me.I was delighted to discover that nearly all the $10 end-of-season shrubs I planted late last fall have made it through the winter with

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-22571174537573763102011-01-20T11:35:00.006-06:002011-01-21T10:59:04.179-06:00

I was disappointed by the forum on neighborhood and environmental issues Wednesday night. But hardly surprised to be disappointed.Rahm Emanuel didn't show up. According to standard political calculus, he had no reason to. He's leading big and raking in money, and why should he go to forums and give his trailing opponents a chance to take shots at him? Especially forums that are supposed to be

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-86728340986212614702011-01-18T16:34:00.004-06:002011-01-18T16:53:26.194-06:00

A Swiss chard supporter in the hotly contested One Seed Chicago election has posted a very funny challenge to the candidacy of eggplant.She's right about eggplant -- too fussy -- but I stick by my radishes. Radishes are easier. Diane of The Garden of Live Flowers grew them successfully in her first gardening season.No matter how little space you have you can grow radishes. My friend Mike Nowak is

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-48873599886751118702011-01-10T10:49:00.007-06:002011-01-10T12:53:58.399-06:00

April radishes from a back-porch potYou have a choice: eggplant, chard or radishes. Which should you grow?This is of course an entirely spurious choice. You can grow all three if you have the space and the conditions. But you can only vote for one in the One Seed Chicago election.One Seed Chicago is an attempt to get Chicagoans interested in growing vegetables by getting them all to grow the same

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-61303287642704533582011-01-10T10:40:00.003-06:002011-01-10T10:48:58.309-06:00

Dunno about anybody else, but I have seen scant mention of the Green Growth Platform for Chicago or of the Jan. 19 mayoral forum on community and environment -- in an online newsletter of Business Week, in the online version of the Daily Herald -- but mostly just press releases on the web sites of the sponsoring organizations.No mention in either of the Chicago papers. guess that shows us all

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-76417370046734811642011-01-06T15:03:00.006-06:002011-01-06T15:42:10.017-06:00

A coalition of environmental groups today released a Green Growth Platform for the forthcoming mayoral election, and a list of 20 yes-or-no questions for candidates. Here's their press release. Here's the pdf of the Green Growth Platform, with the 20 questions (the platform is the statement in italics that follows each question).I assume these questions will be at the core of the Jan. 19

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-44441286897748704992011-01-06T14:31:00.007-06:002011-01-06T15:38:35.502-06:00

For those who care about Chicago's momentum as a green city, about parks, about open space, about community gardens, about urban farming, about invasive species, about Lake Michigan, about the Chicago River, about nature in the city, about people in the city, here's your chance to hear, in person, from the next mayor of Chicago.Who is that? We don't know yet. But you'll have an opportunity to

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-4462377373406239502011-01-03T07:15:00.004-06:002011-01-03T07:15:00.355-06:00

Not how I design my tulip beds. Photo from the Keukenhof in the Netherlands; courtesy PR Keukenhof Two days before New Year's, a sudden warm spell hit Chicago. The temperature rose into the 40s. The foot or more of snow that had settled on my garden during December began to melt away. By noon on new Year's Eve, it was mostly gone -- leaving drippy gray muck, bedraggled stalks of dried perennials,

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-35302414564203172722011-01-02T16:40:00.007-06:002011-01-03T00:10:48.126-06:00

Blair Kamin had an interesting piece in the Tribune today about the limits that will be placed on the ambitions of Chicago's next mayor, no matter who she or he may be.Many of Mayor Richard M. Daley's ambitious projects -- backed by his iron-fisted political power -- have made Chicago a greener city, as I said in this post back when Daley announced he was not running for re-election. But with

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-7386791714032984062010-12-21T07:30:00.000-06:002010-12-21T07:30:02.257-06:00

When last heard from, I was cherishing hopes of still being able to plant a bunch of tulip and allium bulbs. These laughable hopes were dashed. After two weeks in the 20s, with nights in the single digits, the ground is frozen like concrete.I guess my only option now is to pot the tulips up and try to beg space in somebody's garage to overwinter them. They need to spend at least 14 weeks below 40

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-10582757771416174402010-12-19T19:56:00.027-06:002010-12-20T12:47:52.889-06:00

New TreeKeepers tramp through the North Park Village Nature Center preserve beneath a majestic oak, older than Chicago, liberated from choking invasive shrubs. I'm feeling pretty jolly today. It's almost Christmas, I'm warm and well fed, and things that could have worked out badly have worked out rather well.Saturday, at the North Park Village Nature Center, I was officially anointed as a

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-12705445453857938162010-12-19T19:03:00.007-06:002010-12-19T19:49:30.601-06:00

I don't know why it has taken me so long to catch onto this cool blog called Plantmaps. It compiles interactive maps of different states and regions that can be made to show all sorts of statistics of interest to gardeners -- average last frost dates, first frost dates, drought conditions, AHS heat zones, even North American distribution of some native plants. Here's the one for Illinois.There's

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-3336445622648911852010-12-11T22:15:00.005-06:002010-12-11T22:20:41.415-06:00

When I wrote a post the other day alluding to citizen science data collection projects (which we'll be discussing on today's edition of the Mike Nowak Show, 9-11 a.m., WCPT 820 AM) I totally forgot about the granddaddy of them all: the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count, which has been going on since 1900 and yielded plenty of good useful ornithological data. This year's bird count runs from

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-38817269427987397502010-12-11T17:10:00.002-06:002010-12-11T17:18:15.841-06:00

I've got a couple of speaking dates coming up.On Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. I'll be speaking on shade gardening at the Proksa Park Garden Club in Berwyn. It's at 3001 S. Wisconsin Ave. in Berwyn. Guests are welcome.On Jan. 22, I'll be speaking on small-space vegetable gardening at the Porter County Master Gardeners Garden show in Valparaiso, Indiana. This is an all-day show, and quite a big affair. Find

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-37859393117031685332010-12-08T16:02:00.006-06:002010-12-08T16:43:01.244-06:00

This Sunday, Dec. 12, I'll be back on the radio, guest-hosting the Mike Nowak Show from 9 to 11 a.m. on WCPT. That's at 820 AM, if you live within about half a mile. Otherwise, you might find it at 92.7 FM (north),92.5 FM (west) or 99.9 FM (south).Mike will be off that day, with the singing Frozen Robins, caroling at the Chicago Botanic Garden (hear the Robins here, caroling about Rahm Emanuel).

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-49766496206976284532010-12-08T15:34:00.006-06:002010-12-19T19:56:31.234-06:00

Well, there I was today, once again, digging under the snow to get bulbs in the ground.It seems like this happens to me every fall. Somehow, the weather always catches me by surprise, even though the one thing I should know about Chicago weather is that you can't depend on it for anything whatsoever.It's not like I don't plan ahead; I ordered the bulbs back in July. The trouble is that they

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-6667085063918795312010-11-24T08:52:00.005-06:002010-11-24T13:29:38.586-06:00

I've been accustomed all spring, summer and fall to whisk out the kitchen door and snip lettuce, spinach and other greens from the pots on my back porch without bothering to put on a jacket.Last night, though, as I gathered spinach leaves to toss in a stir-fry and lettuce for salad, I realized I was freezing. There was a full moon, but it was still dark enough before dinner that I was snipping

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-74845221270213026312010-11-03T19:35:00.004-05:002010-11-03T19:40:28.572-05:00

Bronx-based Bryan Ogden interviewed me about my garden for bis blog, Metropolitan Gardening. Kind of weird being the interviewed instead of the interviewer, but I survived. Take a look.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-35065110258852897922010-11-03T14:56:00.006-05:002010-11-03T15:53:48.826-05:00

Finally! I can watch TV again without feeling like the victim of an acid attack from all the political ads. But I'd rather be gardening.We've had a weird fall, lots of warm days, no good crisp bulb-planting weather and next to no rain. There still hasn't been a freeze in my garden; elephant ears and impatiens are straggling along yet. I've quit watering the elephant ears to encourage them to go

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-14813503479763656882010-11-03T14:38:00.003-05:002010-11-03T14:56:07.657-05:00

Well, the election's over. It took me 10 minutes of hunting just to find out the results of the Cook County Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner races -- that's how little attention is paid by news organizations to an environmentally important but utterly unsexy agency.The good news: Michael Alvarez and Mariyana Spyropoulos won, each with 23 percent of the vote. The bad news: Paul

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-15703325569524116762010-10-15T17:28:00.008-05:002010-10-15T20:28:28.286-05:00

No, I don't mean the old Chicago way, where the precinct captain comes into the voting booth with the elderly lady and "helps her vote." Or helps her fill out her absentee ballot in the nursing home. Or helps the local imbibers to a drink for voting the right way. Not that kind of help.And actually, I don't need help any more. I already voted. I love early voting. I'm kind of a voting geek. I

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-72934607405945155582010-10-14T18:50:00.003-05:002010-10-14T18:56:07.085-05:00

This coming Sunday the Chicago Tribune will publish a story of mine on taking houseplants indoors for the winter. And I don't believe I ever posted a link to my Tribune update on the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park and profile of its new executive director, Jennifer Davit. It's sort of a companion piece to my recent profile of plantsman Roy Diblik, who grew many of the perennials for the garden.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-20532649971835121502010-10-10T23:45:00.003-05:002010-10-10T23:59:27.416-05:00

We had a lively discussion this morning on the Mike Nowak Show about the green legacy of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, the relationship between his environmental vision and the politics of his rule and where he succeeded and failed. I blogged about it a couple of days ago in this post.On WCPT today were Mike; me; Erma Tranter, director of Friends of the Parks; Henry Henderson, former head of

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-26652743030524273432010-10-08T12:55:00.004-05:002010-10-08T13:23:04.967-05:00

I have planted a bunch of new shrubs in the last couple of weeks, and I also have a big first-year perennial planting that I want to send into the winter with a good root system. This has called my attention to the fact that it is really dry out there.In the near west suburbs we haven't had meaningful rain for at least a month. I realize that parts of the Chicago area (mostly north) have been

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-28793482604222956512010-10-07T10:26:00.017-05:002010-10-08T19:59:24.128-05:00

I was in San Francisco in mid-September when Richard M. Daley announced he would not run for another term as mayor of Chicago. "You're losing your green mayor!" people said to me.That's his nationwide reputation, as the mayor who not only got Chicago back in working order as the one Midwestern city that resisted Rust Belt corrosion, but who made it a national leader in environmental

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-46353220216731269952010-10-03T10:02:00.004-05:002010-10-03T10:43:54.235-05:00

I'm jumping in late to a project called SeedGROW. This is a collective effort in which a lot of garden bloggers agreed they would all grow the same kind of nasturtium seeds this season and report on their progress. I got the seeds, but had decided to opt out of participation because the variety sent out by Renee's Garden Seeds, Nasturtium 'Spitfire', has bright red flowers that didn't fit in with

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-43638756562938090572010-09-30T11:02:00.004-05:002010-09-30T23:17:02.102-05:00

I'm afraid the last two balmy T-shirt days have been the last we'll see of summer. Weather people are predicting nighttime temperatures down into the 30s this weekend -- which means today is the day I need to scramble around and get all my houseplants into the house.These tropical and subtropical babies such as anthurium and zebrina and pothos and ficus have loved living outdoors all summer on

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-48563827402991284942010-09-16T16:43:00.009-05:002010-09-17T13:51:23.508-05:00

I wandered out to Cantigny in Wheaton the other evening to the annual meeting of the Midwest Ecological landscaping Association. This is a trade group of Chicago-area tree care companies, landscape architects and designers, nurseries, lawn care firms, growers and other horticultural businesses, as well as some nonprofits, with a special interest in sustainability. (Full disclosure: I'm a member

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-88794893441497634472010-09-15T14:46:00.005-05:002010-09-15T15:08:07.775-05:00

Interesting article in today's Tribune by Bill Mullen on Chicago Wilderness' report about the changing Chicago-area climate, the impact it is expected to have on plants, wildlife, native species and natural areas and a plan of action.The gist: The climate has already changed; our area already has a warmer, more volatile weather pattern than it used to. Those changes will only increase; and they

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-13679846271441188042010-09-04T15:24:00.014-05:002010-09-05T00:11:40.535-05:00

Rice Plant Science Center, November 2009We've all been to the Chicago Botanic Garden, but most visitors don't get to the new (about a year old now) Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center.The elegant building just won a major award for its green architecture, as detailed in this blog by Blair Kamin, the Chicago Tribune's architecture critic. It has all the bells and whistles -

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-50710875333781042822010-09-03T16:53:00.002-05:002010-09-03T16:55:05.773-05:00

Just had an article on naturalizing bulbs published in the new issue of Organic Gardening. Buy the issue to see the lovely pix (which I can't take credit for).

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-39595795723821507922010-09-03T16:37:00.003-05:002010-09-03T16:39:58.213-05:00

Somehow I forgot to post a link to this article I wrote back in August for the Chicago Tribune about Roy Diblik, one of the Midwest's true perennial gurus and one of its nicest guys.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-72199382130274162072010-09-03T15:14:00.006-05:002010-09-03T16:51:54.000-05:00

It's official: I've given up on the tomato season.There are folks who, in this hot summer, got bumper crops. But by and large, they are growing their tomatoes in the ground, and were in the few magic places where it rained plentifully but not enough to flood.I grow mine in sub-irrigated planter boxes on the third- and fourth-floor porch landings of a Chicago-area apartment building, with slanting

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-60963679494507830132010-05-25T10:34:00.002-05:002010-05-25T10:40:26.559-05:00

Here's a link to a story I wrote for the Chicago Tribune last Sunday about using native grasses as ornamentals. There actually are some that are small-scale enough for the average garden.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-398451179802512492010-05-22T11:55:00.007-05:002010-05-22T13:17:42.076-05:00

More details have been announced on the reorganization at the University of Illinois Extension. This affects Chicago gardeners and green-space advocates because the extension, and its Master Gardener program, are a major source of support for community gardens and public open space projects as well as being a basic source of horticultural advice for gardeners. It fundamental goal is to make

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-13441080029159604422010-05-19T12:49:00.003-05:002010-05-19T13:03:38.687-05:00

After a story of mine about too-early planting of tomatoes appeared in the Chicago Tribune, a newbie gardener who had suffered a lot of blossom end rot in her first year of container tomato growing asked me how she could avoid it this year. Here's what I told her:Blossom end rot in container tomatoes is usually related to watering, which affects the plants' ability to take up calcium. Most

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-65332252138526224012010-05-10T15:00:00.006-05:002010-05-10T15:17:59.201-05:00

I just took the soil temperature in my front garden, in a spot where I plan to set out impatiens, and it's only 50 degrees by my soil thermometer -- way too cool for these tropical plants.Not sure what I'm going to do, but I need to move the impatiens out of the boiler room where I've been sheltering them against the flirting-with-frost temperatures of the last three nights. It's dark in there

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-48085618870633889812010-05-09T07:29:00.004-05:002010-05-09T07:39:11.282-05:00

I have a story in today's Chicago Tribune about how it's important not to plant too soon.You can tell that when I wrote it a week or 10 days ago, it was about 80.Not 80 this weekend. Last night and the night before, with frost warnings about, I had to swathe in plastic my herb boxes on the 3rd floor, in which I had foolishly planted basil. I had to move lots of prematurely-purchased tender

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-34000714799164580332010-05-07T19:50:00.006-05:002010-05-07T20:31:24.547-05:00

I wrote a story that's scheduled to be in Sunday's Chicago Tribune about why it's important not to plant tender vegetables such as tomatoes or tender herbs such as basil too soon.Of course when I wrote it a couple weeks back, the temperature was close to 80. And over the next few days, as if I hadn't written it at all, I fell hard, just like an innocent brand-new gardener, for the tent in the

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-84843516497420416442010-05-03T17:23:00.007-05:002010-05-03T18:38:22.087-05:00

You can find a lot of odd things in a gardener's refrigerator, but right now the oddest thing in mine is a large plastic bag of freeze-dried hops flowers. No, I have not given up garden writing for bootlegging. I am very seriously researching beer.There could be many reasons to research beer, from a broken heart to a mortgage foreclosure to a visit from an old fraternity brother. But my motives

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-92040216714625043002010-05-01T11:19:00.003-05:002010-05-01T11:50:34.161-05:00

I haven't posted anything for weeks, due to a combination of being very busy and being prostrate from the heat. Please forgive me.I'm still mildly prostrate, and very annoyed that the big thunderstorms last night passed mostly to the north and neither cooled us off much nor provided our gardens with much rain. We are really short on moisture this spring. I am actually contemplating watering some

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-68913958190131272322010-04-01T21:36:00.008-05:002010-04-01T22:43:32.279-05:00

These cherry-red tulips are blooming in my yard today. I am pretty sure they're Tulipa batalinii, but of course I've forgotten the cultivar. I have boxes of plant labels and old bulb order forms, but I'm afraid it doesn't amount to useful record-keeping.Even for species tulips, April 1 is pretty darn early. But it was 84 degrees in Chicago today, which broke a record, apparently. All of a sudden

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-16447369662441393462010-03-19T10:38:00.006-05:002010-03-19T14:33:28.012-05:00

Looks like an interesting afternoon tomorrow, just as this warm weather is sending a lot of people to the home center to buy the biggest possible bag of weed-and-feed.“A Chemical Reaction: The Story of a True Green Revolution” will be shown at Columbia College’s Ferguson Auditorium, 600 S. Michigan Ave., from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 20. It's presented by the Safer Pest Control Project,

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-91365317256671025862010-03-18T22:38:00.003-05:002010-03-18T22:55:58.340-05:00

LaManda Joy, who blogs at theyarden.com, has asked me to mention a multimedia performance with music she has put together about Chicago victory gardens in World War II. She and friends will be putting it on Sunday, March 28, at 2 p.m. at the Chicago Dank-Haus, 4740 N. Western Ave. Tickets are $7 and for sale at www.theyarden.com. Proceeds will be donated to Hyperlocavore, a yard-sharing community

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-90435684592465659572010-03-18T22:36:00.003-05:002010-03-18T22:38:16.257-05:00

I took a swing by Lindberg Park in Oak Park today and saw no evidence of a prescribed burn. Phoo. I bet it had something to do with all the trailers for a movie shot that were arrayed in the vicinity of a house nearby. I suppose they decided they didn't want smoke wafting through their shots. I have not actually had the energy to inquire if they plan to reschedule.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-45420767318177356052010-03-17T13:38:00.007-05:002010-03-17T14:38:55.743-05:00

Pizzo & Associates Ltd. employees burn prairie plants last fall at the company's headquarters in LaSalle County. The fire is carefully controlled. This is interesting. Oak Park, where I live, is going to try a prescribed burn to control weeds in a local park tomorrow, according to the local paper, the Wednesday Journal.Prescribed burns aren't yet common in established urban areas. But they are a

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-1708571276902655382010-03-15T15:23:00.007-05:002010-03-15T16:02:33.234-05:00

I'm coming off a long week spent mainly at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show, which ended yesterday. I have enough fodder for about 20 blog posts, but haven't done any of them because I was so busy hanging around the show wearing about five different hats.I helped organize a meeting of the Garden Writers Association, wrote a story for the Chicago Tribune, did a couple of shifts as a volunteer at

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-71755896054283455432010-03-03T22:30:00.004-06:002010-03-03T23:08:49.188-06:00

It's that time of year. There was still snow on the ground today, though it was melting fast. More snows may come. It's down in the teens again tonight. But if you look close in the garden, especially near the ground, things are waking up.I didn't notice this in my own garden. I noticed it today while while taking a preview tour of the Smart Home down at the Museum of Science and Industry, which

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-8068529723081585382010-02-22T14:35:00.005-06:002010-02-22T15:06:40.015-06:00

So, I survived my broadcasting trial by fire, guest-hosting the Mike Nowak Show on WCPT-820 AM yesterday while he was supposed to be goofing off (although it turns out he was really listening). Here's a link to the podcast at Mike's Web site. Here's a link to a post with lots of links referred to in the show.Was it the most polished and dynamic radio you ever heard? No. I was pretty stiff and

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-3585568912961104312010-02-20T22:30:00.004-06:002010-02-20T23:13:32.200-06:00

On Feb. 21, at an indecently early hour for a Sunday morning, I am hosting Mike Nowak's radio show on WCPT. This here post is a collection of links to things that I might (or might not) mention on the air tomorrow, which I am posting so I can say, "for more information on any of this stuff, see my blog, growinginChicago.org." Crafty, huh?And if I don't get around to mentioning any of them, or all

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-19203378566894446952010-02-18T17:14:00.004-06:002010-02-18T18:02:14.472-06:00

I'm behind on my blogging; too much else going on, too few hours in the average day.One new adventure for me: This coming Sunday, Feb. 21, I am going to guest-host the Mike Nowak Show, Mike's gardening-and-greening radio show from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on WCPT 820-AM in Chicago. I've been a guest on the show several times, and now Mike has snookered me into soloing while he goes off cross-country

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-76642720739604095582010-02-04T15:22:00.002-06:002010-02-04T15:29:39.213-06:00

One of the features of this year's Chicago Flower & Garden Show at Navy Pier March 6-14 is a new horticultural competition. The Chicago Botanic Garden drew up the rules, in cooperation with serious plant societies, so it conforms to the strict traditional flower show guidelines. That means the rules are very finicky, so read carefully. See the rules here.Anybody can enter. There are categories

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-73772256519674402482010-01-31T07:09:00.003-06:002010-01-31T07:11:47.308-06:00

A question arose after I posted about the forthcoming budget-forced big changes at athte University of Illinois Extension: Why isn't there a public input meeting in Chicago? The answer, according to the Extension's Amy Sue Mertens: The meetings are by county and the Cook County meeting is the one in Countryside March 12. See previous post for complete schedule.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-30514464275255093002010-01-31T06:39:00.003-06:002010-01-31T06:42:08.287-06:00

I've got a story in Today's Chicago Tribune about garden clubs.And I've leaving in a few minutes to drive off to an studio on the South Side to talk gardening with Mike Nowak on his radio show, 8 to 10 a.m. on WCPT-radio 820 AM in Chicago. Way too early in the morning, but I've had a good breakfast and coffee, so I can probably kick-start a few brain cells.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-2397635647678479972010-01-30T09:52:00.004-06:002010-01-30T10:56:58.980-06:00

I'm a Master Gardener volunteer with the University of Illinois Extension, and--full disclosure--I also do some freelance work for it (editing and whatnot). I know what a powerful force the Extension and especially the horticulture educators and Master Gardeners volunteers are in Chicago-area gardening and green projects. I am nowhere near the most active among them, but in general the Master

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-3194513312471767172010-01-20T20:41:00.002-06:002010-01-20T20:45:07.850-06:00

Chicagoland Gardening Magazine, where I'm a consulting senior editor, is looking for some brand-new gardeners--folks who have never tried gardening but think they are ready to start this season. We want to do some interviews for stories about getting started as a gardener. if you are one, or if you know of one, please check out this link or e-mail the editor, Carolyn Ulrich, at carolyn@

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-89545773867983201882010-01-20T10:29:00.004-06:002010-01-20T10:33:05.319-06:00

For my friends in the Garden Writers Association, or those who might be interested, we're holding a Region V meeting March 6 (opening day) at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show at Navy Pier. Good tours, good speakers, and a chance to get out on the show floor and take photos before the crowds arrive. Here's the link for all the details. Region V is the upper Midwest, basically, although members

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-7454003251870656072010-01-17T14:54:00.005-06:002010-01-17T15:47:33.181-06:00

Ouch! Many hard-working volunteers I know will be hit hard by an article by Caitlin Flanagan in the current Atlantic magazine charging that school gardens are a patronizing fraud that wastes the precious instructional time of poor children whose real chance at a good life lies in focusing on learning to read, do arithmetic and be good citizens.Blogger and school garden volunteer Ed Bruske has

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-17516523785657963902010-01-17T13:41:00.005-06:002010-01-17T14:37:24.298-06:00

Lawns are out. Vegetables are in. Slow gardening is in. Instant gratification is out.So declares Suzi McCoy in her-just-published annual Trends report. She's the chief of the Garden Media Group, a public relations firm outside Philadelphia that specializes in representing horticultural companies and products. I've gotten help from GMG on many stories and have a lot of respect for them.Suzi's

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-77367981480905919532010-01-15T22:24:00.002-06:002010-01-15T22:29:21.177-06:00

So the Chicago Park District just sent me this press release. I am dying to go see this thing at the Lincoln Park Conservatory--I'm kind of a geek about strange plants, especially if you tell me the botanical name--but I'm tied up all weekend. I'm speaking at Cantigny in Wheaton tomorrow and other work to do Sunday.I'll have to try and get down there next week. Hope it will still be fruiting. (

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-57851277217871464832010-01-15T15:49:00.002-06:002010-01-15T16:00:25.302-06:00

I am late taking notice of this, and due to previous commitments I won't be able to go myself. But what sounds like a very interesting free workshop on community food production -- as in vegetable gardening -- will be held Sunday KAM Isaiah Israel, a historic synagogue at 1100 E. Hyde Park Blvd. You can find all the details here.Of special interest on Sunday: A workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. with an

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-68414291401080388392010-01-10T23:52:00.003-06:002010-01-11T00:16:10.399-06:00

Subzero temperatures? Pshaw. It's time for gardening talks! Too many gardening talks!Next Saturday, Jan. 16, I'm one of several speakers at an all-day symposium, "Moving Your Garden Forward," at Cantigny in Wheaton. The keynote speakers will be North Shore landscape architect Craig Bergmann and Roy Diblik of Northwind Perennial Farm, author of a book on easy perennial combinations. My topic is "

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-53867549840505104872010-01-10T23:42:00.004-06:002010-01-10T23:52:11.761-06:00

Here's a story I wrote for the Chicago Tribune on just a few of the many new plant choices available this year. I had accumulated stacks and stacks of news releases, press kits and catalogs from growers, breeders and marketers and seen so many lovely plants at trade shows last year, so it was really tough to pick out just a few for this article.If I had a fantasy garden that could hold all the

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-90039810861238577212009-12-28T13:20:00.002-06:002009-12-28T13:23:47.272-06:00

A fascinating look here, in a New York Times science story by Natalie Angier, at the secret life of plants. As a garden writer, I often have a hard time convincing people to even think of plants (such as lawns) as living things. This article pushes further my understanding of just how lively they are.

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-61473375678292402032009-12-17T14:45:00.006-06:002009-12-17T15:54:49.601-06:00

It seems to be universally acknowledged around here that the summer of 2009 in Chicago was wet until it was dry, cool except when it was hot and generally lousy for tomatoes. Most people's ripened late and many never got enough sun for good flavor. Will I let these extenuating circumstances stop me from passing judgment on the tomatoes I grew on my back porches? Of course not.Seed catalogs are

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-25110724924100938272009-12-15T19:12:00.006-06:002009-12-15T19:45:01.657-06:00

Wednesday morning is when Eric Hansen drives his propane-powered 1-ton pickup truck from Detroit to Melrose Park for his all-propane-powered landscape crew. Here's a news release about it (which I wrote) from the Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association.One of the questions I asked Eric was: Is your lawn company organic? And he said no--they can't get their commercial customers to pay for the

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-16231385549612242992009-12-12T19:39:00.006-06:002009-12-12T19:50:42.289-06:00

Isn't there a better way to maintain a lawn than with emissions-spewing gasoline leaf blowers and lawn mowers? One landscape contractor, Eric Hansen of Competitive Lawn Service in Downers Grove, is equipping an entire landscape crew with propane power--including the 1-ton truck. Propane is a fossil fuel, but it burns much hotter and therefore much more efficiently than gasoline, resulting in

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2964283197105711604.post-69892476022375907882009-12-12T09:26:00.003-06:002009-12-12T10:42:58.770-06:00

Chicagoland Gardening magazine--which for more than 10 years has been the Bible for dedicated gardeners in this area--is in the process of changing hands. Negotiations are underway for Bill Aldrich's Growit Communications Inc. to sell the magazine to State by State publications, based in Louisiana, which includes 10 garden garden magazines including Carolina Gardener, Mississippi Gardener and

Beth Bottshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09329201444189589538noreply@blogger.com3