When I talk to my customers and my employees, I maintain that one of the basic premises of organic gardening is to use no synthetic fertilizers or toxic chemicals. Prepare the garden with organic materials. Soil, in most instances, needs to be well drained. Do not plant too deep. Mulch beds well to retain moisture and prevent weeds. Dig out/ pull weeds when small to prevent problems. Mow lawns frequently, even in winter, to prevent growth and spread of weeds. Fertilize with dry organic fertilizer and foliar feed with liquid seaweed, compost tea and fish emulsion.

 I love coming across old quotes that allude to the same teachings.

From writings in the 1800’s -

            “And then as to manure, flowers can neither paint their beauty, nor elaborate their fragrance on dead rocks or barren soil. To prevent disappointment, begin the year by enriching the earth”

            “deep planting has been a frequent cause of failure”

            “no flowers tender or hardy will continue to survive in saturated soil”

Celia Thaxter from “An Island Garden” - Weeds “must be dealt with at once and without mercy; they must be pulled up root and branch, without a moment’s delay.”

 Sutton’s Spring Catalog from 1878 - Useful Hints on Lawns -

“Mow weeds as soon as they appear or take them up one at a time”

 ”And then as to manure, flowers can neither paint their beauty, nor elaborate their fragrance on dead rocks or barren soil. To prevent disappointment, begin the year by enriching the earth”

 ”Zinnias, asters, marigolds and sub tropicals can be very much increased in size by liberal waterings with house sewage and other manure water”

 ”Weeds are sure to thrive also - therefore they need to be instantly destroyed.”

 As my grandchildren would say - “pretty cool”!

I spent a few days in Chicago last week - I really like this city. There are plants everywhere. It was interesting to learn how one person’s determination (mind you it was, and is, the mayor!) to beautify a city can make such a difference. Since Mayor Daley came in to office, hundreds of thousands of trees have been planted, miles and miles of boulevard planters have been built and planted, window boxes and troughs hanging from railings and parking garages have been filled with plantings. Trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and grasses fill the containers. It is beautiful!

I took the opportunity participate in a tour visiting a few “green roofs”. That, too, was inspiring. We were not able to visit Chicago City Hall, which has a huge one, as it was one of the city’s furlough days. We did get to see the very first Wal-Mart store with a green roof. The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum’s green roof had native plants on it mimicking the plantings surrounding the facility. I was quite surprised to learn that the 24-acre Millennium Park is actually a green roof built entirely over underground parking garages. This is an incredible outdoor space in the middle of the city. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion designed by Frank Gehry offers free concerts throughout the summer. The Lurie Garden provides a quiet spot to contemplate. Everybody - child and adult - wants to touch the Cloud Gate sculpture. My favorite is the Crown Fountain - I love watching the children interact with this water feature. You must visit.

After some forty plus years of marriage, I still get flowers…

Our yard is not a large one. Nevertheless, I have always tried to plant some plants that will serve as cut flowers. They vary from month to month. African blue basil, purple coneflower, rudbeckia are some of my favorites. I will use the plumes of lindheimer muhly and inland sea oats. Rain lilies, columbine, ground orchid and hardy amaryllis go into vases.

There are three rose bushes in our yard. Graham Thomas is a yellow, very fragrant English rose. Red Knockouts are my husband’s favorite, because they are so easy to take care of, and bloom almost the year round. And, there is an orange rose that I have no idea what it is. Last year, when it had reached almost 7 feet in height, we woke up one morning and found it reduced to eighteen-inch stubs. Our local beavers had decided they needed it for their home! They had also made a feast out of the knockouts.

This year all have recovered.

Each day as I go to the kitchen to prepare dinner I find a new rose in a small vase by the sink. It is a simple (and cheap) act that warms my heart.

When I was a college student (many, many years ago!), I thought I was going to be a teacher. At the time, I became a mother instead. Several years later, I spent a year as a teacher’s aide and another year as a substitute teacher. I learned two things. One - I was not meant to be a teacher and two - good teachers are incredible people.

Last week I attended a Professional Development day sponsored by REAL School Gardens. This amazing organization now works with 57 elementary schools, 30, 000 children and 1400 educators to create outdoor learning gardens to be used daily for all parts of the curriculum. Several of the educators spent the day working on a project designed to teach the children about wind power and solar energy - alternative energy sources that will power the water pumps in the school gardens. This particular project is being funded by a $50, 000 grant from the Motorola foundation.

Another session demonstrated how a wonderful bilingual book My Nana’s Remedies/Los remedios de mi nana by Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford, could be utilized to teach math, science, art, language and more in the garden.

These educators are so eager to teach and inspire a new generation to understand and appreciate the many facets of our environment. Thank you so much.

The little lake (or maybe, pond) we have lived on for the past ten years, has hundreds of turtles in it. All summer long, we see them out sunning themselves. We love to watch them when they perch on wayward tree limbs or other debris floating on the lake. Occasionally a duck will join them, a comical sight.

Last month, for the first time, we found several broken eggs in a bed close to the lake. They were next to holes that were a foot or more deep and about two or so inches in diameter. We had no idea when the eggs had hatched. This past week, my husband looked out the window and found a turtle busy at work. For more than an hour, she dug, flinging dirt (and the poor heuchera in the spot) everywhere, and then sat on the hole laying eggs.

We only hope we can witness the eggs hatching.