Watching fall unfold here in suburban Chicago has been an odd event this year. There have been spectacular tree colors, but it's been happening over the course of about 6 weeks instead of one glorious event. So instead of enjoying a panorama of color like in Wisconsin and Michigan, I've been admiring individual trees for weeks. … Continue reading November in Chicago
Author: Stephi
Fall in Door County, Wisconsin
In addition to going to Northern Michigan for the weekend (Fall in Northern Michigan/Stumbling Upon Club-Mosses), Steve and I made a trip up to Door County, Wisconsin the third week of October. It was definitely peak colors that week and it was spectacular. The day started like this! Sunrise over Lake Michigan. After breakfast, we … Continue reading Fall in Door County, Wisconsin
Fall in Northern Michigan/Stumbling Upon Club-Mosses
Over the last couple of weeks I've been lucky enough to travel around the upper Midwest and see an amazing explosion of fall color. I spent one of those weekends visiting my mom Peggy in Northern Michigan. Once the rain finished, we went out to the woods to have a look at some of the … Continue reading Fall in Northern Michigan/Stumbling Upon Club-Mosses
Dripping Faucet vs. Korean Lilac
For years our outdoor faucets have leaked. Sometimes it's the hose connection, or the faucet dripping when it's open at certain positions, or sometimes just all the time when they are open. If it's the hose connection, that's easily solved with a new washer. But, when we've tried to have the faucets fixed any improvements … Continue reading Dripping Faucet vs. Korean Lilac
Warding off the Vampires|Harvesting Garlic
Well not really, but that's what I think of when I see the garlic curing in the screen room. Last fall I planted garlic for the first time (see "Planting Garlic") and I can happily say I probably have enough harvested this summer to carry me through the winter. I planted 3 different varieties, 2 hardneck (Chesnok Red and Purple Glazer) and … Continue reading Warding off the Vampires|Harvesting Garlic
August, Oops, September Garden Update
A while back I thought I was getting caught up, but then sending twins off to college this fall proved to be quite a time consuming effort! So the garden has been a bit on auto pilot for a little while now. Thank goodness it got off to such a good start this spring. Here's … Continue reading August, Oops, September Garden Update
Little White Pepper Thief
Now that I had replanted my peppers after a "failure to thrive" issue (Not a Great Year for Sweet Peppers), I was all set to harvest bushels of sweet green and red peppers. But the new plants just didn't seem to be putting out many peppers. I thought I saw peppers growing, but then they'd … Continue reading Little White Pepper Thief
Summer Sunday Visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden
This past weekend, we had the pleasure of having my husband's cousin visit from Australia. In trying to decide what to do, we tossed around heading downtown (hmm, Lollapalooza weekend), heading to Brookfield Zoo, Morton Arboretum or maybe even up north to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Much to my surprise, it turns out he's quite … Continue reading Summer Sunday Visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden
The Bee Balm Is Very Happy
Sometimes you just pick the wrong place to plant a plant. That happened to me with a bright red Bee Balm (Monarda variety unknown). As I wrote about before (Time For the Yarrow To Go), this particular Bee Balm had been planted underneath a newly planted River Birch which is now almost 20 years old. As … Continue reading The Bee Balm Is Very Happy
Not a Great Year For Sweet Peppers
I had a great experience with YOLO Wonder and California Wonder sweet peppers last year after buying them as nice healthy plants at the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale. The plants produced tons of delicious peppers. Since I knew I was going to miss the plant sale this year because I was out of town, I … Continue reading Not a Great Year For Sweet Peppers