First Stone Run

After living in my house for a almost a year, a few things started to bother me—especially the carport, where we spent most of our time watching baseball. Since the house was built in 1954, the concrete was cracked and uneven. And, it didn’t help that we lived downhill, causing rainwater to pool next to […]

My Garden

transforming my garden Not only was this yard covered in invasive English ivy but Japanese and Chinese privet.  Notice the ivy growing up the trees in the background, if not removed, it will cover the crown and kill the tree. After the ivy was mowed down about three times, barren slopes were calling for some […]

Organic Lawn Care

How to organically treat your lawn and landscape… If your here and reading this, I don’t have to tell you the importance of organic lawn and garden care.  You probably just need some guidance. Almost twenty years ago, at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, I listened to Jeff Lowenfels give a lecture on compost […]

Mother’s Day 2021

This mother’s day, I added a weeping yaupon holly… A brief history of my landscape. My husband, who I married a few years ago, has lived in our house for over 20 years and pretty much just mowed the yard. Besides four full-grown pines, one huge Southern Magnolia, a slowly dying cherry tree, and multiple […]

Gardening for Pollinators

…and to save the planet Becoming an environmentalist was probably the most profound change in my life. Never did I use round-up or other poisons, even when they said it was safe.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve planted many non-native species but something has changed within the last year or so. Since moving from Chicago […]