Native Urban Garden

So the groundhog decimated the peas, the purple sprouting broccoli, the carrots, the beets, the rutabaga, the black raspberries (just the berries), the melons (leaves and all), the lettuce, and the squash. It eventually got used to eating (apples and strawberries were favorites) out of the live trap (which was wired open for 2 months),…

Groundhog I thought it was cute last year, but this year, after decimating the peas, purple sprouting broccoli, beets, rutabaga, carrots, black raspberries AND lettuce, not so much. It lives under Bill’s garage next door, and digs under the fence. You can just barely see the latest hole (dark spot almost directly in the center…

At the Illinois Native Plant Society Central Chapter annual meeting in December, I heard Guy Sternberg from Starhill Forest Arboretum in Petersburg IL talk about our periodical cicadas and the potential for damage to small trees when they emerge this May and June. Below is what I sent to my gardening family about this historic…

A year later, and the so-called “hell-strip” has been just that, although I’ve had good comments this summer, and a comparison of last year’s photos and today’s photos show a significant improvement. Read the Parkway post from a year previously… An entire year of weeds, weeds and more weeds, especially in the grass border around…

Now that most of the baby trees are planted, the veg garden is verdant, and the sunflower patch is mostly done flowering and offering good quality feed, the critters are making an appearance. Groundhog / Muskrat / Woodchuck When the derelict house was there with lots of brush in the backyard, there was a large…

The lot was pretty rough when the demolition was done. I estimate the soil was 6″ lower than the driveways on either side. The rules specify that the clean fill has to be at least 18″ below the surface, with soil between that and the top. But below 18″ remains the basement walls (brick, like…

Today the honeylocust “Skyline” is to be planted in the parkway by the nursery. I’ve marked the location with a sign – 4′ from the street curb and about 7′ from the driveway, similarly to the thornless, seedless honeylocusts in the parkway in front of my house. I’m hoping this will provide continuity between the…

One of the benefits of a yard with plenty of vegetation may also be a yard with plenty of insects. One of my favorite insects is the dragonfly — and I was lucky to observe a static dragonfly swarm just as I finished mowing the yard. I estimate there were more than 30 dragonflies, and…

The parkway is the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street. There’s a book called Hellstrip that specifically talks about the challenges and presumably solutions to designing and planting this special location. I thought about reading it, but I’ve had some experience with this challenging environment, so I’ll just jump right in where…

Since buying the lot, I’ve been eager to start hunting, gathering and planting. Family & Friends My sisters, who are also plant people, have generously offered valuable advice and promises of plant material. Sister Mari has offered two small sassafras trees from her timber. They can be hard to transplant, so smaller is better, and…

On August 31 the lot was tilled, the “junk” removed (roots, bricks, rocks, more glass), more soil added, smoothed, grass planted and a straw erosion blanket added to protect the seedbed. The grass type is Rhizomatous Turf Type Fescue (RTF) seed mix, which is supposed to require less water and fertilizer and should also do…