July 30, 2010
This latest spate of hot, hot weather in Chicago thanks to global warming, el nino, glacial melting, big banking fiascos or whatever leads one to conclude we gardeners had better bone up on xeriscaping or at least the upper Midwest version of dry(er) land gardening.
I have an extra helping of lack of shade since the old bat next door removed her shade trees (and my shade). Some of my lessons may be useful to some of you:
Some shade plants can adapt and some can't. My fallopia ("painter's palette") does fine, light colored leaves and all. My wild geraniums bloom in spring and then, unlike in the woods, go completely dormant and disappear till next year. The hostas are mixed as to sun & heat tolerance: blue and green ones tend to burn; yellow ones ("sum & substance") are pretty much okay. Some ("golden tiarras") are doing fine in full sun. If you have a favorite but burned hosta & no place to put it in shade, pot it up and move it onto the porch. Hostas do fine in containers - just put it in the garage or basement in the winter.
Some shade plants are retreating on their own to shadier nooks in the yard: Canadian & European gingers. The ground cover which I thought was for full shade, false lamia, is full shade. And half sun. And full sun. I'm glad it doesn't climb.
My ostrich ferns make it thru spring and the 1st half of summer and then frizzle. I think (shh, they'll hear) they may be replaced with phlox (buy mildew resistant ones, or breed your own. Yes, you can - ruthlessly cut down any mildewed victims. Don't let them go to seed. My phlox don't mildew after this regimen for 15 years.) or Russian sage or tree peonies or Tiger's eye sumac.
The rose of Sharons around the yard do fine, sun/shade/heat. A bonus: one of my friends has trimmed his back yard r-of-s's as trees and they arer close to 25 feet tall.
Some prairie plants are good in dry heat and sun: ironweed, grasses, coneflowers. The plume poppies (7 feet tall) which hung on in partial sun are reveling in full sun. As we go to press Anne Raver in her column in the NY Times writes on these same topics. She also recommends lilies, sylphium, Joe-pye-weed, sunflowers and rudbeckia maxima for the sun garden.
Because of the configurations of houses and yards in Chicago many people may have to research the best plants for dry shade but remember, nothing's forever - we may have to re-do our gardens with science-fictiony newly bred shade tolerant saguro cacti, yucca and a host of north advancing former sun perennials (formerly annuals).
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Media Watch - 2/3/10 - Jim Edminster
Harper's (Feb.) has a hilarious memoir by Darryl Pinckney about his obsession with the gay sections of the about-to-be-defunct soap opera "As the World Turns." Who would've believed, A) there are soap opera conventions for fans, B) those playing gay roles (AKA Luke & Noah) have their own (large) group of fans and C) many of these white boys' fans are African-Americans (of which the gay Mr. P. is a member)? The fans are so, so, umn ... fanatic that they have influenced the plot lines, & why have the series' writers listened to them? Perhaps the fact that the 49 second video clip "The Kiss" (of L & N), when posted online, got 2 million hits.
The NY Times (2/04) tells us that Adm. Mike Mullen in testifying that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ought to be tossed into the "Do-Not-Recycle" bin of history, decided at the last moment to use the phrase "gays and lesbians" instead of "homosexuals." This military man is apparently a lot more calm about gay issues than Senator John McCain who, in spite of his long (brave) imprisonment in the Viet Cong gulag is still throwing hissy fits about our soldiers having to face showers in common with - ick - gay guys.
Finally, a real excuse (tho' they're not going to use it) to NOT attend one of those "points-for-politicians-prayer-breakfasts" in Washington, D.C. The NY Times (2/04) says one of the major (hidden) sponsers of the National Prayer Breakfast is "The Fellowship", also called "The Family." As exposed in the book, "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power" by Jeff Sharlet, the group has direct ties to the Ugandan attempt to execute gays for being gay. Perhaps those attending could pray for the gay folk of Africa and for those in the Family to, ahem, come out since they're very reticent about publicity. Not ashamed or anything, are you guys?
The New Yorker (3/08) has found yet another group (as if we didn't know) which is just crawling with gays & lesbians: the Black Gospel Circuit. Anthony Charles Williams II, known as Tonex (Toe-Nay) is the "... first high-profile gospel singer in history to come out of the closet." Quoting a history of this genre by Anthony Heilbut, "The Gospel Sound": "There's more sissies and bull daggers in ...[these] Sanctified churches and they all think they're the only ones going to Heaven," and commenting on the "flirtatious" atmosphere in the choir dressing room in a large Harlem church, "They all carry on, even the straight ones. But as long as it's kept in the family nobody's gonna say nothing." Tonex has lost many of his fans and is being denounced from former friends' pulpits.
Harper's (Feb.) has a hilarious memoir by Darryl Pinckney about his obsession with the gay sections of the about-to-be-defunct soap opera "As the World Turns." Who would've believed, A) there are soap opera conventions for fans, B) those playing gay roles (AKA Luke & Noah) have their own (large) group of fans and C) many of these white boys' fans are African-Americans (of which the gay Mr. P. is a member)? The fans are so, so, umn ... fanatic that they have influenced the plot lines, & why have the series' writers listened to them? Perhaps the fact that the 49 second video clip "The Kiss" (of L & N), when posted online, got 2 million hits.
The NY Times (2/04) tells us that Adm. Mike Mullen in testifying that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ought to be tossed into the "Do-Not-Recycle" bin of history, decided at the last moment to use the phrase "gays and lesbians" instead of "homosexuals." This military man is apparently a lot more calm about gay issues than Senator John McCain who, in spite of his long (brave) imprisonment in the Viet Cong gulag is still throwing hissy fits about our soldiers having to face showers in common with - ick - gay guys.
Finally, a real excuse (tho' they're not going to use it) to NOT attend one of those "points-for-politicians-prayer-breakfasts" in Washington, D.C. The NY Times (2/04) says one of the major (hidden) sponsers of the National Prayer Breakfast is "The Fellowship", also called "The Family." As exposed in the book, "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power" by Jeff Sharlet, the group has direct ties to the Ugandan attempt to execute gays for being gay. Perhaps those attending could pray for the gay folk of Africa and for those in the Family to, ahem, come out since they're very reticent about publicity. Not ashamed or anything, are you guys?
The New Yorker (3/08) has found yet another group (as if we didn't know) which is just crawling with gays & lesbians: the Black Gospel Circuit. Anthony Charles Williams II, known as Tonex (Toe-Nay) is the "... first high-profile gospel singer in history to come out of the closet." Quoting a history of this genre by Anthony Heilbut, "The Gospel Sound": "There's more sissies and bull daggers in ...[these] Sanctified churches and they all think they're the only ones going to Heaven," and commenting on the "flirtatious" atmosphere in the choir dressing room in a large Harlem church, "They all carry on, even the straight ones. But as long as it's kept in the family nobody's gonna say nothing." Tonex has lost many of his fans and is being denounced from former friends' pulpits.
Monday, June 15, 2009
First Post: A Garden Repost from June 1st
You have some time on your hands? Of course not but perhaps you might have a spare moment or two for a neighborhood project. You & your friends/neighbors/ boyfriends could plant the parkway. All over Chicago people are planting mini-gardens there. Technically the space between the sidewalk and the street belongs to the city but nowhere have I heard, do officials forbid the greening (and purpling and redding, etc.) of this semi-public, semi-private land.
You do need to follow some rules:
1.) Leave (better yet, pave, with old bricks or flagstones) at least one & a half feet curbside for
alighting from cars. Otherwise disgruntled drivers will trample your new babies.
2.) No big showy flowers - they'll get picked. Sorry, peonies, large roses et. al.
3.) No eye level thorn anythings - hawthorn bushes for example. One word of warning which
is lawsuit.
4.) Don't fall for the Measles Syndrome: a plant here; another a foot away; a third 2 feet away.
FILL THE SPACE.
5.) And why do you want to fill the space? A) Looks better; B) Helps keep dogs out.
6.) If you can, put a short fence or wall in front; or even 2 layers of bricks. It'll help keep dogs off.
They don't like to step up. They also don't like short chartreuse or red barberries (low thorns)
cottoneaster (too tangled for Fido's taste). I'd advise some cayenne pepper or cinnamon
powder on corners. This may train dogs from urinating there without permanently damaging
the critters. (Don't use any spices with salt in them - it'll damage plants.)
7.) Left over or extra garden plants are fine in parkways. Check the sun but parkways are often
dappled light suitable for almost anything. Plant your extra hostas (or pieces), some of that
phlox, your daylily's offspring, some seeded-in-the-wrong-place columbines, even some extra
annuals (but you're looking for low maintenance. Perennial is better.) Some self-seeding
herbs like purple perilla are great as is the big-leaved veggie rhubarb.
8.) Be careful about trees. The city has official rules about which types are allowed. No thorned
trees, or the highly messy or fruit trees. If there is already an existing tree don't plant closer
than a foot out from the trunk. Definitely don't bury the base in a foot of dirt.
9.) Try for contrasts in foliage: green/white/purple/red etc. & big/little/pointed/round/curled etc.
10.) If you have, in your block, absentee landlords or elderly folk ask them if you can do their
parkways. The answer from a Lincolnshire owner whose property is one door away from me:
"Are you kidding? I don't have to come in once a week to mow? I don't have to clean up
after dogs? Yes, plant, plant already!"
A personal story - a friend of mine, Richard Sabel, lives in Hyde Park. His parents also lived there - his father an exiled Filipino Anglican bishop (too liberal for Marcos) and his mom, head of the pharmacy section of the U of C hospitals. Mrs. Esclamado, Rich's mom, took it upon herself to plant the entire parkway block in front of their townhouse complex. Shrubs, flowers (Joe Pye, coneflowers,hostas, bishop's weed - of course - , lamb's ears ad infin.) When a member of the townhouse board became annoyed (?) the city rattled in to investigate but instead of reprimanding her they gave her an un-asked-for grant which paid her original out-of-pocket expenses.
Happy mulching and I command (& commend) you to spread beauty thru the 'hood (and beat my record of 40 species in my parkway)!
You do need to follow some rules:
1.) Leave (better yet, pave, with old bricks or flagstones) at least one & a half feet curbside for
alighting from cars. Otherwise disgruntled drivers will trample your new babies.
2.) No big showy flowers - they'll get picked. Sorry, peonies, large roses et. al.
3.) No eye level thorn anythings - hawthorn bushes for example. One word of warning which
is lawsuit.
4.) Don't fall for the Measles Syndrome: a plant here; another a foot away; a third 2 feet away.
FILL THE SPACE.
5.) And why do you want to fill the space? A) Looks better; B) Helps keep dogs out.
6.) If you can, put a short fence or wall in front; or even 2 layers of bricks. It'll help keep dogs off.
They don't like to step up. They also don't like short chartreuse or red barberries (low thorns)
cottoneaster (too tangled for Fido's taste). I'd advise some cayenne pepper or cinnamon
powder on corners. This may train dogs from urinating there without permanently damaging
the critters. (Don't use any spices with salt in them - it'll damage plants.)
7.) Left over or extra garden plants are fine in parkways. Check the sun but parkways are often
dappled light suitable for almost anything. Plant your extra hostas (or pieces), some of that
phlox, your daylily's offspring, some seeded-in-the-wrong-place columbines, even some extra
annuals (but you're looking for low maintenance. Perennial is better.) Some self-seeding
herbs like purple perilla are great as is the big-leaved veggie rhubarb.
8.) Be careful about trees. The city has official rules about which types are allowed. No thorned
trees, or the highly messy or fruit trees. If there is already an existing tree don't plant closer
than a foot out from the trunk. Definitely don't bury the base in a foot of dirt.
9.) Try for contrasts in foliage: green/white/purple/red etc. & big/little/pointed/round/curled etc.
10.) If you have, in your block, absentee landlords or elderly folk ask them if you can do their
parkways. The answer from a Lincolnshire owner whose property is one door away from me:
"Are you kidding? I don't have to come in once a week to mow? I don't have to clean up
after dogs? Yes, plant, plant already!"
A personal story - a friend of mine, Richard Sabel, lives in Hyde Park. His parents also lived there - his father an exiled Filipino Anglican bishop (too liberal for Marcos) and his mom, head of the pharmacy section of the U of C hospitals. Mrs. Esclamado, Rich's mom, took it upon herself to plant the entire parkway block in front of their townhouse complex. Shrubs, flowers (Joe Pye, coneflowers,hostas, bishop's weed - of course - , lamb's ears ad infin.) When a member of the townhouse board became annoyed (?) the city rattled in to investigate but instead of reprimanding her they gave her an un-asked-for grant which paid her original out-of-pocket expenses.
Happy mulching and I command (& commend) you to spread beauty thru the 'hood (and beat my record of 40 species in my parkway)!
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