25.4.10
22.4.10
Don't Be Afraid Of Color In The Garden
Do bold colors in the garden scare you? I have to admit I don't get very creative with the color choices in my garden. I like the safe colors and combinations. I guess I'm not much of a garden daredevil, preferring dark colors or the same colors everyone else around me has. Today I took a photo walk with Garden Faerie who was visiting Chicago for a few days. We walked the length of Grant Park taking in the garden sights and characters on the street. One of the places we visited was the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park and afterwards we headed down Michigan Avenue to see the public plantings. The contrast took a bit of getting used to.
If you've ever visited the Lurie Garden in the spring you may understand why the color scheme in Chicago's plantings was a bit jarring at first. We went from a cool and subdued color pallet to something that looked like it sprouted after someone sowed a bag of Skittles.
If you've ever visited the Lurie Garden in the spring you may understand why the color scheme in Chicago's plantings was a bit jarring at first. We went from a cool and subdued color pallet to something that looked like it sprouted after someone sowed a bag of Skittles.
18.4.10
"Home Farming" Basil Seeds
I recently had the opportunity to talk to Paul James "The Gardener Guy" about National Public Gardens Day, more about that later at my Chicago Garden blog. Before the phone interview I was doing some research on Paul James and came across his Facebook page and learned he was working with Triscuit to promote "Home Farming."
11.4.10
Best Garden Gloves, Ever!
I've never been the kind of gardener to use garden gloves. Part of it is probably due to sheer ignorance, but mostly it is probably cultural. I never really thought of the dangers or gardening and exposing your naked hands and arms to potential hazards in the garden. Cuts, scrapes, dirt under your fingernails and bug bites all seem to be things a gardener comes to accept. Garden gloves always strike me as being something for women.
For a couple of years I politely turned down companies who offered me garden gloves, for the reasons stated above, but then a year ago I met Alice Strong, owner of GardenBasket.com, at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show. It was there that she gave me a pair of Atlas garden gloves and told me to test them after telling her of my resistance to wearing garden gloves. She told me about how the gloves were originally designed for assembly line work and all of a sudden the idea of garden gloves seemed less feminine than before.
For a couple of years I politely turned down companies who offered me garden gloves, for the reasons stated above, but then a year ago I met Alice Strong, owner of GardenBasket.com, at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show. It was there that she gave me a pair of Atlas garden gloves and told me to test them after telling her of my resistance to wearing garden gloves. She told me about how the gloves were originally designed for assembly line work and all of a sudden the idea of garden gloves seemed less feminine than before.
