Saturday, August 3, 2013

A True Story About Cobrahead Weeders


Once upon a time, I got a Cobrahead weeder.  I don't remember exactly how I got it or when.  But I know I didn't have to pay for it.  They aren't expensive; I just was fortunate enough to come by one of these gratis, courtesy of the family-owned company. (Thank you, Cobrahead!)

It's a great little tool, especially for those of us who are so tempted to just use our hands when digging in the dirt.  Sometimes fingers work best.  This makes it even better, because it works like your fingers, except you don't ruin it by using it.  The rounded diamond-shaped bladed tip furrows its way through our clay soil better than any other tool I've used for tight spots and digging out deep-rooted weeds.  It's just right.

Recently, Romie and I worked on a project for Lowe's where we needed to dig a shallow trench in which to lay PVC pipe.  Romie made an initial swipe through the yard and then I followed up with my Cobrahead, deepening the trench.  It was great for the job.  Almost perfect.


Just as I was finishing up, Romie said to me, "That worked really well.  They should make that with a long handle so you wouldn't have to bend over to do that."  I replied, "They DO.  I just don't have one."

The very next weekend, I was in San Francisco for the Garden Bloggers Fling and we were sitting at the welcoming reception.  Fabulous prizes were being given out after everyone placed tickets that they'd been given (for free) when they arrived.

I leaned over to the person sitting next to me - Lucy Pelletier, daughter of Helen Battersby from Canada - and whispered, "There's just one thing I would love to win out of all those prizes."

"What's that?" Lucy said.

"That long-handled Cobrahead weeder."

Andrea Fox called out the numbers as she made her way through the many prizes so generously donated by sponsors.  Then it was time to give away the long-handled Cobrahead weeder.

Guess who won one?

That's right.  ME.  I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to call home to tell Romie that I'd won it.

It came this week.  Thank you, Cobrahead, for donating this as a prize and especially for making a superior product that every gardener should have in their tool shed - short-handled AND long-handled.  I am one happy girl.



Posted by Kylee Baumle 2 comments  

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Garfield Park Conservatory - Chicago


Who loves a garden, loves a green-house too
Unconscious of a less propitious clime
There blooms exotic beauty, warm and snug
While the winds whistle and the snows descend.

~William Cowper
The Task
1785


It occurred to me the other night that I'd not yet finished my account of this year's Spring Fling in Chicago. Sunday, May 31st - the last day - was another beautiful day in the Windy City and we had more beautiful gardens to see!

We met several other Flingers in the lobby of our hotel at 9:15, then walked several blocks to catch the El to the Garfield Park Conservatory. I'd overheard the comment earlier - "If you've seen one conservatory, you've seen them all." - and I couldn't disagree more. Though we'd just seen Lincoln Park's the day before, Garfield Park's was just amazing and probably the best I've visited anywhere up to this point in my life.

The conservatory recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, having been constructed in 1906-07 under the direction of Jens Jensen, the architect famed for his garden design. He intended it to be "the largest publicly owned conservatory under one roof in the world." Taking up 4.5 acres, Garfield Park Conservatory is the crown jewel of Chicago's West Side and has been recognized as an internationally significant horticultural facility.


The conservatory wasn't busy at all, which made it nice for the dozen or so of us that were visiting. Photo ops presented themselves at every turn and it was nice to not have to wait much (if at all), to get a clear shot of things.

In the first room, the Scheelea Palm (Attalea phalerata) was the star of the show. Grown from a seed planted in 1926, it is the largest and oldest palm in the conservatory.



I got a chance to chat a bit more with Pam during this time, which was nice, though she and Diana had to leave a little early. We talked about how many of the plants we saw here were houseplants for those of us that try to grow them in the north, but they're garden staples in Texas, where the two of them live.








For example, Pam grows wonderful agaves such as the ones we saw here and she knows how envious I am of hers. They're impressive plants!
The Fern Room was just unbelievable. The minute you stepped into the room, you could smell the green.
They'd used layers of rock from Ohio (yeah!) to form the base for growing the ferns and there were corridors you could walk through that were entirely covered by various ferns.


The size and scope of this room has to be experienced to be believed. The photos here just don't convey it adequately. That could be said of the entire conservatory though.

There's a permanent Chihuly glass display:

And just as I made the comment to someone that I didn't really care for cacti and other dry desert plants, I came upon these that tried to change my mind...
The bromeliads were impressive...
Flaming Sword Bromeliad (Vriesea splendens)


The outside grounds of the conservatory were pretty impressive, too. We exited the rear of the building, shown here, with its espaliered tree and boxwood balls...
...and found ourselves in the "City Garden."




Back into the conservatory and out again, on a different side, was the Monet Garden. Loosely adapted from Monet's Garden in Giverney, France, this smaller version uses plants and color much as Monet did.

And out yet another direction was the labyrinth, leading to the children's garden.
When it came time to head back downtown so we could get our car and head for home, MrBrownThumb walked Mom and me back to the train station, to make sure we got back okay. This was just another way he and other Chicago gardeners that were part of the planning team for Spring Fling helped make our weekend that much more pleasant and enjoyable.
Mom and I talked for a long time on the way home about all our experiences of the weekend spent in one of my favorite cities with so many nice people. It was apparent that a huge amount of planning and thought went into every aspect of it and everyone involved should feel pretty pleased with the results. We simply had a great time, and I'm planning to attend next year's Spring Fling, which is to be in Buffalo, New York.
Most of the Spring Flingers, as captured by MrBrownThumb in Lincoln Park


As posted on the Chicago Bloggers' website, here is a list of other posts by other attendees on the Spring Fling experience:
Garden Girl:

MrBrownThumb:

My Skinny Garden:

On the Shores of Lake Chicago:

Garden Faerie's Musings:
Flatbush Gardener:

Ramble on Rose:
Spring Fling '09 Wrap Up
Muse Day Final Fling Thoughts

Art of Gardening:
Garden Bloggers Spring Fling
Garden Blogging Influencing

Digging:
Caldwell Lily Pool, an oasis in Chicago
Visit to Garfield Park Conservatory
Intimate Gardens of Spring Fling
Art Institute Garden in Chicago
On Cloud Nine in Lurie Garden
The People Behind The Blogs
Chicago Botanic Garden wows Spring Flingers

Dig Grow Compost Blog:
Loving It-Chicago Botanic Garden
Rick Bayless Garden
Thank You Chicago Garden Bloggers

Fairegarden:

Prairie Rose's Garden:

May Dreams Gardens:

The Garden of live Flowers:

Sharing Nature's Garden:

Each Little World:

Outside Clyde:

Our Litte Acre:

Posted by Kylee Baumle 4 comments  

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Ginkgo Organic Gardens - Chicago


I can faintly remember a community garden of sorts in my hometown (population 180) when I was growing up. It was an area just north of the ball diamond on the edge of town where people who lived in town could grow things. Practically everyone who lived in that little town had enough space where their houses were; I'm not sure why they wouldn't garden there. But someone gardened in this designated spot. I remember seeing them do it.

In Chicago, real estate can be scarce, and if you live in an apartment, you don't have any at all. So in various locations throughout the city, there are places that are set aside as community gardens, where residents can "grow their own." Spring Fling attendees got to visit one of these gardens - the Ginkgo Organic Gardens in Wrigleyville.

What makes the Ginkgo Organic Gardens special is that they use the produce grown there to feed the hungry by donating it to various organizations that distribute it to those in need.

Ben Helphand (in the blue shirt), from NeighborSpace, which oversees the operation of the gardens, speaks to the Spring Flingers.






Each year, they grow about 1500 pounds of fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs.










The labor is all volunteer and work days are scheduled for every Saturday, April through November.

For more information, visit the Ginkgo Organic Gardens website, or their blog, Ginkgo Gardens Journal.


Posted by Kylee Baumle 2 comments  

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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Ohhh...the Lily Pool


For some reason, from the first time I heard about Alfred Caldwell's Lily Pool, I wanted to see it. If I'd gone home from Spring Fling and didn't get there, I knew I'd regret it. I'm not sure why I was so hell-bent on getting to see this place that I knew nothing about, but whatever was drawing me to it couldn't be silenced.

Now I have seen it and I want to go back. I missed the waterfall.

Located just around the corner from the Lincoln Park Conservatory and the Lincoln Park Zoo, this treasure is tucked away behind its Prairie School style entrance and once you walk through, a sense of calm takes over.


Originally built in 1889 for raising water lilies, it was redesigned in the 1930s by Alfred Caldwell. It's meant to mimic the melting glacial waters cutting through stone to create a river. At the north end, there's a waterfall, I'm told, that represents the source of the water for the Lily Pool.


The layers of limestone used throughout the area are impressive, especially in the shelter house. Caldwell makes great use of them in staying with the Prairie School style of architecture, which originated in Chicago. Romie and I are big fans of Frank Lloyd Wright, a leader of the Prairie Style, and have visited many of his landmark structures, such as Fallingwater.



Mom and I took a quick walk through the biggest part of the trails that wind around the pool, accompanied by two of our fellow Spring Flingers, MrBrownThumb and garden girl. It was a nice way to spend some time with both of them, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and our energetic group.

The wildflowers were right at home here and with all the natural lush green growth, it was hard to imagine that we were in the middle of a major city. Once in awhile, we'd get a glimpse of the "outside world," though...




Before we had really properly explored all the trails surrounding the Lily Pool, it was time to return to the bus. The evening would once again be spent with our Spring Fling friends at a proper Chicago pizza place, Giordano's. Mmmmm...pizza!


Still to come - The Ginkgo Organic Garden and Garfield Park Conservatory.


Posted by Kylee Baumle 9 comments  

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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Chicago's Lincoln Park Conservatory


Yes, I'm still blogging about Spring Fling. I know I'm a procrastinator extraordinaire, but the fact that I've still got a few posts to go before I'm finished reporting on Spring Fling should be evidence that we spent an action-packed three days in the Windy City. I think I'm still exhausted from it all, two weeks later!

Lincoln Park

Saturday was the busiest day, beginning with the Rick Bayless garden. The organizers of Spring Fling had chartered a bus to take us from one place to another, beginning at our hotel (Club Quarters Central Loop) and I can't thank them enough for doing that. Mom and I would have surely missed half of the planned stops if we'd had to go it on our own.

One of the destinations of the day was in Lincoln Park, where we had some time to explore the Lincoln Park Conservatory and surrounding area. Constructed between 1890 and 1895, the Conservatory was built at a time when the public had a general fascination with nature. It was designed to both showcase exotic plants as well as to provide a place for the city to grow plants it needed for landscaping the city parks.

The Conservatory consists of four rooms - Palm House, Fern Room, Orchid House, and Show House.

With apologies to those on dial-up, here are some views from the Conservatory:


Fabulous use of red as an accent.


Lots of graphic lines here!


I loved the fabric screen hanging across the room. The flowers are pieces of fabric sandwiched between the sheer white panels.


The tropical Crotons really know how to light up a room!


This Clerodendron Clerodendrum Rotheca always fascinates me with its delicate blooms of blue. (Why oh why do the taxonomists keep messing with us??)


The Fern Room


'City Lights' Water Lily (Nymphaea)


Look at the hanging Tahitian Bridal Veil (Gibasis geniculata)! It was at least seven feet long, top to bottom, if not more. I grew one of these way back when I was in college, but it never looked like this!


Beautiful Bromeliad


Wall of white Phalaenopsis


Bromeliad


Brassavola 'Jiminy Cricket'


Orchid




Bougainvillea is one of my favorite tropicals.


African Iris (Dietes iridioides)


Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
When I say red is my favorite color, I mean this shade of red.


Bougainvillea silhouetted against the glass ceiling of the Conservatory


There's also a Conifer Garden on the west and south sides, outside the Conservatory, which somehow I missed. I think I was worried about not having enough time to visit the nearby Lily Pool, so once we left the Conservatory, Mom and I headed for that. But not until I'd popped into the adjacent Lincoln Park Zoo for some Dippin' Dots. Mmmmm!


Over to the Lily Pooh next...


Posted by Kylee Baumle 6 comments  

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