Hurry Spring!

These will be the only blooms in my garden this year on the first day of spring.

T.S. Eliot was wrong. It’s March, not April, that’s the cruelest month, at least for Chicago gardeners.

Some years, winter quietly slips away, allowing crocuses, daffodils and tulips to burst forth in a cacophony of color. Last year was like that, with record high temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

“In like a lion, out like a lamb,” as the old saying goes.

This year, though, the lion came and shows no signs of leaving anytime soon. The first day of spring is just 48 hours away but we have snow on the ground with more forecast tomorrow. Most of my flower beds are frozen solid. Night-time temperatures are expected to dip into the teens later in the week.




The first day of spring 2012 (left) and 2013 (right)




Magnolia blooming 2012, buds only in 2013

We've obviously been spoiled by mild winters the past two years. Waiting for spring seems more like waiting for Godot. What’s a gardener to do?

I’ve mostly been dreaming about what I want to do in the garden this year. Much of it will be damage control. Last summer’s drought killed one arborvitae and damaged two other trees in my garden. My weeping cherry tree also wasn’t looking too good last fall.

Will there be other victims? I’ll just have to wait until everything starts leafing out. I’m especially concerned about the plants I put in last fall. We had some very cold days in the first part of winter with no snow to protect them. I normally would have planted them earlier, giving them more of a fighting chance, but I was too busy doing the weeding that I had put off because of the summer’s high temperatures.

For now, I'm sharpening (and resharpening) my garden tools, buying seeds, looking at plant catalogs and doing some online research.
 
Of course, despite the whacky weather we get in the Midwest, I want it all: loads of color, long bloom times, hardiness, drought tolerance, sustainability and, oh yes, the ability to flourish in compacted clay soil. Is that too much to ask?

Once I make up my mind, though, I'm full of indecision. It always drives my husband and son crazy this time of year.

How are you bidding your time? And what are you planning to add to your garden this year? Milkweed and rudbeckia are on my short list so far.




Red, white and blue

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

For a look at what was blooming in my garden last year on March 20, check out The First Day of Spring.

By Karen Geisler

The 2013 Chicago Flower & Garden Show

"Larger Than Life," a sculpture by Chicago artist Jeffrey Breslow

The minute you step into the 2013 Chicago Flower and Garden Show, the theme of this year's show is obvious: "The Art of Gardening."

You're greeted by two large pieces of art, a sculpture of tree branches, stones and rotating colored lights by Jeffrey Breslow and a large wall of hand-painted window art by Emmy Star Brown. Many of this year's display gardens also incorporate various art elements into their designs.

Of course, there's still lots of tulips, hyacinths and other spring blooming flowers everywhere. At times, the perfume could almost make you forget the major snow storms we've had in recent weeks.




Canvas of Tulips, Garden #17



Banja Luka tulips

A close up of Cool Crystal tulips

Among the various artistic elements at this year's show are a brass sculpture of a boy with an American flag, a piano and trumpets made into water features and Shona stone sculptures from Zimbabwe, Africa.



Shona stone sculpture at Living Art in the Garden, Garden #18




A piano water feature at A Water Sonata, Garden #9

Trumpets create a waterfall at Garden #9

A colorful urn at Backyard Utopia, Garden #10

A bronze sculpture amid daffodils at Garden #10

There's also a garden, An Inspirational Art Walk, that's dedicated to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. It features framed photographs from the series "Mr. Wild's Garden" by David Weinberg set in a landscape designed by members of the Illinois chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. The not-for-profit foundation provides support and assistance to the families of Chicago police officers who are killed or catastrophically injured in the line of duty.



An Inspirational Art Walk, Garden #5

In addition, there are two examples of edible landscaping, one by the Peterson Garden Project and another by Growing Power Inc. The latter garden, done with in a spiral pattern, is especially colorful with early spring crops, herbs and vegetables. Both groups help people grow their own food.




The Peterson Garden Project: Victory Today!, Garden #19



Art on the Farm, Garden #15

And, of course, the show again featured some tablescapes under the theme "An Art-Full Table."



Roses are everywhere on this tablescape by Mariano's

The show has activities for the kids as well as educational seminars and demonstrations for adults. It also has brought back its potting parties, allowing people to create a a container they can take home. And if you're more of a cook than a gardener, there are culinary demonstrations every day by various chefs.

 

The 2013 Chicago Flower and Garden Show continues through March 17 at Navy Pier.

 

Hand-painted window art by Emmy Star Brown at the show's entrance

By Karen Geisler

The Lurie Garden in Spring

Ballade tulips in the Lurie Garden

Spring has come to the Lurie Garden in its own quiet, subtle way.

There are no tall grasses waving in the wind, no dramatic "rivers" of purple salvia grabbing your attention. You will, however, find a gorgeous Eastern redbud (cercis canadensis) in full flower and thousands of bulbs gradually coming into bloom.

As with many gardens in the Chicago area, the record-breaking heat last month has taken its toll. Some of the bulbs -- including the crocus and Glory-of-the-Snow (chionodoxa) --  have long since come and gone.

Look closely, though, and you'll find purple Grecian Windflower (anemone blanda) and Grape Hyacinth (muscari) nestled among the emerging salvia. There's prairie smoke (geum triflorum) without the "smoke" it will eventually eventually develop.  And scattered all around are Virginia bluebells (mertensia virginica) and several daffodils, including the poet's daffodil (Narcissus poeticus) and angel's tears daffodils (narcissus triandrus).

The white "Spring Green" tulips recently were joined by the colorful "Ballade." "Maureen" tulips also will eventually make an appearance. So there's plenty to see during a stroll through the garden on a warm spring day.

If you decide you need the yellow and red tulips that scream "Spring!" you can easily find that a couple of blocks away in the rest of Millennium Park. Me, I'll take the quiet interplay of colors and textures that seems to occupy the Lurie Garden year round.

An eastern redbud in full bloom



Virginia bluebells and "Lemon Drop" daffodils

Prairie Smoke without the "smoke"

"Spring Green" tulips

Muscari

Narcissus poeticus 'Actea'

By Karen Geisler