The Alley Connection

I began living on an alley as a child growing up in Chicago.  I probably walked the alley as much as I used the sidewalk outside my front door - it was a shortcut to the next block, it contained treasures you would never see out in front like soda bottles that I could  trade in for cash.  When you have an alley, the garage and driveway is usually in the back leaving the front to be total garden.

When I became an adult, I graduated to a home with a side driveway and no alley.  This was okay, I didn't miss the alley, but soon we moved into the old old house and guess what, I was back on the alley.  My young children loved the alley, it ended with my neighbor's house who didn't have a garage in the back.  So, they played out there endlessly, digging for artifacts under the 100 year old oak tree that was there before the house.  I disliked this alley a lot, not paved, could not navigate during the icy winters, good thing I had a driveway in the front.

My last house did not have a alley, but a long treacherous driveway when it snowed.  I think I would prefer the alley!  The house I am in now has an alley, finally paved and a community in itself.  We not only know the neighbors on each side of our block out in front, but we have that social connection with the neighbors on the block behind us.  We call the comings and goings up and down the alley our "alley people."  The children come to see our dog through the fence, I say hi to my older neighbor walking her dog down the alley, and I finally planted a xeric garden in the alley which this year has really popped.

This is not a city alley but a suburban alley in a very old suburb that used to be a go to destination for Chicagoans to spend their summers.  I always think of one of my favorite movies "Rear Window" when I look up and down my alley and wonder what's going on in that garden?

The Life Is Good Award

Lona, at A Hocking Hills Garden has nominated me for the above award, but she is insisting that I answer her questions!!

1.  What makes life good for me?

     Life is good for me when I am with my family, my five
     grandchildren and my lifelong work friends.  You
     have to put yourself out there to make these
     connections, invite people over, make dates, etc.

2.  My favorite pastime other than gardening.

     I love to cook, sew, decorate and am passionate about
     educational opportunities for young children.
     Writing is also something I love, fits well into blogging.

3.  Worst Gardening Experience

     Rudebeckia Goldstrum - I know many people love it,
     but it reseeded everywhere it could find a speck of
     dirt in my previous home, not a favorite plant!

4.  Favorite flower

     I would have to say it is the rose, I have so many around
     my garden.  They add a mystique for me that is not
     possessed by any other flower.

5.  Where would I love to visit.

     I would love to visit the English gardens.

6.  Favorite flower or nature picture.

     I love the flower and fauna of Rousseau

Lona, thank you for your interest in Gatsbys Gardens.

Eileen

Gardening With Friends

Gardening is fun, it is rewarding, obsessive and lonely unless you have special gardening friends.  There is nothing better than doing the nursery field trips looking for those special plants each year.  It is even more rewarding if you have someone that shares that wanderlust each spring when it's time to hit the garden centers.

I have such a friend who is willing to drop everything and look for plants, even going out of state to visit a unique garden center!  We have travelled miles together looking for those new introductions, attending plant walks, workshops, etc.  I talked her into joining my garden group, and I think she feels it was a good choice, lots of obsessive gardeners all in one place with lunch thrown in and usually a speaker.

Garden blogging is a wonderful connection for gardeners but it does not replace climbing into the 4-wheel drive with a buddy to go "plant chasing."

Herbs

At a recent garden club meeting (the serious group) I was not anticipating learning much about plants at another cooking demonstration.  The featured speaker was the son of our hostess.  He is a chef and owns an eclectic restaurant in Chicago.  He began by grilling salmon and chicken outside on the deck - we had already had lunch so I wasn't planning on sampling any more food.  To my surprise the grilled meat and fish were not the stars of the show!

I should have known that the herbs were the feature attraction, all lined up in glasses like flower displays.  He talked about hard herbs and soft herbs with the hard herbs used to enhance the flavor of what you are cooking and the soft herbs used as garnishes after cooking.  The hard herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, etc., he uses the herbs like little brushes dipped in olive oil sweeping onto the items to be grilled or baked or fried.  Chives, dill, parsley, basil, mint, etc., are considered soft herbs and chopped finely to use as garnishes.

One tip that I will certainly use this summer is to blanch the parsley and basil before I blend them for pesto.  Our chef says that this will keep the pesto from turning dark.  Since I am growing most the aforementioned herbs I guess it was time that I learned some new tricks and which were considered hard and soft.

Color In The Garden

I went on a garden dig awhile ago to glean plants for a sale to benefit our local historical house.  This is part of our community involvement activities that we do with the garden club throughout the year.  The property is expansive and I felt I was at an arboretum rather than a private home.  I experienced a level of anxiety knowing I would never be able to take care of this property.

Nevertheless, I had met the owner of this property previously at the Midwest Garden Symposium at the Morton Arboretum.  She is what the English call a Plantswoman, very knowledgeable about her plantings but still normal enough to say, "Oh, I don't remember the name of that one." 

Her opinions about color were important and somewhat surprising to me.  She uses no pale colors, like pale pink, violet, light yellow, peach, etc.  Our master gardener feels that only bright colors pop in the garden, like reds, purples, bright yellows, vivid oranges and always white.  I am afraid I have to depart from this opinion especially for my back garden where I love the softness of the pinks in the heat of the summer.  I am even doing pink as a theme in my front garden along with reds, pale yellows, white, magenta and blue. 

The back patio heats it up a little with bright orange geraniums and orange hibiscus, softer fountain plants variegated Algerian Ivy and Cordyline for a centerpiece on the coffee table.  All of the surrounding areas are laced with pinks, whites, blues, white and bright rosy orange.  I think my master gardener friend was correct when she mentioned that you can put orange and red together if you mix in purple, stunning by my vegetable garden!

I feel I am creating a mood, not necessarily a color palette.  It is also important to note that when you have very little frontage to your property you do not necessarily need vibrant colors that pop.  You are close and personal to each person who walks by or comes to your home.

I guess what I really learned from this digging experience is to know when to quit, not quit gardening but to quit going on and on and on when you know you can't do it anymore.  One never has to quit gardening, just quit gardening so much!