July 20th, 2010
Not only do we have our garden growing like gangbusters, thanks or no thanks to all the rain we’ve had this summer, but we also have a baby robin who looks ready to leave the nest very soon.
We’re not sure what happened to the other two eggs, but there always seemed to only be one [...]
May 6th, 2010
Get your shopping list together Chicagoland: it’s time for the annual Native Plant Sale this weekend, May 8-9 at Lake County Forest Preserve’s Independence Grove in Libertyville!
About a 30- to 40-minute drive from Chicago, Independence Grove is located about 2-1/2 miles west of I-94 on Buckley Road (Route 137). Sale hours are 9 am to [...]
April 14th, 2010
The garden is starting to wake up and I’m looking forward to planting season next month. The plants I added to the parkway in front of the house are starting to peek through, but I think it will still be a while before they fill in.
We made an early purchase last week and added [...]
September 10th, 2009
I don’t think I’ve posted anything about the garden since May when I planted my new purchases. I guess all the excitement of the attic renovation took precedence.
I really haven’t done much all summer in the garden because of the reno, and some of the plants have taken advantage of that. I’m going to [...]
May 13th, 2009
It’s so nice to finally start working outside again. Pete just dragged out the Adirondack chairs, so I’m ready to soak in some morning sunshine and cool breezes.
The backyard, between the house and garage, has filled in the most overall since we started planting last year. Most of the arborvitae (background) are doing well, [...]
May 12th, 2009
On Saturday, my sister-in-law, niece and I trekked up to Libertyville for the Lake County Native Plant Sale. Because they only allow a certain number of people inside at one time, I wanted to get there early. We arrived about 15 minutes before it opened but we still weren’t among the first group and had [...]
May 7th, 2009
Attention all Chicago-area gardeners! Lake County Forest Preserve’s 12th Annual Native Plant Sale takes place this weekend, May 9-10 at Independence Grove in Libertyville.
Despite the construction on the I-94 tollway expansion project, it’s an easy drive from the city to Route 137 (Buckley Road). Drive west a few miles to the Independence Grove entrance, just [...]
August 20th, 2008
We’ve been lying low lately and not working on many projects, per se.
Pete finally hooked up the rain barrels, now that it’s almost the end of summer. We had been holding off on those because we were going to build something to elevate the barrels so the water would have better flow. We aren’t [...]
July 9th, 2008
Currently in bloom at Bungalow Chronicles — each one native to all or most of the lower 48 states and Canada:
Kalm’s St. John’s Wort (Hypericum kalmianum)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Prairie (or Tall) Cinquefoil (Potentilla arguta); also native to Alaska
May 28th, 2008
As you’ve probably read or heard, when planning outdoor spaces it’s nice to incorporate different “rooms” depending on how you want to use them. While the bulk of our outdoor entertaining will be centered around the patio, it’s also out in the open for everyone to see (until our shrubs grow big enough) and it [...]
May 13th, 2008
Over the weekend I stocked up on a bunch of great native plants at the Lake County Forest Preserve District Native Plant Sale. The event took place Saturday and Sunday at Independence Grove in Libertyville, which is a beautiful place to go for biking, kayaking or hanging out — I’ve never been there before, but [...]
May 8th, 2008
…and hoping for privacy.
It certainly doesn’t look like these two sticks I planted will grow into anything substantial, does it? But they are what I’m hoping will be the foundation for privacy on one side of our patio.
Our nursery visit over the weekend included the purchase of two Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) trees/shrubs. The [...]
May 6th, 2008
It was an action-packed weekend here at Bungalow Chronicles. After a family obligation Sunday afternoon, Pete and I drove out to The Natural Garden in St. Charles. It’s not the most convenient nursery to go to, and it took a solid hour’s drive, but they are one of the few nurseries in the area who [...]
May 2nd, 2008
It’s nice to be able to have a do-over when it comes to our prairie garden. I’ll be a little sad to see the old prairie go now that the new owner is converting it back to lawn, but I think our new prairie will be much better this time. Based on our experience there, [...]
May 1st, 2008
I’ve been a proponent of gardening with native plants for well over 10 years now. Not only are there an interesting and beautiful variety of forbs (flowers) and grasses, but they’re drought-tolerant, disease-resistant and they need little attention once they get going. By no means am I an expert gardener (and truth be told I [...]
July 20th, 2007
Our backyard prairie is in full bloom. In the foreground you see the leaves of Prairie Dock. They are literally 14″ wide by 20″ tall, while their flower is about the size of the palm of your hand. The flower stalk grows 8-9 feet tall.
Here you see Purple coneflower, Sand coreopsis, Wild bergamot and Switch [...]
June 24th, 2007
Ours keeps going and going! The prairie will be in full bloom very soon. Right now the Sand coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) is in bloom and the Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is starting to open. It’s very fragrant right now in our backyard, but not overpowering. Here you see Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) in the foreground. [...]
May 23rd, 2007
I’m a flatlander. While others wonder how we can stand the flatness of Illinois, I have a deep appreciation for it. I especially love driving down I-57 toward Champaign-Urbana around sunset. The colors in the sky are beautiful and all you see for miles is an open expanse of land, mostly farmland. The horizon is [...]