From the Inside OutIn a way you could call it a kitchen garden, and why not? Although there’s not a vegetable to be seen, it was designed while Brian Helfrich was sitting on his usual chair in the kitchen, staring into the backyard, thinking.
A construction manager with Aquascape, Inc., Helfrich explains that he treats every garden he does the same way, designing from inside the house looking out. “I lived in that chair by the kitchen window,” he recalls, referring to the period in which he planned the multi-purpose garden that he built for his Downers Grove backyard.
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Columns
“And good English has went.” That’s how it was. At least that’s how I remember it. I am, unfortunately, old enough to have ...
Columns
Defensive Design A funny thing happened to me on the way to writing one of my columns last year. I decided to draw ...
Departments
In the Merry Hall trilogy, a series that ranks high among the world’s great garden classics, the English journalist Beverley …
Columns
“Do you have geraniums?” “Pelargonium or cranesbill?” “Sorry?” “Er, Pelargonium or cranesbill.” “No, I’m not interested ...
Spotlights
Tulips come from Turkey, but woodland wildflowers come from Chicagoland. Why not have someof both in your springtime garden?
questions
I’d like to start composting. Do you have any advice on what kind of bin to purchase/build so that it is successful in the Chicago climate?
I have two 20-year-old pine trees whose needles are turning brown on the west side of the plants. On the east side I have a compost pile.
I live in the St. Charles region and my soil is mostly clay. What is causing the browning? Should I get rid of the compost? How do I correct the damage?
We have a skylight in the bathroom over our Jacuzzi tub with an area around the tub that is quite large. What plants can we grow there, and what care do they need? Can we grow orchids?
