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5 Little Garden Joys1. The pattern on this nasturtium leaf2. This penstemon blooming out of season3. Sweet bouquet Emily...
10/21/2026

5 Little Garden Joys

1. The pattern on this nasturtium leaf
2. This penstemon blooming out of season
3. Sweet bouquet Emily picked
4. Oregano growing out of the wall
5. Sunlit path

guess I have a lot more thoughts about tree ages. When Iā€™m looking at a neighborhood, park, subdivision or property one ...
10/19/2026

guess I have a lot more thoughts about tree ages. When Iā€™m looking at a neighborhood, park, subdivision or property one of the first things that screams at me is if the trees are all the same age.

I havenā€™t always noticed - in fact when we moved in it was a while before I went ā€œhey wait! All these white oaks are the same size.ā€ Magnificent , but what happens at the end of their lifespan?

Trees have a lifespan, just like we do. Where are all the young oaks? So I searched the forest, found three medium-sized oaks. Only three!

When I stopped treating the lawn and added garden areas not too manicured - acorns are freely sprouted. So now I haves plethora of 1, 2 and 3 year old trees .

Iā€™ve also added swamp white oak to the wet areas and chinkapin oak to the hillsides. Diversity strengthens the ecosystem .

Iā€™m experimenting with cages, in case the reason the oaks arenā€™t getting past year 1 is deer. Thereā€™s so much I donā€™t know.

These trees have taught me to think along a time horizon than spans beyond my own lifetime. I wonder if from their perspective Iā€™m a sort of buzzing insect, here and gone.

Noticing the neighborhood, there are a few neighbors who have let young oaks grow, and others who have not. The ones who havenā€™t are heading toward such a preventable crisis.

Do you notice tree ages when you look around?

When we moved in to our house, one of the great delights was these huge grandmother oaks - it took me longer to notice t...
10/19/2026

When we moved in to our house, one of the great delights was these huge grandmother oaks - it took me longer to notice the lack of oak children.
Now I see it everywhere I go. Like a very
preventable countdown toward no more trees.

10/18/2026

The beauty in the way the wind moves these wild grape leaves.

Happy fall!

!

Craft stores hate this one simple trick: Use the bits and pieces from your own yard for fall decoration. No plastic need...
10/17/2026

Craft stores hate this one simple trick:
Use the bits and pieces from your own yard for fall decoration. No plastic needed, no orange bins to haul out and store everything. Voila!!

White snakeroot showed up unbidden in the not-yet-gardened area on the side of the house. It stopped me in my tracks and...
10/16/2026

White snakeroot showed up unbidden in the not-yet-gardened area on the side of the house. It stopped me in my tracks and I think I squealed a little.

You see when I first was interested in native plants, someone told me that my job was to remove invasive stuff (buckthorn, honeysuckle, garlic mustard) and native plants would just start to spring forth from the seed bank šŸ˜¬

Itā€™s year 4 now. This is the second volunteer that has sprung forth. without being deliberately planted by me. So Iā€™m excited!!

Today I also stumbled upon a reel telling the unusual history of this plant in America - cows ate it and it caused concentration of toxin in the milk and people died from ā€œmilk sickness ā€œ The plant itself wonā€™t cause any harm by growing in my garden, and no cows grazing here so Iā€™m still excited.

What about you? Do native plants spontaneously show up for you? Am I just not patient enough šŸ˜‚

10/15/2026

When it rains watch where it drains!
The rainwater that is. A rainy day is always a good day to check drainage and absorption in your garden.
Look for pooling, squishy spots, and flow. Once the rain ends, watch to see how quickly the water goes back down.

Places where water stays can be good opportunities for a rain garden. Places that are barely wet want dry-tolerant plants.

In our climate (Chicagoland ) Especially check to make sure thereā€™s no pooling by the foundation of your structures, as that can cause all kinds of problems. When Iā€™m doing peopleā€™s gardens I often quietly fix minor drainage issues. Obviously anything major or in need of repair I tell people about!

What about you? When was your last rain drain audit?

So I argued with someone on the internet the other day. I know I know. Itā€™s 2026. I should absolutely know better.This p...
10/15/2026

So I argued with someone on the internet the other day.
I know I know. Itā€™s 2026. I should absolutely know better.

This person had posted something that super-interested me, a book she wrote about setting up your home to support you ā€“ for neurodivergent people.

I liked the ideas (itā€™s important that you know that) but the illustrations seemed ā€¦ too sleek. My comment was ā€œlove this! Who is your illustrator?ā€

Another person posted ā€œhope itā€™s not AIā€ in response. The original poster wrote back something like ā€œitā€™s canva and AIā€ along with an explanation of how she needed money to feed her kids so she couldnā€™t hire an illustrator.

This is - I suppose - where a sane person would have stopped. Not me. I commented something like ā€œuse crayons! Even simple drawings are better than AIā€

She responded quickly asking if I was offering to illustrate for her for free. After initial indignation, (pay artists !!!) I thought about it on the way to the bus.

I would in fact, be willing to do a drawing for this person. I liked the concept, Iā€™ve done stupider things for smaller rewards.
I sent her a message.

Went back to check the initial post.

I bet you know what happened next

Her comment admitting AI use was gone. Making it look like I was having a weird convo with myself in the comments.

Then, a minute later, the whole profile was gone. And I felt stupid.
I had assumed I was talking to the poised, smiling, 30-something, Black woman in the profile . Someone with children to feed (like me) trying to do a thing on the internet.

Boooo. Was it a scammer ? A bot? could have been anything. I was like the dwarves in Mirkwood chasing lights that disappear as soon as you step into the circle, leaving you in the dark wondering um what just happened?

Feeling duped, a little embarrassed - had I imagined the whole thing? When she (he? It?) deleted the profile the whole post vanished, my comments, the replies- like it never happened.

Be careful out there friends.

#2026

Have you seen the purple asters this year? Brilliant!!! And so add to your fall colors of orange and red and brown and y...
10/15/2026

Have you seen the purple asters this year? Brilliant!!! And so add to your fall colors of orange and red and brown and yellow this bright PURPLE.

Virginia Creeper - a plant Iā€™ve changed my mind about.I did NOT like this plant, maybe the similarities in appearance to...
10/14/2026

Virginia Creeper - a plant Iā€™ve changed my mind about.

I did NOT like this plant, maybe the similarities in appearance to poison ivy, or its penchant for spreading and taking over.
Iā€™ve changed my mind.

Itā€™s native, it provides food (berries!) and shelter for birds. And Iā€™ve read that it doesnā€™t harm the tree that it grows on. So Iā€™ve come around.

I let it grow on banks where I want to prevent erosion, and places I havenā€™t gotten to planting more desirable plants, as a placeholder.

( note - some people react to this plant and get an itchy rash like poison ivy. If thatā€™s you, it might not be the right vine for your landscape.)

One of the great joys has been watching this vine-laden oak turn from green to maroon to blazing red, from the top down.

Fellow gardeners, what about you? do you incorporate Virginia Creeper?

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39W579 Lori Lane
Elgin, IL
60124

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