By Carol Cichorski, on March 15th, 2012  She says: “Oh Max. Here comes Carol Cichorski and her ever present camera. What makes her so special that she is taking our picture at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show before it even opens?”
He says: “Don’t worry Snookems. Everyone from the Garden Writers Association can do that today.”
Snookems: “And I suppose they all had muffins for breakfast, a lovely salad for lunch, and even exclusive speakers of their own.”
Max: “Its true Snookems. Tony Abruscato is the new Show Owner. He’s already brought Hort Couture and your beauty to the show. He told them about his plans to do more.”
Snookems: “Oh Max. Did Dan Heimes speak too? He is the president of Terra Nova Nurseries. I just hate when others get close to presidents and I don’t.”
 Max: “Yes they did. Did you know Terra Nova Nurseries cross-bred 275,000 plants in 2010. By the time all was said and done, only 5 were high enough quality to make it into the catalog. All first class, like you my dear. I especially adore the new Heuchera Paprika”
Snookems: “Mrs. Witherspoon told me that Carol and that wonderful husband of hers enjoyed their first outside breakfast of the season. We should get out more; you look so pale. What else does she have that I don’t have?”
Max: “Pansies I’m afraid. They were one of the door prizes for the Garden Writers. She planted them herself, so now she can write about them for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens. Those other bloggers write about their blooms as well. There is no stopping them.” 
Snookems: “The husband also brought out that positively adorable red swing of theirs. I hear she sits out there waiting for him to come home from work. They both have jobs you know, how sad.”
Snookems: “She isn’t fooling anyone with those tulips. Even I can tell they are a prop for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.”
Max: “How true. It takes one to know one.”
 Max: “Well at least she is leaving now, my love.”
Snookems: “For the moment at least. She and Mike are both back on Saturday the 17th. He will talk about those delicious dahlias at 12:15. She will talk about low maintenance gardening at 2:45.”
Max: “Come sit with me. We can vote for her blog at About.com while we wait.”
By Carol Cichorski, on March 9th, 2012 Ah! Best Laundry Detergent got your attention. It got mine too. Best Laundry Detergent is one of the categories you can vote for at the About.com – 2012 Readers Choice Awards. Maybe I should be interested in something more esoteric, but I am going back on March 30th to see what the Best Laundry Detergent is.
So, as long as you are there voting for OhWhatA.com as the Best Gardening Blog, (you are, right?), check out the Laundry Awards as well.
And please join Mike and I at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show on Saturday March 17th. Mike will talk about dahlias at 12:15, and my presentation will be on Low Maintenance Gardening at 2:45.
By Carol Cichorski, on March 5th, 2012 I welcome you to the debut of ‘Zone 5 Favorites on the 5th’.
I’m going to post on the 5th of every month, redirecting visitors to a favorite posting relative to zone 5.
 It could be mine
It could be another bloggers
It could be old
It could be new
For sure, it will be good!
Today, we will venture into a world that evades me. I just can’t get myself to grow more than one or two tomato plants, let alone grow enough varieties to critique them. Hanna at This Garden Is Illegal doesn’t have that problem. Join her for Hanna’s Tomato Tastings 2011 (or 2010, or 2009, or 2008, or 2007, or 2006 for that matter). Though Hanna is officially in zone 6, tomatoes taste the same here in zone 5.
Intrigued? Here is what Hanna has to say about the Crème Brulee Tomato…
I expect this tomato to be sweet, because why else would you name a tomato (or anything really) after a dessert if it was not sweet. I mean it would be just a cruel trick to name a vegetable after a luscious dessert if in fact it was not sweet.
Plus, this is another black tomato. Num-num-num. But, knowing that, I am confused. Black tomatoes do not normally bill themselves as sweet tomatoes. They tend to lean towards the savory end of things. Maybe that is about to change. We will see. Read more at Crème Brulee Tomato.
I’ve invited other zone 5 bloggers to join me for Zone 5 – Favorites on the 5th. If that’s you, please leave a comment so everyone will know you are part of the gang.
If you are a reader hungry for zone 5 sustenance, please follow the blogger’s links to feed upon their favorite postings.
A few last reminders…
Vote for my blog early and often at the 2012 About.com Readers Choice Awards.
And please join Mike and I at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show on Saturday March 17th. Mike will talk about dahlias at 12:15, and my presentation will be on Low Maintenance Gardening at 2:45.
By Carol Cichorski, on February 29th, 2012 One look at the picture and Feeding Frenzy is what you are likely to call this event.
Chicago Botanic Gardens called it a Seed Swap, but Feeding Frenzy feels right to me. I was among those vying to get our mitts on those seeds. Over 300 people had attended Diane Ott Whealy’s kick-off lecture for her new book ‘Gathering: Memoir of a Seed Saver.’ We relished every minute we could going down memory lane with Diane. Then I think everyone ran, not walked, to get a spot amongst the others who came for the seed swap.
Mark your calendars for the next Chicagoland seed swap event – March 11th at 3 PM. That’s when The Great Chicago Seed Swap is going to happen at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show.
I would have never guessed what a popular event a seed swap was, or that I would have had so much fun. I generally don’t buy many seeds. With Mike growing hundreds of dahlias in our basement each year, we run out of room for other plants. Plus I can’t bear to buy a package of 50 seeds if I just want to try planting one or two of something.
 But this event was a game changer. I packed tiny seeds in tiny quantities in tiny envelopes. Just a few pole beans, just a few angel melons, just a few each of several kinds of tomatoes. I also now have heirloom nicotiana – a real get for me as the commercial variety has forsaken fragrance. Actually, I think I now have just a few seeds for every plant known to man and then some.
If you have an interest in seeds, I have two Chicago sites for you:
Check out the blog of Mr. Brown Thumb. Look through his many postings on seeds. Also scroll down to the bottom of his site to learn how to save many different kinds of seeds, and tips for starting seeds. I’ve met him – this man knows seeds.
One Seed Chicago is the other place to go. Each year, One Seed Chicago selects one plant to be the focus of a season-long celebration. Go there to vote for your 2012 favorite – chamomile, basil, or cilantro. They’ll reward you with seeds of the winning herb. Teachers can request a classroom size packet along with an educator guide.
 Sunday was also a surprisingly warm day for a pseudo-winter walk. Did you know that the Botanic Gardens is quite lovely when all of those flowers and people aren’t distracting you from the lovely vistas? Who would have known?
A few last reminders…
Vote for my blog early and often at the 2012 About.com Readers Choice Awards.
And please join Mike and I at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show on Saturday March 17th. Mike will talk about dahlias at 12:15, and my presentation will be on Low Maintenance Gardening at 2:45.
By Carol Cichorski, on February 25th, 2012 My blog is in the running for an award! So of course, I’d love for you to go there every day till March 21st to vote. It’s even ok if you check out my competition.
As I look at About.com 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards, I see this is about more than me (darn). Here are the categories in the Gardening section:
I know I’ll go back on March 30th to check out the Best Gardening Book categories. I have a $40 Barnes and Noble gift certificate that is burning a hole in my pocket. I’ll probably take a peek at who won the Best Blog Award as well. Ok, I’ll definitely be looking at that one. First.
The Parenting and Family Awards look interesting as well. Everything from Best Infant Car Seat to Most Admired Grandparent.
Here is the complete list of categories for the About.com 2012 Readers Choice Awards:
P.S. Mike and I are speaking at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show on Saturday, March 17th. Mike is talking about dahlias (of course) at 12:15. I’ve got Low Maintenance Gardening at 2:45.
By Carol Cichorski, on February 18th, 2012 I write to you with fingers numb.
I think that I might lose a thumb.
Chicago’s temperature is 33.
Yet I was gardening – crazy me.
The sun was shining.
The birds were singing.
I was smiling, trimming, digging.
Digging through the shed so deep,
my gardening tools buried in the heap.
But out they came and so did I.
A joyous day oh my oh my!
It’s true. I just could not stop myself from gardening on this February day. Well, maybe I didn’t want to stop myself. Not even when I saw the dreaded inside of our shed…
Eventually, I found this, my basket of gardening tools…
It was the urn that was calling to me this morning. Time for a little spring cleaning.
It took just a few minutes to make it look like this…
And the best part, look what I discovered as I cleaned up by the mums – new growth. Spring is coming early to our garden.
This was SO worth it!
By Carol Cichorski, on February 15th, 2012 Like all expectant parents, we’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new little one. We are so proud to introduce you to our first bloom of the year, winter aconite. At no pounds and only 2 inches tall, this newborn arrived today, amidst much speculation about the arrival date.
 Oh, there will be more. Winter Aconite shows up reliably in mid to late February.
In a week or so it will be scattered throughout my vinca. We’ve got it right outside the front door so there is no missing it.
Ours came from at a garage sale – we were allowed to snatch it right out of the garden. I’ve also bought a few packages of the tiny bulbs over the years. They’re a good get – small, inexpensive, and you plant them really close to the top of the soil. Easy.
Our other new addition is ever so much more exciting. This one is 22 inches tall and weighed in at a full 9 pounds. Cameron is our new grandson, and he was born on December 28th. Welcome little one. Grandma loves you!
Do you want to know what else is blooming in the February garden? To see what other bloggers have blooming on the 15th of every month, visit “May Dreams Gardens – Bloom Day” for our Garden Bloggers’ Bloom day entries.
A sure sign of spring – the Chicago Flower and Garden Show is March 10th to 18th. Mike and I are both excited to be speakers this year. Join us on March 17th, when Mike will talk about dahlias, and my presentation will be on Low Maintenance Gardening.
By Carol Cichorski, on February 9th, 2012  Photo by Kristen Taylor Just in time for Valentines Day, Mike found something sweet on the Chicago Botanic Gardens website. It’s a seasonal photo contest . Wow – they’ve been running this for a year and we just saw it now. Well, not exactly ‘now’. Let’s say a few hours ago. Since then I’ve been oohing and ahing and downloading. Sweets for the sweet – and these pictures are sweet.
If you would like to enter the winter contest, there is still time to get to Chicago Botanic Gardens to take some pictures. Entries need to be submitted by March 23rd. This part is sweet too — You can win a Chicago Botanic Garden Membership. What is even sweeter is that you become famous. Well, not exactly ‘famous’. But your entry does go on their website; its complete with your name attached, and may even be downloadable.
If you saw my recent pictures from Morton Arboretum, snowy vistas can be beautiful. I’m probably the only person in Chicagoland hoping for another snow – I want to go to Chicago Botanic Gardens and take a picture to enter.
 Photo by Colin Michaelis They even make it easy for us by providing a staff photographer for a free monthly photo walk on the first Saturday of each month. Photo walk participants meet at the Alsdorf Auditorium at 9 a.m. for a brief talk, and then tour the Garden to take pictures of what’s in bloom. Pictures taken by photo walk participants are posted on SmugMug and most of those were suitable for downloading as a desktop wallpaper.
 Photo by Fernand Baros For now, I am happily viewing entries from each of the 4 contests – spring, summer, and fall of 2011, plus the current entries for winter 2012. Some, like this hawk by Fernand Baros, are sharp enough for a desktop wallpaper. I don’t know that I can use it as as a wallpaper though. Its so realistic, I’m afraid he might eat my sweet new wireless mouse.
By Carol Cichorski, on February 4th, 2012 I’ve heard that the longer a couple is married, the more alike they become. I’ve heard that they can practically read each others thoughts. I can understand Mike knowing what I’m thinking when we are in the same room. Even without a word being said, Mike can read my body language, and he knows me well enough to know what I’m thinking. But that doesn’t explain this. ‘This’ is my desk, and as you might guess from the setting, I often work from home.
The part that is hard to explain is the orange flowers in the orange vase. It is unusual that I have flowers on my desk this time of year, as it is winter (more of a pseudo winter) in Chicago. It is also unusual that I bought a new vase in winter, as I don’t do that very often. So what were the odds of me buying an orange vase on the same February day that Mike buys me orange roses? The odds must have been pretty good, because the vase and flowers appeared in my kitchen within minutes of each other.
Putting flowers on your desk this time of year is a real cheerer-upper. Lindy used to do this for her desk every week. Seem extravagant? Putting it in perspective, it’s cheaper than a garden. So even if it’s up to you to treat yourself, enjoy!
Odds are good that you can pick up a vase at Hobby Lobby like I did for $5.00. Odds are good that you can get flowers at the grocery store for under $10.00. Odds are good that flowers feed the soul.
By Carol Cichorski, on February 1st, 2012 As I complete this monthly series paying homage to Edith Holden, I thank her for writing her diary and sharing it with us so many years ago.
February, per Edith Holden’s “Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady”…
This month derives its name from the word februare, to purify or from Februa, the Roman festival of expianon, which was celebrated through the latter part of this month.
And from the collection of poetry Ms. Holden has been kind enough to share with us …
One month is past, another is begun,
Since merry bells rang out the dying year,
And buds of rarest green began to peer,
As if impatient for a warmer sun;
And though the distant hills are bleak and dun,
The virgin snowdrop, like a lambent fire,
Pierces the cold earth with its green-streaked spire
And in dark woods, the wandering little one
May find a primrose.
What is it about poets that they MUST put in at least one word we just plain ole’ never heard of? For example, how often have you used ‘lambent’? Perhaps the word was popular when Hartley Coleridge wrote the poem in 1842. I can just picture a modern day Coleridge hovering over his keyboard perusing his Word a Day on-line calendar with delight, exclaiming to himself ‘Gotcha’!
Still, the poem speaks to me. Especially since it was written in 1842. How little the human spirit changes over the years. We await spring as did Coleridge, as do snowdrops, as will our children and their children.
As for ‘lambent’, it is a lovely word!
1. Gleaming.
2. Playing over surface, flickering or playing as a flame over a surface without burning it
3. Brilliantly light, having a light but brilliant touch.
Even the definitions are lambent.
Whereforth cometh the inspiration to wax poetic? Garden Bloggers’ Muse Day, where Carolyn Choi of Sweet Home and Garden Chicago has invited bloggers to share our favorite poems, songs, verses and quotes about gardening on the first of the month. Carolyn has left Chicagoland and her blog to follow her heart to North Carolina. Thanks to Carolyn for her inspiration.
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Max: “Yes they did. Did you know Terra Nova Nurseries cross-bred 275,000 plants in 2010. By the time all was said and done, only 5 were high enough quality to make it into the catalog. All first class, like you my dear. I especially adore the new Heuchera Paprika”
Max: “Well at least she is leaving now, my love.”
